Tracing source and migration of Pb during waste incineration using stable Pb isotopes

Yang Li; Hua Zhang; Li-Ming Shao; Pin-Jing He

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.12.029

Tracing source and migration of Pb during waste incineration using stable Pb isotopes

J Hazard Mater. 2017 Apr 5:327:28-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.12.029. Epub 2016 Dec 19.

Authors

Yang Li¹, Hua Zhang², Li-Ming Shao³, Pin-Jing He³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Institute of Waste Treatment and Reclamation, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
² State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Institute of Waste Treatment and Reclamation, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China. Electronic address: zhanghua_tj@tongji.edu.cn.
³ Institute of Waste Treatment and Reclamation, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Research and Training Center on Rural Waste Management, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of P.R. China, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China.

PMID: 28033495
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.12.029

Abstract

Emission of Pb is a significant environmental concern during solid waste incineration. To target Pb emission control strategies effectively, the major sources of Pb in the waste incineration byproducts must be traced and quantified. However, identifying the migration of Pb in each waste component is difficult because of the heterogeneity of the waste. This study used a laboratory-scale incinerator to simulate the incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW). The Pb isotope ratios of the major waste components (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb=0.8550-0.8627 and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb=2.0957-2.1131) and their incineration byproducts were measured to trace sources and quantify the Pb contribution of each component to incineration byproducts. As the proportions of food waste (FW), newspaper (NP), and polyethylene bag (PE) in the artificial MSW changed, the contribution ratios of FW and PE to Pb in fly ash changed accordingly, ranging from 31.2% to 50.6% and from 35.0% to 41.8%, respectively. The replacement of PE by PVC significantly increased the partitioning and migration ratio of Pb. The use of Pb isotope ratios as a quantitative tool for tracing Pb from raw waste to incineration byproducts is a feasible means for improving Pb pollution control.

Keywords: Lead isotope ratios; Lead migration; Tracing source; Waste thermal treatment.