Leaching behavior and comprehensive toxicity evaluation of heavy metals in MSWI fly ash from grate and fluidized bed incinerators using various leaching methods: A comparative study

Yin Duan; Xiaobo Liu; Wenjuan Hong; Zeinab Khalid; Guojun Lv; Xuguang Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169595

Leaching behavior and comprehensive toxicity evaluation of heavy metals in MSWI fly ash from grate and fluidized bed incinerators using various leaching methods: A comparative study

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Mar 1:914:169595. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169595. Epub 2023 Dec 27.

Authors

Yin Duan¹, Xiaobo Liu¹, Wenjuan Hong¹, Zeinab Khalid¹, Guojun Lv¹, Xuguang Jiang²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; Zhejiang University Qingshanhu Energy Research Center, Linan, Hangzhou 311305, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; Zhejiang University Qingshanhu Energy Research Center, Linan, Hangzhou 311305, China. Electronic address: jiangxg@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 38154649
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169595

Abstract

Municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWI FA) is a kind of hazardous waste that contains a substantial amount of heavy metals. To facilitate the appropriate treatment of MSWI FA, the leaching behavior of heavy metals was evaluated in MSWI FA from various sources using different leaching methods. Nine kinds of MSWI FA were investigated using three kinds of batch leaching tests (TCLP, HJ/T 300, and EN12457-2). The chemical form distributions of heavy metals in MSWI FA were obtained by sequential extraction procedures (SEPs) and the environmental risk posed by MSWI FA was comprehensively evaluated. The results showed that the grate and fluidized bed MSWI FA performed differently in various leaching methods, which was mainly dependent on the leachate pH and the chemical form distributions of the heavy metals. In addition, the BCR SEP was more suitable for the fractionation of heavy metals and the environmental risk assessment of MSWI FA when compared with Tessier's SEP. The overall pollution toxicity index allowed a comprehensive risk assessment specific to the leaching environment, thereby offering valuable guidelines for the stabilization or resource-based treatment of MSWI FA.

Keywords: Environmental risk assessment; Heavy metals; Leaching behavior; MSWI FA; Sequential extraction tests.