Analysis of the Relationship between Mechanical Properties and Pore Structure of MSW Incineration Bottom Ash Fine Aggregate Concrete after Freeze-Thaw Cycles Based on the Gray Theory

The destruction of concrete building materials in severely cold regions of the north is more severely affected by freeze-thaw cycles,and the relationship between the mechanical properties and pore structure of concrete with fine aggregate from municipal solid waste(MSW)incineration bottom ash after freeze-thaw cycles is analyzed under the degree of freeze-thaw hazard variation.In this paper,the gray correlation method is used to calculate the correlation between the relative dynamic elastic modulus,compressive strength,and microscopic porosity parameters to speculate on the most important factors affecting their changes.The GM(1,1)model was established based on the compressive strength of the waste incineration ash aggregate concrete,the relative error between the simulated and actual values in the model was less than 5%,and the accuracy of the model was level 1,indicating that the GM(1,1)model can well reflect the change in the compressive strength of the MSW incineration bottom ash aggregate concrete during freeze-thaw cycles.Using the gray correlation method,the correlation between the relative dynamic elastic modulus,compressive strength,air content,specific surface area,pore spacing coefficient,and pore average chord length was calculated,and the pore spacing coefficient and pore average chord length were determined to be highly correlated with each other.This determination can help analyze and infer the deterioration mechanism of concrete subject to freeze-thaw cycles.These results can provide a theoretical basis for guiding the engineering practice of concrete with fine aggregates of household bottom ash in the northern cold region.

Performance Appraisal of Controlled Low-strength Material Using Sewage Sludge and Refuse Incineration Bottom Ash

This research evaluated the use of sewage sludge and refuse incineration bottom ash to replace calcium sulfoaluminate cement （CSA） in making controlled low-strength material （CLSM）. Various properties of CLSM mixtures were characterized in terms of unconfined compressive strength, microstructure and leachability. It was found that the strength of tested CLSM mixtures ranged from 3.6 to 9.0 MPa, over the upper excavatable limit of 2.1 MPa. The micro-structural analysis revealed that sewage sludge and bottom ash were crystallochemically in- corporated within CLSM system_s by forming the needle-like ettringite （C3A＇3CS＇_H32） with exiguous tu.bers via the typical Pozzolanic Reaction, leading to a dense and low-porosity microst;＇ucture. Furthermore,-the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure evidenced that the cumulative leachable metals in the leachate were much below the regulatory thresholds. The potential for us!ng sewage sludge and bottom ash!n CLSM makin.g was thus confirmed.

Levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Healthcare Waste Incinerators’ Bottom Ash from Five County Hospitals in Kenya

Health-care waste contains potentially harmful microorganisms and compounds which can infect and affect hospital patients, healthcare workers, the general public and environment. Therefore, management of health care waste requires safe handling, treatment and disposal procedures. While incineration reduces the volume and quantity of waste for final disposal, it leads to the production of fly and bottom ashes laden with toxic incomplete combustion products such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, furans and heavy metals. This exposes workers who handle and dispose the bottom ashes, hospital patients, the general public and environment. The goal of this study was to determine the total and individual levels of 16 most prevalent and toxic PAHs. Bottom ash samples were collected from incinerators in five county hospitals in Kenya, namely;Moi-Voi, Narok, Kitale, Makindu and Isiolo. Bottom ash samples were collected over a period of six months from the five hospitals. The samples were then sieved, homogenised and stored at 4°C in amber coloured glass containers. The PAHs were extracted using 30 ml of a hexane-acetone solvent (1:1) mixture by ultrasonication at room temperature (23°C) for 45 minutes. The PAHs were then analyzed with a GC-MS spectrophotometer model (Shimadzu GCMS-QP2010 SE) connected to a computer work station was used for the PAHs analysis. The GC-MS was equipped with an SGE BPX5 GC capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 μm) for the separation of compounds. Helium was used as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 15.5 ml/minute and 14.5 psi. 1 μl of the sample was injected at 280°C, split mode (10:1). The oven programming was set for a total runtime of 40 minutes, which included: 100°C (2-minute hold);10°C /min rise to 200°C;7°C /min rise to 249°C;3°C /min rise to 300°C (2-minute hold). The interface temperature was set at 290°C. Analysis was done in Selected Ion Monitoring (SIM) mode and the peak areas of each of the PAHs were collected from the chromatograph and used for quantification of the 16 PAHs listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which included, BaA (benz[a]anthracene: 4 rings), BaP (benzo[a]pyrene: 5 rings), BbF (benzo [b]fluoranthene: 5 rings), BkF (benzo[k]fluoranthene: 5 rings), Chr (chrysene: 4 rings), DbA (dibenz[a,h]anthracene: 5 rings), InP (indeno[1,2,3 - cd] pyrene: 6 rings) and Acp (acenaphthene: 3 rings), Acpy (acenaphthylene: 3 rings), Ant (anthracene: 3 rings), BghiP (benzo[g,h,i]perylene: 6 rings), Flu (fluorene: 3 rings), FluA (fluoranthene: 4 rings), Nap (naphthalene: 2 rings), PhA (phenanthrene: 3 rings) and Pyr (pyrene: 4 rings). Ion source-interface temperature was set at 200°C - 250°C. Internal standards from Sigma Aldrich were used in the analysis and the acquired mass spectra data were then matched against the NIST 2014 library [1] [2]. The mean PAHs concentration in the bottom ashes of each hospital varied broadly from 0.001 mg/kg to 0.4845 mg/kg, and the mean total concentration levels of individual PAHs ranged from 0.0072 mg/kg to 1.171 mg/kg. Low molecular weight PAHs (Phenanthrene, Naphthalene and Fluorene) were predominant in all the hospital wastes whereas Kitale and Narok presented the lowest PAHs concentrations and the lowest number of individual PAHs. Moi/Voi recorded the highest total PAHs concentration at 1.3129 ± 0.0023 mg/kg from a total of 11 PAHs being detected from the bottom ash samples. Narok had only three PAHs being detected at very low concentrations of 0.0041 ± 0.00 mg/kg, 0.0076 ± 0.00 mg/kg and 0.012 ± 0.00 mg/kg for phenanthrene, anthracene and chrysene respectively. This study presents hospital incinerator bottom ash as containing detectable levels of both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic PAHs. Continued unprotected exposure of hospital workers (waste handlers) to the bottom ash PAHs could be hazardous to their health because of their cumulative effect. Preventive measures e.g. the use of Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be prioritised to minimise direct contact with the bottom ash. The study recommends an upgrade on incinerator technology for efficient combustion processes thus for better pollution control.

Release behavior of soluble salts in MSWI bottom ash used as road basement materials under continuous rainfall conditions

The bottom ash is increasingly used as a substitute aggregate material in road construction in China,and road salting is the major salt source in groundwater.Continuous rainfall releases soluble salts from the bottom ash subgrade into the surrounding soil and groundwater,resulting in potential hazards.Different methods were employed to simulate and collect runoff water during rainfall events,including batch leaching test,dynamic leaching test and constant head test,to assess environmental impact of bottom ash as road basement materials under continuous rainfall conditions.This study simulated the seepage of bottom ash backfill roads under different rainfall intensities,rainfall times,and rainfall pH values.A comprehensive sampling and laboratory testing program was undertaken to characterize the environmental impact of soluble salts from bottom ash.The obtained results reveal that the leaching concentrations of Cl^(−)and SO_(4)^(2−)exceed the limit specified in the class V standard of surface water,which are 2.06–2.17 times and 1.08–1.25 times,respectively.By examining the long-term environmental influence under the condition of continuous rainfall,the leaching of Cl^(−)mainly occurs in the early leaching stage,and the maximum leaching concentration reaches 19,700 mg/L.The release concentration of Cl^(−)begins to be lower than the class V standard of surface water when continuous rainfall approaches the total rainfall for 13 months.The cumulative release of Cl^(−)in the bottom ash is 2.8–5.4 mg/g.Both rainfall intensity and rain pH affect the release of Cl^(−).The obtained results derived from the constant head tests indicate that stagnant water caused by rainfall deteriorates the release of soluble salt into the groundwater in only 1 day,especially at the early stage of 12 h.This work provides some basic information about how to minimize damage to the surrounding environment caused by the leaching of salt in bottom ash.