USING FLY ASH TO STUDY ON THE MECHANISM OF THE ABSORPTION OF HEAVY METAL IONS IN WASTEWATER

Using the method of sedentary thermal experiment, the use of fly ash to remove Zn 2+ ,Cu 2+ and Pb 2+ in waste water was studied. Special attention was paid to the effects of pH and time degree of activity on absorbing ability. The freundlich model applicable to the absorption data was set. Also the mechanism of absorption and ultra micro structure of fly ash with the help of TEM was put forward.

Heavy metals leaching in bottom ash and fly ash fractions from industrial-scale BFB-boiler for environmental risks assessment

The bottom ash and fly ash from the co-combustion of wood residues and peat at a bubbling fluidised bed boiler（296 MW） contained only quartz（SiO_2）, microcline（KAl Si_3O_8） and albite（NaAlSi_3O_8）. Thus, X-ray powder diffraction（XRD） was not useful for clarifying the difference in the release of associated heavy metals from ash matrices. In order to assess the release of heavy metals from ashes under changing environmental conditions, they were sequentially extracted and fractionated by the BCR-procedure into acid soluble/exchangeable（CH_3COOH）, reducible（NH_2OH-HCl） and oxidizable（H_2O_2/CH_3COONH_4） phases. The CH_3 COOH extractable fraction in conjunction with the total heavy metals concentrations were used to calculate the risk assessment code values for heavy metals leaching from the ash matrix. The leaching studies indicate that the heavy metals in the bottom ash and fly ash are bound to different fractions with different strengths. From the environmental and utilization perspectives, heavy metals in ashes posed different levels of environmental contamination risk. Only As in the bottom ash posed a very high risk. High risk metals were Cd in the bottom ash as well as As, Cd and Se in the fly ash.

Leaching behavior of heavy metals with hydrochloric acid fromfly ash generated in municipal waste incineration plants

The extraction behavior of heavy metals from municipal waste incineration （MWI） fly ash was investigated systematically. The extraction process includes two steps, namely, fly ash was firstly washed with water, and then subjected to hydrochloric acid leaching. The main parameters for water washing process were tested, and under the optimal conditions, about 86% Na, 70% K and 12% Ca were removed from fly ash, respectively. Hydrochloric acid was used for the extraction of valuable elements from the water-washed fly ash, and the optimal extraction was achieved for each heavy metal as follows： 86% for Pb, 98% for Zn, 82% for Fe, 96% for Cd, 62% for Cu, 80% for Al, respectively. And the main compositions of the finally obtained solid residue are Ca2PbO4, CaSi2Os, PbsSiO7, Ca3A12Si3012 and SiO2.

Evaluation of zeolites synthesized from fly ash as potential adsorbents for wastewater containing heavy metals

The pure-form zeolites （A and X） were synthesized by applying a two-stage method during hydrothermal treatment of fly ash prepared initial Cu and Zn gel. The difference of adsorption capacity of both synthesized zeolits was assessed using Cu and Zn as target heavy metal ions. It was found that adsorption capacity of zeolite A showed much higher value than that of zeolite X. Thus, attention was focused on investigating the removal performance of heavy metal ions in aqueous solution on zeolite A, comparing with zeolite HS （hydroxyl-solidate） prepared from the residual fly ash （after synthesis of pure-form zeolite A from fly ash） and a commercial grade zeolite A. Batch method was used to study the influential parameters of the adsorption process. The equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir model. The removal mechanism of metal ions followed adsorption and ion exchange processes. Attempts were also made to recover heavy metal ions and regenerate adsorbents.

Chemical speciation and mobility of heavy metals in municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash

Chemical speciation is a significant factor that governs the toxicity and mobility of heavy metals in municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash. Sequential extraction procedure is applied to fractionate heavy metals(Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, and Cr) into five defined groups: exchangeable, carbonate, Fe-Mn oxide, organic, and residual fractions. The mobility of heavy metals is also investigated with the aid of toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. In the fly ash sample, Pb is primarily presented in the carbonate(51%) and exchangeable(20%) fractions; Cd and Zn mainly exist as the exchangeable(83% and 49% respectively); Cu is mostly contained in the last three fractions(totally 87%); and Cr is mainly contained in the residual fraction(62%). Pb, Zn and Cd showed the high mobility in the investigation, thus might be of risk to the natural environment when municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash is landfilled or reutilized.

Vitrification of MSWI Fly Ash by Thermal Plasma Melting and Fate of Heavy Metals

Municipal solid waste incinerator （MSWI） fly ash with high basicity （about 1.68） was vitrified in a thermal plasma melting furnace system. Through the thermal plasma treatment, the vitrified product （slag） with amorphous dark glassy structure was obtained, and the leachability of hazardous metals in slag was significantly reduced. Meanwhile, it was found that the cooling rate affects significantly the immobility of heavy metals in slag. The mass distribution of heavy metals （Zn, Cd, Cr, Pb, As, Hg） was investigated in residual products （slag, secondary residues and flue gas）, in order to analyze the behavior of heavy metals in thermal plasma atmosphere. Heavy metal species with low boiling points accounting for the major fraction of their input-mass were adsorbed in secondary residues by pollution abatement devices, while those with high boiling points tended to be encapsulated in slag.

Hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites-calcium silicate hydrate composite from coal fly ash with co-activation of Ca(OH)_(2)-NaOH for aqueous heavy metals removal

Coal fly ash is a typical secondary aluminum/silicon resource.The preparation of zeolite-type absorbent is a potential way for its value-added utilization,while the purity and adsorption property of zeolite are limited due to the occurrence of side reactions in the synthesis process.In this study,a designated composite consisted of crystalline zeolites and amorphous calcium silicate hydrate was selected,which was direct synthesized from fly ash under conditions of a Ca/Si molar ratio of 0.8,an initial NaOH concentration of 0.5 mol/L,a hydrothermal temperature of 170℃and a liquid–solid ratio of 15 mL/g.The results indicated that this composite had superior adsorption property for a variety of heavy metals,which was based on the exchange of calcium and sodium ions in zeolites and calcium silicate hydrate.Its adsorption capacities for Pb^(2+),Ni^(2+),Cd^(2+),Zn^(2+),Cu^(2+)and Cr^(3+)attained 409.4,222.4,147.5,93.2,101.1 and 157.0 mg/g,respectively,in single solution with a pH of 4.5.After regulating the synthesis conditions,the transformation of amorphous calcium silicate hydrate into crystallized tobermorite weakened the adsorption capacity of the composite.Besides,due to the competitive adsorption in a multiple ions solution,the adsorption capacities for these heavy metals had a reduction.

Static and Dynamic Leaching Experiments of Heavy Metals from Fly Ash-Based Geopolymers

The feasibility of high calcium fly ash （CFA）-based geopolymers to fix heavy metals were studied. The CFA-based geopolymers were prepared from CFA, flue gas desulfurization gypsum （FGDG）, and water treatment residual （WTR）. The static leaching showed that heavy metals concentrations from CFA- based geopolymers were lower than their maximum concentration limits according to the U.S. environmental protection law. And the encapsulated and fixed ratios of heavy metals by the CFA-based geopolymers were 96.02%-99.88%. The dynamic real-time leaching experiment showed that concentration of Pb （II） was less than 1.μg / L, Cr （VI） less than 3.25 mg / L, while Hg （II） less than 4.0 μg / L. Additionally, dynamic accumulated leaching concentrations were increased at the beginning of leaching process then kept stable. During the dynamic leaching process, heavy metals migrated and accumulated in an area near to the solid-solution interface. When small part of heavy metals in ＂the accumulated area＂ breached through the threshold value of physical encapsulation and chemical fixation they migrated into solution. The dynamic leaching ratios and effective diffusion coefficients of heavy metals from CFA-based geopolymer were very low and the long-term security of heavy metals in CFA-based geopolymer was safe.

Synthesis and Heavy Metal Immobilization Behaviors of Fly Ash based Gepolymer

Two aspects of studies were carried out： 1） synthesis of geopolymer by using fly ash and metakaolin; 2） Immobilization behaviors of fly ash based geopolymer in a presence of Pb and Cu ions. As for the synthesis of fly ash based geopolymer, 4 different fly ash content （10%, 30%, 50%, 70%） and 3 types of curing regimes （standard curing, steam curing and autoclave curing） were investigated to obtain the optimum synthesis condition based on the compressive and flexural strength. The experimental results show that geopolymer, containing 30% fly ash and synthesized at steam curing （80 ℃ for 8 h）, exhibits higher mechanical strengths. The compressive and flexural strengths of fly ash based geopolymer reach 32.2 MPa and 7.15 MPa, respectively. Additionally, Infrared （IR） and X-ray diffraction （XRD） techniques were used to characterize the microstructure of the fly ash geopolymer. IR spectra shows that the absorptive band at 1086 cm^-1 shifts to lower wave number around 1033 cm^-1, and the 6-coordinated Al transforms into 4-coordination during the syn-thesis of fly ash based geopolymer. The resulting geopolymeric products were X-ray amorphous materials. As for immobilization of heavy metals, the leaching tests were employed to investigate the immobilization behaviors of the fly ash based geopolymer synthesized under the above optimum condition. The leaching tests showed that fly ash based geopolymer can effectively immobilize Cu and Pb heavy metal ions, and the immobilization efficiency reached 90% greater when heavy metals were incorporated in the fly ash geopolymer in the range of 0.1% to 0.3%. The Pb exhibits better immobilization efficiency than the Cu, especially in the case of large dosages of heavy metals.

MSWI Fly Ash Based Novel Solidification/Stabilization Matrices for Heavy Metals

The possibilities of MSWI fly ash as a major constituent of novel solidification/stabilization matrices for secure landfill were investigated by mixing MSWI fly ash with rich aluminum components, which was added as bauxite cement or metakaolinite instead, to form Friedel and Ettringite phases with high fixing capacities for heavy metals. The physical properties, heavy metals-fixing capacity, mineral phases and its vibration bands in the novel matrices were characterized by compressive strength, TCLP（toxic characteristic leaching procedure）, XRD （x-ray diffraction） , DTG （derivative thermogravimetry）, and FTIR （fourier transform infrared spectroscopy）, respectively. The Tessier＇s five-step sequential extraction procedure was used to analyze the fractions of chemical speciation for Pb, Cd and Zn ions. The experimental results indicate that Friedel-Ettringite based novel solidification/stabilization matrices can incorporate Pb, Cd and Zn ions effectively by physical encapsulation and chemical fixation, and it exhibits a great potential in co-landfill treatment of MSWI fly ash with some heavy metals-bearing hazardous wastes.

Heavy metals distribution in fly ash from gangue power plant

To make assessment on its environmental security, fly ash samples were collected from the gangue power plant. Total content of heavy metals in sieved fly ash were analytically determined. We also carried out Tessier extractive experiments to check the chemical species of heavy metals. Experiment results show that the content of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd ascend when particle size is smaller. Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd obviously enrich in particulate fly ash. The chemical species of heavy metal distribution ranking sequence generally is residual〉organic combinative〉Fe-Mn oxide combinative〉carbonate combinative〉ion-exchangeable. Lead＇s amiable-move species were high in proportion, amounted to 35%. Total content of Cadmium is at low level, but its ion-exchangeable species is relatively high in proportion. Nickel and zinc is mainly distributed in residue. Cu is mainly distributed in residue and organic combinative form. The content of manganese is relatively high in fly ash, and the carbonate combinative iron-manganese oxide combinative species are main chemical form. Cr is mainly distributed in residue, and its other chemical species are at low level. Compared with the soil background value of study area and Shandong Province, the content of Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn and Cr in fly ash of gangue power plant is lower. While contents of Pb and Cd were higher than background value, and amiable-move species is relatively high in proportion. They are more apt to cause heavy metal pollution.

Study of Remediation of Soil Contamined with Heavy Metals by Coal Fly Ash

The labile fraction of heavy metals in soils is the most important for toxicity for plants. Thus it is crucial to reduce this fraction in contamined soils to decrease the negative effect of heavy metals. In an experiment, the effects of two additives on the labile fractions of Cu, Mn and Zn were investigated in a soil contamined during long-term application. The additive used was the coal fly ash. The treated soil was further enriched with heavy metals and allowed to age at room temperature for 30 days. After this period, they were extracted plant-available (EDTA;HNO3;CH3COOH) metal species. The addition of fly ash strongly reduced the plant-available of Mn for plants but to a lesser extent this applies to the plant-available of Cu and Zn for plants. By addition of 1% of fly ash as well as 2% of fly ash, the labile fraction of Cu, Mn and Zn were lowered by 6.3, 145.0 and 29.7 mg?kg-1, respectively. Moreover essential correlation between total Cu and Zn contents was stated in the soil with plant-available content of metals, with reference to both metals. Value of coefficients of correlation is attesting to it between the total and plant-available Cu and Zn contents which are respectively equal: R(Cu) = 0.845, R(Mn) = 0.864 and R(Zn) = 0.872 for p = 99.5%. The results suggested that leading into the soil of the additional amount of fly ash can be an effective way of chemical remediation with reference to soils contaminated by Cu or Mn or Zn. Because he causes immobilization of examined heavy metals in the soil and in the process in the arrangement a—soil is limiting the availability of these metals plant and more distant bonds of the food chain.

Comparative evaluation of processes for heavy metal removal from municipal solid waste incineration fly ash

Hydrochloric acid leaching, chloride evaporation, acetic acid leaching, and biological leaching were evaluated and compared as processes of heavy metal removal for municipal solid waste incineration fly ash(MSWFA). Six factors, namely, energy consumption, process efficiency, process handling, process cost estimation, cost reduction potential, and study progress, were used in order to find out their advantages and disadvantages and to help develop a better recovery process of heavy metals from MSWFA in terms of treatment of the waste material. Hydrochloric acid leaching process was found to be most balanced among the evaluated processes. It showed superiority on energy consumption, process cost estimation, and study progress. On the other hand, despite of its excellency in process efficiency, chloride evaporation process was most unfavorable mainly due to heavy energy dependence. Biological process, with huge potential of cost reduction, was concluded to be the second best process.

Feasibility of Natural Zeolite for Heavy Metal Stabilization in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash: A Novel Approach

The current study investigated the sorption process of heavy metals, especially lead (Pb2+) and Zinc (Zn2+), in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) fly ash applying natural zeolite, namely mordenite, as an inexpensive adsorbent to assess its feasibility for the treatment of fly ash. Batch experiments were performed to investigate the effects of the influential parameters, such as metals initial ion concentration, dosage of adsorbent, liquid to solid (L/S) ratio, and equilibrium concentration of metal on the immobilization of Pb2+ and Zn2+, in a novel approach. Heavy metals removal efficiency increased with increasing the dosage of mordenite influenced by the media-specific surface area. Heavy metals adsorption is ascribed to various mechanisms of ion exchange and adsorption processes. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were investigated using the adsorption data. The adsorption process describes better in the Freundlich isotherm model compared to the Langmuir isotherm model with a high determination co-efficient (R2), especially for the adsorption of Pb2+. In addition, the affinity of mordenite to Pb2+ was shown to be higher than that of Zn2+. This allows the use of mordenite to capture of Pb2+ in MSWI fly ash. Results raise expectations about using mordenite as a low-cost material for treating MSWI fly ashes. The results show that heavy metal (Pb2+ and Zn2+) removed by mordenite adsorbent is practical and effective. In order to achieve the higher efficiency on heavy metal stabilization in MSWI fly ash, additional experiments are necessary.

Study on Treatment of Heavy Metals in Fly Ash by a Chelating Agent

The fly ash from two municipal solid waste incineration plants in Shanghai was treated by the self-developed organic composite chelating agent. The results indicated that the stabilization effect of Pb in the fly ash by the composite chelating agent was the best,and the proportions of its easily leaching form in the two kinds of fly ash decreased from 29. 60% and 27. 49% to 3. 05% and 0. 29% respectively. The leaching toxicity of stabilized fly ash was lower than the limits of Standard for Pollution Control on the Landfill Site of Municipal Solid Waste（ GB 16889- 2008）,so it can be landfilled separately in the landfill site of municipal solid waste.

Mechanism of high concentration phosphorus wastewater treated by municipal solid waste incineration fly ash

The mechanism of removing phosphate by MSWI(municipal solid waste incineration)fly ash was investigated by SEM(scanning electron microscopy)with EDS(energy dispersion spectrum),XRD(X-ray diffraction),FT-IR(Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy),BET(specific surface area),and BJH(pore size distribution).The results indicate that the removal rate of phosphate(100 mg/L)in 50 mL phosphorus wastewater reaches at 99.9% as the dosage of MSWI fly ash being 0.9000 g under room temperature.The specific surface area of MSWI fly ash is less than 6.1 m2/g and the total pore volume is below 0.021 cm3/g,suggesting that the absorption capacity of calcite is too weak to play an important role in phosphate removal.SEM images show that drastic changes had taken place on its specific surface shape after reaction,and EDS tests indicate that some phosphate precipitates are formed and attached onto MSWI fly ash particles.Chemical precipitation is the main manner of phosphate removal and the main reaction is: 3Ca2++2 PO4 3-+xH2O→Ca3(PO4)2↓·xH2O.Besides,XRD tests show that the composition of MSWI fly ash is complex,but CaSO4 is likely to be the main source of Ca2+.The soluble heavy metals in MSWI fly ash are stabilized by phosphate.

Growth, Metabolism and Yield of Rice Cultivated in Soils Amended with Fly Ash and Cyanobacteria and Metal Loads in Plant Parts

Soil amendment with fly ash（FA） and combined supplementation with N_2-fixing cyanobacteria masses as biofertilizer were done in field experiments with rice. Amendments with FA levels, 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0 and 10.0 kg/m2, caused increase in growth and yield of rice up to 8.0 kg/m2, monitored with several parameters. Pigment contents and enzyme activities of leaves were enhanced by FA, with the maximum level of FA at 10.0 kg/m2. Protein content of rice seeds was the highest in plants grown at FA level 4.0 kg/m2. Basic soil properties, p H value, percentage of silt, percentage of clay, water-holding capacity, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, and organic carbon content increased due to the FA amendment. Parallel supplementation of FA amended plots with 1.0 kg/m2 N_2-fixing cyanobacteria mass caused further significant increments of the most soil properties, and rice growth and yield parameters. 1000-grain weight of rice plants grown at FA level 4.0 kg/m2 along with cyanobacteria supplementation was the maximum. Cyanobacteria supplementation caused increase of important basic properties of soil including the total N-content. Estimations of elemental content in soils and plant parts（root and seed） were done by the atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Accumulations of K, P, Fe and several plant micronutrients（Mn, Ni, Co, Zn and Cu） and toxic elements（Pb, Cr and Cd） increased in soils and plant parts as a function of the FA gradation, but Na content remained almost unchanged in soils and seeds. Supplementation of cyanobacteria had ameliorating effect on toxic metal contents of soils and plant parts. The FA level 4.0 kg/m2, with 1.0 kg/m2 cyanobacteria mass supplementation, could be taken ideal, since there would be recharging of the soil with essential micronutrients as well as toxic chemicals in comparative lesser proportions, and cyanobacteria mass would cause lessening toxic metal loads with usual N_2-fixation.

Investigation of basic properties of fly ash from urban waste incinerators in China

Basic properties of fly ash samples from different urban waste combustion facilities in China were analyzed using as X-ray fluorescence （XRF）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The leaching toxicity procedure and some factors influencing heavy metals distribution in fly ash were further investigated. Experimental results indicate that the fly ash structures are complex and its properties are variable. The results of XRF and SEM revealed that the major elements （〉10000 mg/kg, listed in decreasing order of abundance） in fly ash are O, Ca, Cl, Si, S, K, Na, Al, Fe and Zn. These elements account for 93% to 97%, and the content of Cl ranges from 6.93% to 29.18 %, while that of SiO2 does from 4.48% to 24.84%. The minor elements （1000 to 10000 mg/kg） include Cr, Cu and Pb. Primary heavy metals in fly ash include Zn, Pb, Cr, Cu etc. According to standard leaching test, heavy metal leaching levels vary from 0 to 163.10 mg/L （Pb） and from 0.049 to 164.90 mg/L （Zn）, mostly exceeding the Chinese Identification Standard for hazardous wastes. Morphology of fly ash is irregular, with both amorphous structures and polycrystalline aggregates. Further research showed that heavy metals were volatilized at a high furnace temperature, condensed when cooling down during the post-furnace system and captured at air pollution control systems. Generally, heavy metals are mainly present in the forms of aerosol particulates or tiny particulates enriched on surfaces of fly ash particles. The properties of fly ash are greatly influenced by the treatment capacities of incinerators or the variation of waste retention time in chamber. Fly ash from combustors of larger capacities generally has higher contents of volatile component and higher leaching toxicity, while those of smaller capacities often produce fly ash containing higher levels of nonvolatile components and has lower toxicity. The content of heavy metals and leaching toxicity maybe have no convincing correlation, and high alkali content of CaO greatly contribute to leaching toxicity of heavy metal and acid neutralization capacity against acid rain.

Soil Properties in Coniferous Forest Stands Along a Fly Ash Deposition Gradient in Eastern Germany

Physical, chemical, and microbial properties of forest soils subjected to long-term fly ash depositions were analyzed in spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) stands of eastern Germany on three forest sites along an emission gradient of 3 (high input), 6, and 15 km (low input) downwind of a coal-fired power plant. Past emissions resulted in an atypical high mass of mineral fly ash constituents in the organic horizons at the high input site of 128 t ha-1 compared to 58 t ha-1 at the low input site. Magnetic susceptibility measurements proved that the high mineral content of the forest floor was a result of fly ash accumulation in these forest stands. Fly ash deposition in the organic horizons at Site I versus III significantly increased the pH values, effective cation exchange capacity, base saturation and, with exception of the L horizon, concentrations of mobile heavy metals Cd, Cr, and Ni, while stocks of organic C generally decreased. A principal component analysis showed that organic C content and base status mainly controlled soil microbial biomass and microbial respiration rates at these sites, while pH and mobile fractions of Cd, Cr, and Ni governed enzyme activities. Additionally, it was hypothesized that long-term fly ash emissions would eventually destabilize forest ecosystems. Therefore, the results of this study could become a useful tool for risk assessment in forest ecosystems that were subjected to past emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Utilization of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash in lightweight aggregates

Washing pre-treatrnent of municipal solid waste incineration （MSWI） fly ash blended with shale and sludge was utilized in the manufacture of light-weight aggregates and processed to form ceramic pellets. A formula uniform design was performed to arrange the mixture ratio of the materials. The optimal mixture ratio of the materials was determined by measuring the bulk density, granule strength, and 1 h water absorption of the pellets. It is shown that the optimal mixture ratios of materials, MSWI fly ash, shale, and sludge, are 23.16%, 62.58%, and 14.25% （mass fraction）, respectively. The performance testing indicators of light-weight aggregates are obtained under the optimum mixture ratio： bulk density of 613 kg/m3, granule strength of 821N, and 1 h water absorption of 11.6%, meeting 700 grade light-aggregate of GB/T 17431.2--1998 standard. The results suggest that utilization of MSWI fly ash in light-weight aggregates is an effective method and a potential means to create much more values.