Speciation evolutions of target metals （Cd, Pb） influenced by chlorine and sulfur during sewage sludge incineration

In sludge incineration, the thermal behavior of heavy metal is a growing concern. In this work, the combined analysis of metal partitioning behavior between vapor phase and condensed phase, speciation redistribu- tion in condensed phase and the difference of metal species in binding energy was carried out to investigate the possible volatilization-condensation mechanism of heavy metals in high-temperature sludge incineration. It was found that there were two steps in metal volatilization. The initial volatilization of heavy metal originated from their exchangeable （EXC）, carbonate bound （CAR） and iron- manganese bound （FM） fractions, which is primarily composed of simple substance, chlorides, oxides and sulfides. With the increase of chlorine and sulfur in sludge, the inner speciation redistribution of heavy metals occurred in condensed phase, which was an important factor affecting the potential volatility of heavy metals. A partial of metal species with complexed （COM） and residual （RES） fractions gradually decomposed into simple substance or ions, oxides and carbonates, which signifi- cantly strengthened the second volatility. In presence of chlorine, about 46% of Cd with the RES fraction disappeared when the volatility rate of Cd increased by 44.89%. Moreover, about 9% of Pb with COM fraction disappeared when there was an increase of nearly 10% in the volatilization rate. Thus, the second volatilization was mainly controlled by the decomposition of metal species with COM and RES fractions. By virtue of XRD analysis and the binding energy calculation, it was found that metal complex and silicates were inclined to decompose under high temperature due to poor thermo stability as compared with sulfates.

Flow analysis of major and trace elements in residues from large-scale sewage sludge incineration

Increase of sewage sludge(SS)has led to the construction of more incineration plants,exacerbating to the production of SS incineration residues.However,few studies have considered the mass balance of elements in large-scale SS incineration plants,affecting the residues treatment and utilization.In this study,flow analysis was conducted for major and trace elements in the SS,the fly ash(sewage sludge ash,SSA)and bottom ash from two large-scale SS incineration plants.The elemental characteristics were compared with those of coal fly ash(CFA),and air pollution control residues from municipal solid waste incineration(MSWIA),as well as related criteria.The results showed that the most abundant major element in SSA was Si,ranging from 120 to 240 g/kg,followed by Al(76–348 g/kg),Ca(26–113 g/kg),Fe(35–80 g/kg),and P(26–104 g/kg),and the trace elements were mainly Zn,Ba,Cu,and Mn.Not all the major elements were derived from SS.Most trace elements in the SS incineration residues accounted for 82.4%–127%of those from SS,indicating that SS was the main source of trace elements.The partitioning of heavy metals in the SS incineration residues showed that electrostatic precipitator ash or cyclone ash with high production rates were the major pollutant sinks.The differences in some major and trace elements could be indicators to differentiate SSA from CFA and MSWIA.Compared with related land criteria,the pollutants in SSA should not be ignored during disposal and utilization.

An experimental and thermodynamic equilibrium investigation of the Pb,Zn,Cr,Cu,Mn and Ni partitioning during sewage sludge incineration

The effects of different chlorides and operational conditions on the distribution and speciation of six heavy metals（Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, Mn and Ni） during sludge incineration were investigated using a simulated laboratory tubular-furnace reactor. A thermodynamic equilibrium investigation using the Fact Sage software was performed to compare the experimental results. The results indicate that the volatility of the target metals was enhanced as the chlorine concentration increased. Inorganic-Cl influenced the volatilization of heavy metals in the order of Pb 〉 Zn 〉 Cr 〉 Cu 〉 Mn 〉 Ni. However, the effects of organic-Cl on the volatility of Mn, Pb and Cu were greater than the effects on Zn, Cr and Ni.With increasing combustion temperature, the presence of organic-Cl（PVC） and inorganic-Cl（NaCl） improved the transfer of Pb and Zn from bottom ash to fly ash or fuse gas. However,the presence of chloride had no obvious influence on Mn, Cu and Ni. Increased retention time could increase the volatilization rate of heavy metals; however, this effect was insignificant. During the incineration process, Pb readily formed Pb SiO4 and remained in the bottom ash. Different Pb compounds, primarily the volatile PbCl2, were found in the gas phase after the addition of NaCl; the dominant Pb compounds in the gas phase after the addition of PVC were PbCl2, Pb（ClO4）2and Pb Cl2O4.

Characteristics and aluminum reuse of textile sludge incineration residues after acidification

The chemical composition and aluminum speciation of sludge incineration residue （SIR） were determined. Cementation of aluminum from sulfuric acid solution using SIR was studied. The results showed that acid-soluble inorganic aluminum was the predominant component in the sludge, and the total leached aluminum increased from 62.2% to 92.9% after incineration. Sulfuric acid dosage and reaction time were found to affect aluminum recovery positively. Conversely, the increase in temperature significantly inhibited recovery reactions. The optimized leaching condition was 1.66 g sulfuric acid per gram of SIR with a reaction time of 3 hr at 20°C, resulting in the highest aluminum leaching rate of 96.7%. Compared to commercial aluminum sulfate solution coagulants, the leaching solution demonstrated higher CODCr, turbidity and color removal efficiency for textile wastewater.

Engineering and microstructure properties of contaminated marine sediments solidified by high content of incinerated sewage sludge ash

Management of incinerated sewage sludge ash(ISSA)and dredged contaminated marine sediments(CMSs)is a great challenge for Hong Kong and other coastal cities due to limited landfilling capacity.The present study investigates the use of high content(20%of sediment by mass)of ISSA in combination with cement/lime for solidification/stabilization(S/S)treatment of CMSs to provide a way to reuse the wastes as construction materials.The results showed that ISSA being a porous material was able to absorb a large amount of water rendering a more efficient solidification process of the marine sediment which normally had a very high water content(w80%).The S/S treatment improved the engineering properties of the sediment,but reduced the workability,especially for the lime-treated samples.Lime can be used to replace ordinary Portland cement(OPC)for better heavy metal immobilization and carbon emission reduction.The hardened sediment samples prepared with 10%of lime and 20%of ISSA could attain a strength of 1.6 MPa after 28 d of curing.In addition,leaching tests confirmed that there was no environmental risk induced by these stabilized materials.The formation of hydrated cementitious compounds including calcium silicate hydrate(CeSeH)/calcium aluminate silicate hydrate(C-A-S-H)/hydrocalumite/calcite was mainly responsible for the strength development in the ISSA/lime-treated sediments.

Agronomic effectiveness of recovered phosphate fertilizer produced from incinerated sewage sludge ash

Phosphorus(P)recovery from incinerated sewage sludge ash(ISSA)has been extensively investigated,but insufficient research has been conducted to evaluate the effect of different kinds of recovered phosphate fertilizers(RPFs)on plant growth with respect to the P and heavy metal contents of RPFs.In this study,three kinds of RPFs,precipitated calcium phosphate fertilizer(CaP),struvite phosphate fertilizer(SP),and P-loaded biochar(BP),produced from ISSA were characterized,and their agronomic effectiveness was verified by hydroponic and soil cultivation.In addition to the three kinds of RPFs,a control group(mono-phosphate fertilizer in hydroponic group/compound fertilizer in soil cultivation group)and a blank control group(BC,with zero P)were tested on choy sum and ryegrass at the same time.SP has the highest P purity(76.0%of struvite)while the BP has the most complex P species(P was co-exist with Fe,Al,and Mg).Plant growth results showed that the RPFs greatly facilitated plant growth and demonstrated superior/comparable effects to those of control group.In hydroponics testing,SP showed the best effect(shoot length of 17.0 cm,chlorophyll content of 2.05 mg/g)due to the Mg involved and the high P purity of SP,while BP performed the best(shoot length of 13.7 cm,chlorophyll content of 2.42 mg/g)in the soil testing system among all of the groups because of the additional nutritional elements and the high P availability of BP.Additionally,the accumulation of heavy metals in the plants under all conditions did not exceed the limits stipulated in the regulations.These results indicate that recovering P from ISSA is an attractive technology to produce P fertilizers,which can alleviate both the scarcity of phosphate resources and the burden of ISSA management.