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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2004; v. 236; p. 411-422;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2004.236.01.23
© 2004 Geological Society of London

The Waste-to-Energy Cycle

Chemistry and mineralogy of municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash

Urs Eggenberger1, Kaarina Schenk2 & Urs Mäder1

1 Institut for Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland eggenberger{at}geo.unibe.ch
2 Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape, Division Waste, Bern, Switzerland

A petrographic study was conducted on a suite of bottom ash samples from 28 municipal solid waste incinerators in Switzerland. Chemical and mineralogical analyses of bottom ash from waste combustors with comparable technology show similar major oxide composition. A significant decrease of SiO2 was observed in comparison to the chemical composition of bottom ash from 10 years ago. In contrast to major oxide contents, heavy metal concentrations vary significantly in the bottom ash samples, but without any correlation to the type of input waste or plant operating conditions. Similar types and contents of crystalline phases were observed in all samples. The content of newly formed melilite increases with decreasing bulk Si/Ca ratio, indicating that the type of Ca-Mg-Al-silicates crystallizing during incineration and cooling follow petrogenetic rules. A considerable recycling potential for ferrous and non-ferrous metals was identified in the bottom ash. Optimized mechanical metal separation technologies could reduce the waste volume, heavy metal content, H2 production, and exothermic reactions of the bottom ash in landfills and might be economically viable.