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Medical waste incinerator fly ash (MWIFA) is quite different from municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash (MSWIFA) due to its special characteristics of high levels of chlorines, dioxins, carbon constituents, and heavy metals, which may cause irreversible harm to environment and human beings if managed improperly. However, treatment of MWIFA has rarely been specifically mentioned. In this review, various treatment techniques for MSWIFA, and their merits, demerits, applicability, and limitations for MWIFA are reviewed. Natural properties of MWIFA including the high contents of chlorine and carbonaceous matter that might affect the treatment effects of MWIFA are also depicted. Finally, several commendatory and feasible technologies such as roasting, residual carbon melting, the mechanochemical technique, flotation, and microwave treatment are recommended after an overall consideration of the special characteristics of MWIFA, balancing environmental, technological, economical information.

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In-situ ammonium removal from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill is an attractive method due to its economic advantages. In this study, two simulated MSW bioreactors with different degrees of initial bio-stabilization were utilized to investigate the effects of intermittent aeration mode and the addition of activated sludge on the removal of ammonium. The results showed that up to 90% of ammonium could be removed and the amount of NO(x)-N produced was less than 1% of NH4 (+)-N removed in both reactors. The pH values increased rapidly and finally arrived at a high level of 8.5-8.8. The efficiency of ammonium removal was improved by increasing the continuous aeration time, but it was not affected by the addition of activated sludge. A portion of liquid escaped from the reactors in the form of vapour, and as high as 195-258 mg L(-1) of NH(4) ( +)-N was detected in the vapour collector. According to calculation, nitrification was inhibited by the high level of free ammonia in the bioreactors. As a result, air stripping was enhanced and became the primary pathway of ammonium removal. Therefore, controlling free ammonia concentration was essential in ammonium removal from the aerated MSW bioreactor.

Glass-ceramics made from arc-melting slag of waste incineration fly ash LIU Han-qiao(刘汉桥), WEI Guo-xia(魏国侠), LIANG yin(梁茵), DONG Fei-ying(董飞英) Abstract: Grate fly ash and fluidized bed fly ash mixed with glass cullet additive respectively were melted in the electronic arc-furnace. The product, arc-melting slag, was further treated by crushing, pressing and heat treatment in order to make the glass-ceramics. The crystallization behaviors of the produced glass-ceramics were examined by differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results show that main crystalline phase of the glass-ceramics from grate fly ash is wollastonite (CaSiO 3 ) with small amount of diopside (Ca(Mg,Al)(Si,Al) 2 O 6 ), and that from fluidized bed fly ash is diopside (Ca(Mg,Al)(Si,Al) 2 O 6 ). It is found that the glass-ceramics sintered at 850 °C and 1 000 °C from grate fly ash and fluidized bed fly ash respectively have the optimal physical, mechanical and chemical characteristics. Glass-ceramics samples, produced from incinerator fly ash with desirable properties and the low leaching concentration of heavy metals, can be the substitute of nature materials such as marble, granite and porcelain tiles.

Our previous study demonstrated flotation to be effective in removing carbonaceous matter and dioxins from fresh fly ash in medical waste incinerators (MWIs). However, flotation of weathered fly ash seems to be difficult because of the oxidation of the ash surface and the presence of hydrophilic unburned carbon. Three types of surfactants namely nonionic Tween 80, anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cationic CTAB were employed at different doses to improve flotation performance. Results indicated that Tween 80 exhibited superior decarburization performance compared with SDS and CTAB. The effect of surfactants on dioxin removal was found to correspond to the carbon removal from MWI fly ash. The optimal removal yields (90.6% of carbonaceous matter and 88.6% of dioxins) were obtained when 5% (w/w) Tween 80 was added. However, an excessive dose might cause the dissolution of dioxins.

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Flotation has been proven to successfully remove most polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and carbon constituents from hospital solid waste incinerator (HSWI) fly ash. The resultant froths contain large quantities of carbon constituents that can reburn in the incinerator. In this paper, the reburning behavior of froths at temperatures from 800°C to 1200°C was compared with that of HSWI fly ash. Results showed that the destruction efficiency of PCDD/Fs was higher in the froths than in the fly ash at the same reburning temperature. The destruction efficiencies of PCDD/Fs in the froths exceeded 98% at temperatures higher than 1000°C. The volatilization ratio of Pb, Zn, and Cu was lower in the froths than in the fly ash. Furthermore, reburning of the froths can achieve energy recovery of the carbon constituents. Therefore, flotation followed by reburning treatment in a combustion chamber could be a suitable process for the detoxification and reutilization of HSWI fly ash.