Melting and utilization

Summary of research on waste minimization studies by Japan waste research foundation (JWRF)

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, CaSi₂O₅, Pb₅SiO₇, Ca₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂ and SiO_2.