Physiochemical characterization and systematic investigation of metals extraction from fly and bottom ashes produced from municipal solid waste

Incineration has emerged as one of the acceptable ways to treat municipal solid waste (MSW) due to its potential in reducing the mass and volume of the waste. However, it produces two major by-product residues, namely MSW-bottom ash (MSW-BA) and MSW-fly ash (MSW-FA). These residues have gained great attention to their hazardous nature and potential to be reused and recycled. In this paper, the physicochemical characterizations of the MSW-BA and the MSW-FA were performed, followed by a systematic investigation of metals extraction from MSW-BA and MSW-FA. Various extracting agents were used to investigate the possibility to extract 21 metals including cadmium (Cd), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb). It was revealed that some metals were present in a high amount in the MSW-BA while other metals were higher in the MSW-FA. Moreover, the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results revealed that the MSW-BA was dominated by oxygen (O) 55.4 ±0.6 wt%, silicon (Si) 22.5 ±0.3 wt%, and calcium (Ca) 18.5 ±0.2 wt%. On the other hand, the MSW-FA was enriched with Ca 45.2 ±0.5 wt%, and O 40.3 ±0.4 wt%. From the scanning electron microscopy, the MSW-BA was observed as flaky with an irregular surface that consisted of large pores, while, the MSW-FA was present as agglomerated particles and had a bimodal distribution. Moreover, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that Al-Fe-OH, Al-Al-OH, Si-O, C-O, and C-H were some of the major functional groups present in the ashes. The F-tests concluded that the metal extraction from the MSW-BA and MSW-FA were significantly affected by the acid type. it is concluded that nitric acid and phosphoric acid were the best-suited acid for the MSW-BA while sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid for the MSW-FA. More than 11 wt% of Cd and 9 wt% of Cu were extracted from MSW-BA while 6 wt% of Pb and 4.5 wt% of V were extracted from the MSW-FA. The present methodology is an interesting development in metal extraction from the MSW-BA and the MSW-FA, which can develop in a cost-effective and sustainable option to utilize MSW.