Fly Ash Characteristics From Waste-to-Energy Facilities and Processes For Ash Stabilization

Despite increased efforts to prevent, reduce, reuse and recycle, the appropriate management of municipal solid waste (MSW) remains a major environmental issue. Currently, Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facilities produce clean renewable energy through the combustion of municipal solid waste in specially designed power plants equipped with the most state-of-the-art pollution control equipment. Nevertheless, the management of solid combustion residues and especially of fly ash by-products remains a primary issue. The objectives of this work were the implementation of an inventory study regarding processes used for the management of WTE solid by-products, with emphasis on methods applied for the utilization of fly-ash residues and an assessment of existing practices for the stabilization of combustion residues. The work includes a survey of ash qualitative characteristics and their potential relation to the specific conditions (feed, type of furnace etc). Furthermore, existing methods are evaluated for the production of cleaner and stabilized materials that can be directly re-used, thus reducing the requirements for the construction of landfills for hazardous residues.