Recycling municipal incinerator fly- and scrubber-ash into fused slag for the substantial replacement of cement in cement-mortars

Waste Manag. 2009 Jun;29(6):1952-9. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2009.01.002. Epub 2009 Feb 11.

Abstract

Fly- and scrubber-ash (weight ratio of approximately 1:3) from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) are a major land-fill disposal problem due to their leaching of heavy metals. We uniformly mixed both types of ash with optimal amounts of waste glass frit, which was then melted into a glassy slag. The glassy slag was then pulverized to a particle size smaller than 38microm for use as a cement substitute (20-40% of total cement) and blended with sand and cement to produce slag-blended cement-mortar (SCM) specimens. The toxicity characteristics of the leaching procedure tests on the pulverized slag samples revealed that the amount of leached heavy metals was far below regulatory thresholds. The compressive strength of the 28-day cured SCM specimens was comparable to that of ordinary Portland cement mortars, while the compressive strength of specimens cured for 60 or 90 days were 3-11% greater. The observed enhanced strength is achieved by Pozzolanic reaction. Preliminary evaluation shows that the combination of MSWI fly- and scrubber-ash with waste glass yields a cost effective and environmentally friendly cement replacement in cement-mortars.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carbon*
  • Coal Ash
  • Compressive Strength
  • Conservation of Natural Resources*
  • Construction Materials / analysis*
  • Differential Thermal Analysis
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Industrial Waste*
  • Particulate Matter*
  • Porosity
  • Rheology
  • Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
  • Waste Management*

Substances

  • Coal Ash
  • Industrial Waste
  • Particulate Matter
  • Carbon