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Sustainability
Volume 17
Issue 3
10.3390/su17031078
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Enhancing Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste Bottom Ash by the Stabilization of Heavy Metals

by
Filip Kokalj
1,
Vesna Alivojvodić
2,
Luka Lešnik
1,*,
Nela Petronijević
3,
Dragana Radovanović
4 and
Niko Samec
1
1
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
2
The Academy of Applied Studies Polytechnic, Katarine Ambrozić 3, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
3
Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Bulevar Franš d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
4
Innovation Center of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, 11120 Belgrade, Serbia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2025, 17(3), 1078; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031078
Submission received: 29 November 2024 / Revised: 17 January 2025 / Accepted: 26 January 2025 / Published: 28 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Waste and Recycling)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Waste-to-energy (WtE) is a key part of modern waste management. In the European Union, approximately 500 WtE plants process more than 100 million tons of waste yearly, while globally, more than 2700 plants handle over 500 million tons. Roughly 20% of the waste processed is bottom ash (BA). However, this ash can contain heavy metals in concentrations that may render it hazardous. This paper presents a study focusing on stabilizing municipal solid waste incineration BA using simple and industrially viable treatments. The Slovenian WtE plant operator wishes to install the stabilization process; thus, the samples obtained from the plant were treated (1) with a CO2 gas flow, (2) with water spraying, and (3) with a combination of water spraying and a CO2 gas flow under laboratory conditions. Thermodynamic calculations were applied to define potential reactions during the treatment processes in the temperature range from 0 to 100 °C and to define the equilibrium composition of the treated ash with additions of CO2 and water. The standard leaching test EN 12457-4 of treated ash shows a reduction of over 40% in barium concentration and over 30% in lead concentration in leachates.
Keywords: heavy metals; waste-to-energy; bottom ash; leachate; reuse heavy metals; waste-to-energy; bottom ash; leachate; reuse

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kokalj, F.; Alivojvodić, V.; Lešnik, L.; Petronijević, N.; Radovanović, D.; Samec, N. Enhancing Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste Bottom Ash by the Stabilization of Heavy Metals. Sustainability 2025, 17, 1078. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031078

AMA Style

Kokalj F, Alivojvodić V, Lešnik L, Petronijević N, Radovanović D, Samec N. Enhancing Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste Bottom Ash by the Stabilization of Heavy Metals. Sustainability. 2025; 17(3):1078. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031078

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kokalj, Filip, Vesna Alivojvodić, Luka Lešnik, Nela Petronijević, Dragana Radovanović, and Niko Samec. 2025. "Enhancing Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste Bottom Ash by the Stabilization of Heavy Metals" Sustainability 17, no. 3: 1078. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031078

APA Style

Kokalj, F., Alivojvodić, V., Lešnik, L., Petronijević, N., Radovanović, D., & Samec, N. (2025). Enhancing Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste Bottom Ash by the Stabilization of Heavy Metals. Sustainability, 17(3), 1078. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031078

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