Treatment and Utilization of Combustion and Incineration Residues - Chapter 28: Environmental impacts of combustion/incineration residue-derived products

Closing the material loops from municipal solid waste incineration and coal combustion is crucial to save natural resources and achieve circular economy, and the key is to achieve the sustainable utilization of combustion/incineration residues including municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWI FA), MSWI bottom ash (BA), and coal fly ash (CFA). This chapter reviews the basic properties of MSWI FA, MSWI BA, and CFA in detail and then provides an overview concerning the utilization of these residues in construction and building materials, ceramic industry, and geotechnical and agricultural applications. The primary environmental impact of residue-derived products is the release of constituents of potential concern (COPCs) including heavy metals and organic contaminants (mainly polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, PCDD/Fs). The methods of assessing the release of COPCs from the United States, Europe, and China are carefully introduced, and these methods can be divided into two groups: (1) group I methods with specific extract solutions to evaluate if the solid materials can meet specific disposal or reuse standards; and (2) group II methods to simulate different leaching scenarios and conditions to assess the equilibrium leaching concentrations or dynamic release rates of constituents from solid materials. Finally, the regulatory guidelines and future outlook regarding the utilization of residues are briefly overviewed and discussed.