Bottom Ashes From Waste Incineration Characterization: Concentration of Heavy Metals and Environmental Hazard

Abstract

The Italian law about waste, has recently introduced (L. 28/2012) a new way to classify the waste, taking into account its Ecotoxicity (assignment of hazardous characteristic H14 according to ADR criteria). Pending EU guidelines, different procedures have been followed leading to distinct results in the hazardous characterization. The problem is particularly complex in the cases of bottom ashes because of the content of heavy metals potentially hazardous for environment. Due to the nature of bottom ash, it is very difficult to define the exact chemical species of an heavy metal. In order to classify the waste, this aspect is very important since different chemical species of the same metal present different concentration limits to assess the environmental hazard using additive methods. In this study, a comparison between available classification methods is performed, showing their applicability to bottom ashes. It is also shown how the results may change using CLP and ADR criteria.

Keywords

• Heavy metals
• bottom ashes
• waste classification
• environmental hazard
• H14