Materials (Apr 2024)

Study of a Fire-Resistant Plate Containing Fly Ashes Generated from Municipal Waste Incinerator: Fire and Mechanical Characteristics and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment

  • Begoña Peceño,
  • Yolanda Luna-Galiano,
  • Fabiola Varela,
  • Bernabé Alonso-Fariñas,
  • Carlos Leiva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17081813
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 8
p. 1813

Abstract

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The recycling of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration is currently a global issue. This work intends to examine the viability of a novel recycling alternative for fly ashes as a component of fire-resistant plates. To lessen the quantity of heavy metal leaching, the fly ash was utilized after being washed using a water/fly ash ratio of 2 for one hour. Subsequently, an inexpensive, straightforward molding and curing process was used to create a plate, with a composition of 60%wt of MSWI-FA, 30%wt of gypsum, 0.5%wt of glass fiber and 9.5%wt of vermiculite. The plate exhibited high fire resistance. Furthermore, it demonstrated compression, flexural strength and surface hardness slightly lower than the requirements of European Standards. This allows for manufacturing plates with a high washed MSWI-FA content as fire protection in firewalls and doors for homes and commercial buildings. A Life Cycle Assessment was carried out. The case study shows that a 60% substitution of gypsum resulted in an environmental impact reduction of 8–48% for all impact categories examined, except four categories impacts (marine eutrophication, human toxicity (cancer), human non-carcinogenic toxicity and water depletion, where it increased between 2 and 718 times), due to the previous washing of MSWI-FA. When these fly ashes are used as a raw material in fire-resistant materials, they may be recycled and offer environmental advantages over more conventional materials like gypsum.

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