Evaluation and prediction of emissions from a road built with bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI)

In autumn 2001, a full-scale test road was built with municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash at the Dåvamyran landfill, Umeå, Northern Sweden. Leachates were collected from asphalted sections with either bottom ash or gravel as filling material. In this research, 12 months of ash leachate sampling were evaluated with respect to emissions of contaminants such as trace metals and chlorides (Cl). The usefulness of regression models describing trace metal mobility from bottom ash was also tested as predictive tools for reusability applications of MSWI bottom ash. Cl, Cu, and Cr had the highest mobility (considering leachate concentrations) in the ash leachate, though concentrations of Cl and Cu decreased during the sampling period (Cl from 10,000 to 600 mg l− 1; Cu from 1600 to 500 μg l− 1). An increased mobility of Cr during the autumns (about 3–4 times higher compared to the summer) was noted with a maximum value of nearly 70 μg l− 1 during autum 2001. Pb showed a very low mobility over the entire year with leachate concentrations of around 3–4 μg l− 1. Chemical equilibrium calculations using Minteq indicated that several Cu minerals were oversaturated in the leachate, thus mineral precipitation could be responsible for declining amounts of Cu in the leachate. Adsorption to iron oxides was found to be a probable explanation for the low mobility of Pb. A reasonably good agreement between regression models and field values were achieved for Ni, Pb, Zn, and Cu, while the models for Cd and Cr were less promising. Even though a large part of the variation (R2 = 61–97%) in the leaching experiment could be explained by only pH and L / S, field data were much more scattered than expected from field pH.