Akiko Kida

A preliminary categorization of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment as secondary metal resources

End-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has recently received attention as a secondary source of metals. This study examined characteristics of end-of-life EEE as secondary metal resources to consider efficient collection and metal recovery systems according to the specific metals and types of EEE. We constructed an analogy between natural resource development and metal recovery from end-of-life EEE and found that metal content and total annual amount of metal contained in each type of end-of-life EEE should be considered in secondary resource development, as well as the collectability of the end-of-life products. We then categorized 21 EEE types into five groups and discussed their potential as secondary metal resources. Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and CRT TVs were evaluated as the most important sources of common metals, and personal computers, mobile phones, and video games were evaluated as the most important sources of precious metals. Several types of small digital equipment were also identified as important sources of precious metals; however, mid-size information and communication technology (ICT) equipment (e.g., printers and fax machines) and audio/video equipment were shown to be more important as a source of a variety of less common metals. The physical collectability of each type of EEE was roughly characterized by unit size and number of end-of-life products generated annually. Current collection systems in Japan were examined and potentially appropriate collection methods were suggested for equipment types that currently have no specific collection systems in Japan, particularly for video games, notebook computers, and mid-size ICT and audio/video equipment.

Chemical speciation and leaching properties of elements in municipal incinerator ashes

Different chemical properties of bottom ash and fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators were compared based on the results of the five measuring techniques: (1) total contents and leaching amounts by regulatory leaching test in Japan; (2) leaching properties by pH-dependent leaching test; (3) modeling of pH-dependent leaching test using model compounds; (4) enriched chemical composition compared with bulk composition by an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS); (5) estimation of chemical states of elements by XPS analysis. The difference between bottom ash and EP ash was clearly found in element content, leaching behavior and release rate. The release rates of many elements in bottom ash were lower than in electrostatic precipitation (EP) ash even in an acidic condition of pH 3 as well as at the inherent pH of 12. Corresponding to the relatively complicated components in bottom ash, leaching patterns depending on pH were not simple. Comparison between the pH-dependent pattern of Ca in a sample and in model compounds resulted in the estimation of some Ca compounds in ash. The surface analysis by XPS showed results that Na, Cl, Zn, Pb and S were enriched in EP ash and Fe and Ti were rarely found in the surface of ash. Possible chemical states of Na, Ca, K, Cl and S were estimated by a new method of comparing binding energies of standard compounds and their mixtures.

Statistical estimate of mercury removal efficiencies for air pollution control devices of municipal solid waste incinerators

Although representative removal efficiencies of gaseous mercury for air pollution control devices (APCDs) are important to prepare more reliable atmospheric emission inventories of mercury, they have been still uncertain because they depend sensitively on many factors like the type of APCDs, gas temperature, and mercury speciation. In this study, representative removal efficiencies of gaseous mercury for several types of APCDs of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) were offered using a statistical method. 534 data of mercury removal efficiencies for APCDs used in MSWI were collected. APCDs were categorized as fixed-bed absorber (FA), wet scrubber (WS), electrostatic precipitator (ESP), and fabric filter (FF), and their hybrid systems. Data series of all APCD types had Gaussian log-normality. The average removal efficiency with a 95% confidence interval for each APCD was estimated. The FA, WS, and FF with carbon and/or dry sorbent injection systems had 75% to 82% average removal efficiencies. On the other hand, the ESP with/without dry sorbent injection had lower removal efficiencies of up to 22%. The type of dry sorbent injection in the FF system, dry or semi-dry, did not make more than 1% difference to the removal efficiency. The injection of activated carbon and carbon-containing fly ash in the FF system made less than 3% difference. Estimation errors of removal efficiency were especially high for the ESP. The national average of removal efficiency of APCDs in Japanese MSWI plants was estimated on the basis of incineration capacity. Owing to the replacement of old APCDs for dioxin control, the national average removal efficiency increased from 34.5% in 1991 to 92.5% in 2003. This resulted in an additional reduction of about 0.86Mg emission in 2003. Further study using the methodology in this study to other important emission sources like coal-fired power plants will contribute to better emission inventories.

High-resolution inventory of Japanese anthropogenic mercury emissions.

Heavy metals like mercury that are emitted into the environment remain there indefinitely, posing a long-term threat to both the environment and human health. Elemental mercury is volatile and is in gaseous form, and because of the long residence time, transported over long distances. Comprehensive control of mercury emissions therefore remains an important international issue. The crucial steps for designing effective approaches for such control include the quantification of mercury emissions by sources and the identification of geographical characteristics of the emissions. In this study a detailed, high-resolution inventory of Japanese mercury emissions in 2005 was developed to improve understanding of their geographical distribution. Proceeding from a national emissions inventory per source category, emissions were spatially allocated with increasing geographical resolution in a stepwise procedure using statistics from geographic information resources, yielding mercury emissions per prefecture, per municipality and per grid cell of approximately 1 × 1 km. The five prefectures with the highest emissions were Fukuoka, Yamaguchi, Hyogo, Oita, and Hokkaido, accounting for 35.2% of all emissions. In each prefecture a small number of municipalities account for a major share of emissions. Distribution by grid cell is characterized by a concentration of 50% of all emissions in a mere 32 of the 255 954 grid cells over which emissions are distributed in this study. It was also quantitatively confirmed that use of larger grid cells leads to greater uncertainty in emissions distribution. Problems with data collection are clarified and measures to improve the accuracy of future estimation are proposed.

Development of a testing method for asbestos fibers in treated materials of asbestos containing wastes by transmission electron microscopy.

Appropriate treatment of asbestos-containing wastes is a significant problem. In Japan, the inertization of asbestos-containing wastes based on new treatment processes approved by the Minister of the Environment is promoted. A highly sensitive method for testing asbestos fibers in inertized materials is required so that these processes can be approved. We developed a method in which fibers from milled treated materials are extracted in water by shaking, and are counted and identified by transmission electron microscopy. Evaluation of this method by using asbestos standards and simulated slag samples confirmed that the quantitation limits are a few million fibers per gram and a few μg/g in a sample of 50mg per filter. We used this method to assay asbestos fibers in slag samples produced by high-temperature melting of asbestos-containing wastes. Fiber concentrations were below the quantitation limit in all samples, and total fiber concentrations were determined as 47-170×10(-6) f/g. Because the evaluation of treated materials by TEM is difficult owing to the limited amount of sample observable, this testing method should be used in conjunction with bulk analytical methods for sure evaluation of treated materials.

Atmospheric mercury emissions from waste combustions measured by continuous monitoring devices

Atmospheric mercury emissions have attracted great attention owing to adverse impact of mercury on human health and the ecosystem. Although waste combustion is one of major anthropogenic sources, estimated emission might have large uncertainty due to great heterogeneity of wastes. This study investigated atmospheric emissions of speciated mercury from the combustions of municipal solid wastes (MSW), sewage treatment sludge (STS), STS with waste plastics, industrial waste mixtures (IWM), waste plastics from construction demolition, and woody wastes using continuous monitoring devices. Reactive gaseous mercury was the major form at the inlet side of air pollution control devices in all combustion cases. Its concentration was 2.0–70.6 times larger than elemental mercury concentration. In particular, MSW, STS, and IWM combustions emitted higher concentration of reactive gaseous mercury. Concentrations of both gaseous mercury species varied greatly for all waste combustions excluding woody waste. Variation coefficients of measured data were nearly equal to or more than 1.0. Emission factors of gaseous elemental mercury, reactive gaseous mercury, and total mercury were calculated using continuous monitoring data. Total mercury emission factors are 0.30 g-Hg/Mg for MSW combustion, 0.21 g-Hg/Mg for STS combustion, 0.077 g-Hg/Mg for STS with waste plastics, 0.724 g-Hg/Mg for industrial waste mixtures, 0.028 g-Hg/Mg for waste plastic combustion, and 0.0026 g-Hg/Mg for woody waste combustion. All emission factors evaluated in this study were comparable or lower than other reported data. Emission inventory using old emission factors likely causes an overestimation. Implications Although waste combustion is one of major anthropogenic sources of atmospheric mercury emission, estimated emission might have large uncertainty due to great heterogeneity of wastes. This study investigated speciated mercury emissions from the combustions of municipal solid wastes, sewage treatment sludge with/without waste plastics, industrial waste mixtures, waste plastics from construction demolition, and woody wastes using continuous monitoring devices. Reactive gaseous mercury was the major form in all combustion cases and its concentration in the gas had large fluctuation. All emission factors evaluated in this study were comparable or lower than other reported data. Emission inventory using old emission factors likely causes an overestimation.

Size-dependent enrichment of waste slag aggregate fragments abraded from asphalt concrete.

Authors consider the environmental prospects of using melted waste slag as the aggregate for asphalt pavement. In particular, the enrichment of slag-derived fragments in fine abrasion dust particles originated from slag asphalt concrete and its size dependency were concerned. A series of surface abrasion tests for asphalt concrete specimens, containing only natural aggregates as reference or 30 wt% of substituted slag aggregates, were performed. Although two of three slag-asphalt concretes generated 1.5-3.0 times larger amount of abrasion dust than the reference asphalt concrete did, it could not be explained only by abrasion resistance of slag. The enrichment of slag-derived fragments in abrasion dust, estimated on the basis of the peak intensity of quartz and heavy metal concentrations, had size dependency for all slag-asphalt concretes. Slag-derived fragments were enriched in abrasion dust particles with diameters of 150-1000 μm. Enrichment factors were 1.4-2.1. In contrast, there was no enrichment in abrasion dust particles with diameter less than 75 μm. This suggests that prior airborne-size fragmentation of substituted slag aggregates does not need to be considered for tested slag aggregates when environmental risks of abrasion dust of slag-asphalt pavement are assessed.

Effect of exposure test conditions on leaching behavior of inorganic contaminants from recycled materials for roadbeds

Throughout the utilization of recycled materials, weathering factors such as humidity, gas composition and temperature have the potential to change the material properties and enhance the release of inorganic contaminants. In this research, the effects of weathering factors on recycled gravel materials for roadbeds were evaluated by applying three kinds of accelerating exposure tests: freezing-melting cycle test, carbonation test, and dry-humid cycle test. The effects of exposure tests were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and serial batch leaching test, making it possible to identify the change in release mechanisms. Sixteen elements, mainly metals, were investigated. Tested samples were molten slag from municipal solid waste, molten slag from automobile shredded residue, and crushed natural stone. After the exposure tests, the increase of cumulative release in the leaching test was generally less than 2.0 times that of the samples without the exposure test. Among the three test conditions, freezing-melting showed a slightly higher effect of enhancing the release of constituents. XRD analysis showed no change in chemical species. From these results, it was determined that the stony samples were stable enough so that their properties were not significantly changed by the exposure tests.

High Temperature Melting for Detoxification of Asbestos Wastes and Some Analytical Challenges

本研究はアスベスト廃棄物の分解条件・除去条件の探索と分解実証に焦点を絞った緊急研究であり, 実用規模施設を用いた高温溶融分解技術の実証的検討, 産業廃棄物破砕過程でのアスベストの挙動とその制御の実証的検討, 廃棄物処理過程におけるアスベスト分析方法の開発を目的とした。高温溶融処理によって得られたこれまでの溶融スラグにはアスベストが残存していないこと, またこれら施設の排ガス中のアスベスト濃度は十分に低い値であることを確認した。また, 破砕施設におけるアスベストの挙動として, 破砕設備周辺空気で管理濃度を上回るケースがあったものの, バグフィルタ等適切な除去対策がなされている施設では, 排ガス中のアスベスト濃度は十分低い値まで低減できることを確認した。

High Salinity of Landfilled Wastes and Technical Countermeasures-Activity of Research and Development Comity(Landfill Group). Leaching Behavior of Major Components in Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Ash.

焼却残渣中のナトリウム, カリウム, カルシウム, 塩素, 硫酸基について, 焼却施設内, 施設問の濃度のばらつきや平均的含有量, そしてバッチ溶出試験, カラム溶出試験, pH依存性試験により各条件下の溶出量を求めた。硫酸カルシウムと水酸化カルシウムを多く含む焼却飛灰は, これらの溶解度の制限を受け, 液固比10の告示法溶出試験によって溶出可能量を求めることができない場合があり, 高い液固比によるバッチ試験の必要性を示した。カラム試験の結果, 溶出は3段階にわかれる。ナトリウム, カリウム, 塩素濃度がカルシウムや硫酸基濃度より高い初期溶出, カルシウムと硫酸濃度が優勢になる中期, カルシウム濃度が主成分となる後期である。液固比1に相当する埋立地を想定し, 易溶性元素の溶出量を推定した。埋立地の濃度と比較すると, カルシウム濃度や硫酸濃度は低いが塩濃度として一致する埋立地もあった。