Franz-Georg Simon

Thermochemical treatment of sewage sludge ashes for phosphorus recovery

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for all living organisms and cannot be replaced. Municipal sewage sludge is a carrier of phosphorus, but also contains organic pollutants and heavy metals. A two-step thermal treatment is suggested, including mono-incineration of sewage sludge and subsequent thermochemical treatment of the ashes. Organic pollutants are completely destroyed by mono-incineration. The resulting sewage sludge ashes contain P, but also heavy metals. P in the ashes exhibits low bioavailability, a disadvantage in farming. Therefore, in a second thermochemical step, P is transferred into mineral phases available for plants, and heavy metals are removed as well. The thermochemical treatment was investigated in a laboratory-scale rotary furnace by treating seven different sewage sludge ashes under systematic variation of operational parameters. Heavy metal removal and the increase of the P-bioavailability were the focus of the investigation. The present experimental study shows that these objectives have been achieved with the proposed process. The P-bioavailability was significantly increased due to the formation of new mineral phases such as chlorapatite, farringtonite and stanfieldite during thermochemical treatment.

Effect of contact time on the release of contaminants from granular waste materials during column leaching experiments.

When reusing or disposing of contaminated granular waste materials there is a need to evaluate how the contaminants will interact on the pathway soil-groundwater and the effect this interaction will have on the surrounding environment. While column testing can provide a closer approximation to field percolation conditions than batch testing, there is still a need to develop column testing procedures that consider the requirements of practical testing time frames. This study evaluates the effect of different column contact times (2.5, 5, and 16h) on the release of inorganic constituents from bottom ash and demolition waste, two commonly reused granular materials. Leaching data for representative constituents of concern, such as copper, chromium, sulfate and chloride, as well as pH and electrical conductivity was compared for all different contact times studied. Results for the materials investigated in this study showed that variations in contact time have no significant effect on the release of the selected constituents and leaching parameters at low liquid to solid ratios. However, after a liquid to solid ratio of 1L/kg, the effect is more noticeable, and higher contact times show lower pH values as well as a reduction in the release of constituents of concern from bottom ash. In the case of demolition waste, the variation of contact time did not have a strong effect on the leaching behavior.

Leaching experiments on the release of heavy metals and PAH from soil and waste materials

Leaching tests are fundamental tools for the assessment of long-term impact of contaminated waste materials on the soil-groundwater pathway. Experiments were carried out in the framework of standardization and validation of column percolation and batch test procedures, in particular concerning the stipulation of the experimental setup. The colloid release of column and batch experiments was compared and the influence of different column filling heights (12.5-50 cm) on the release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from soil was studied, as well as the effect of varying contact times (2.5-16 h) on the release of chromium from construction and demolition (C&D) waste and municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash. The results indicate that filtration of the eluate, which is required for batch tests, does not always allow the simulation of the actual colloid amount in soil pore water. Medium column heights four times the inner diameter of the column seemed to provide reasonable equilibrium adjustment conditions and avoid major biodegradation. The release of chromium was only marginally affected by the contact time, varied between 0.115 and 0.150 mg/kg for demolition waste eluate at a liquid-to-solid ratio of approximately 5L/kg.

Behaviour of uranium in iron-bearing permeable reactive barriers: investigation with 237U as a radioindicator.

This study was undertaken to investigate the long-term performance of elemental iron as reactive material for the removal of uranium in passive groundwater remediation systems. By using 237U as a radioindicator it was possible to track the movement of the contamination front through a test column without taking samples or dismantling the apparatus. The stoichiometric ratio between uranium and iron was found to be 1:(1390+/-62). The reaction between iron and uranium is of pseudo first-order kinetics and the rate constant was measured to be (1.1+/-0.09) x 10(-3) s(-1). These data enable the calculation of ideal lifetime for permeable reactive barriers (PRB) using iron for uranium removal neglecting hydrological factors that may impair the function of PRBs.

Innovative treatment trains of bottom ash (BA) from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) in Germany

The industrial sector of bottom ash (BA) treatment from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) in Germany is currently changing. In order to increase the recovery rates of metals or to achieve a higher quality of mineral aggregates derived from BA, new procedures have been either implemented to existing plants or completely new treatment plants have been built recently. Three treatment trains, which are designated as entire sequences of selected processing techniques of BA, are introduced and compared. One treatment train is mainly characterized by usage of a high speed rotation accelerator whereas another is operating completely without crushing. In the third treatment train the BA is processed wet directly after incineration. The consequences for recovered metal fractions and the constitution of remaining mineral aggregates are discussed in the context of legislative and economical frameworks. Today the recycling or disposal options of mineral residues still have a high influence on the configuration and the operation mode of the treatment trains of BA despite of the high value of recovered metals.

Resource recovery from urban stock, the example of cadmium and tellurium from thin film module recycling

Raw material supply is essential for all industrial activities. The use of secondary raw material gains more importance since ore grade in primary production is decreasing. Meanwhile urban stock contains considerable amounts of various elements. Photovoltaic (PV) generating systems are part of the urban stock and recycling technologies for PV thin film modules with CdTe as semiconductor are needed because cadmium could cause hazardous environmental impact and tellurium is a scarce element where future supply might be constrained. The paper describes a sequence of mechanical processing techniques for end-of-life PV thin film modules consisting of sandblasting and flotation. Separation of the semiconductor material from the glass surface was possible, however, enrichment and yield of valuables in the flotation step were non-satisfying. Nevertheless, recovery of valuable metals from urban stock is a viable method for the extension of the availability of limited natural resources.

The Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through the Source-Separated Collection of Household Waste in Germany

The production of secondary materials from waste materials requires, in most cases, significantly lower energy amounts than the primary material production of raw materials. Along with lower energy demand, the greenhouse gas emissions produced are also lower. The duty of a modern waste management system should therefore be to collect and sort the waste materials in a way that the highest amounts of single material fractions with the highest qualities can be generated. In this contribution, the greenhouse gas balances of the theoretical treatment of the household waste, if collected as mixed waste in sanitary landfills, in waste incineration plants, or in mechanical-biological treatment plants, are compared to the existing separate waste collection and treatment in Germany in 2014. The results show that the treatment of the mixed collected household waste in sanitary landfills would lead to a significant release of greenhouse gases. The treatment in MBTs with the recovery of valuables and the further disposal of the biologically stabilized fraction on landfills, as well as the treatment of the high calorific fraction (also called refuse derived fuel – RDF) in RDF plants, coal-fired power plants, or cement kilns, would lead to small amounts of avoided greenhouse gas emissions. The thermal treatment in waste incineration plants would lead to moderate amounts of avoided greenhouse gases. Only with the actually practiced separate collection and treatment of household waste were significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions avoided. In total, this is approximately 5.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents for approximately 45.5 million tons of separate collected and treated household waste in Germany in 2014.

Methods for the Evaluation of Waste Treatment Processes

Decision makers for waste management are confronted with the problem of selecting the most economic, environmental, and socially acceptable waste treatment process. This paper elucidates evaluation methods for waste treatment processes for the comparison of ecological and economic aspects such as material flow analysis, statistical entropy analysis, energetic and exergetic assessment, cumulative energy demand, and life cycle assessment. The work is based on the VDI guideline 3925. A comparison of two thermal waste treatment plants with different process designs and energy recovery systems was performed with the described evaluation methods. The results are mainly influenced by the type of energy recovery, where the waste-to-energy plant providing district heat and process steam emerged to be beneficial in most aspects. Material recovery options from waste incineration were evaluated according to sustainability targets, such as saving of resources and environmental protection.

Long-term performance of reactive materials in PRBs for uranium remediation

Elemental iron (Fe0) and hydroxyapatite (HAP) were evaluated as reactive materials in PRBs for uranium remediation. Laboratory experiments were carried out and a pilot-scale reactive barrier with Fe0 was installed in Pecs (Southern Hungary). Results of 2.5 years of operation are reported. The PRB has a considerable influence on groundwater composition: uranium concentrations decrease from 900 µg/l to <10 µg/l, TDS drop from 1,000 mg/l to 500 mg/l.

The effect of polymer aging on the uptake of fuel aromatics and ethers by microplastics

Microplastics are increasingly entering marine, limnic and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, where they sorb hydrophobic organic contaminants. Here, the sorption behavior of the fuel-related water contaminants benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) and four tertiary butyl ethers to virgin and via UV radiation aged polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) pellets was investigated. Changes in material properties due to aging were recorded using appropriate polymer characterization methods, such as differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and microscopy. Pellets were exposed to water containing BTEX and the ethers at 130-190 μg L-1 for up to two weeks. Aqueous sorbate concentrations were determined by headspace gas chromatography. Sorption to the polymers was correlated with the sorbates Kow and was significant for BTEX and marginal for the ethers. Due to substantially lower glass transition temperatures, PP showed higher sorption than PS. Aging had no effect on the sorption behavior of PP. PS sorbed less BTEX after aging due to an oxidized surface layer.