Laboratory trials to incorporate sulphur in the vitrification of filter ashes from incineration plants and hydrolytic investigation of the melt products

Abstract

Incineration of refuse in incineration plants produces toxic dusts in the waste gas filters which have to be disposed of Vitrification is one possibility of immobilization of such dusts which are contaminated by heavy metals, sulphates and Chlorides. Under oxidizing melting conditions, alkaline sulphates a n d Chlorides would volatilize and would have to be precipitated again. Therefore, in this work reducing melts were used. Thus, it was possible to reduce the sulphate to sulphide and to incorporate the latter in the glass matrix to an efficiency of up to 100%. This is experimentally proved by melting batch compositions of a filter ash from a refuse incineration plant with glass forming additives as well as model glasses. The reduction of CaSO₄ and formation of sulphides is induced by means of suitable additions of the Clements carbon, iron, zinc, titanium, manganese, Silicon, and aluminium, separately and in combination. The sulphides CaS, FeS, ZnS, MnS and AI₂S₃ are present in the melt product mainly in giassy form and only for a small part in a crystalline phase. The melts with additions of manganese and Silicon show the best properties with respect tc vitrification, incorporation of the sulphur and hydrolytic resistance of the product. By means of leaching tests using the Soxhlet equipment, products of great hydrolitic resistance are proved falling under the hydrolytic class III at least.