Precious metals and rare earth elements in municipal solid waste – Sources and fate in a Swiss incineration plant
- Bachema AG, Schlieren (Switzerland)
- Zentrum für nachhaltige Abfall-und Ressourcennutzung ZAR, Hinwil (Switzerland)
Highlights: ► We carefully addressed all the very valuable comments and suggestions of the reviewers. ► We also have shortened the size of the paper and tried simplify it substantially, as requested by the reviewers (introduction 25% reduced!). ► We have decided to take the chance and have replaced the data for the “additional” elements (Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb, Sn, Cr, Ni, Fe, Al) of the earlier MFA (Morf, 2011) with data that belong to the samples of this study. ► We are convinced that with the revision the paper has significantly improved in quality and attractiveness. - Abstract: In Switzerland many kinds of waste, e.g. paper, metals, electrical and electronic equipment are separately collected and recycled to a large extent. The residual amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) has to be thermally treated before final disposal. Efforts to recover valuable metals from incineration residues have recently increased. However, the resource potential of critical elements in the waste input (sources) and their partitioning into recyclable fractions and residues (fate) is unknown. Therefore, a substance flow analysis (SFA) for 31 elements including precious metals (Au, Ag), platinum metal group elements (Pt, Rh) and rare earth elements (La, Ce, etc.) has been conducted in a solid waste incinerator (SWI) with a state-of-the-art bottom ash treatment according to the Thermo-Re® concept. The SFA allowed the determination of the element partitioning in the SWI, as well as the elemental composition of the MSW by indirect analysis. The results show that the waste-input contains substantial quantities of precious metals, such as 0.4 ± 0.2 mg/kg Au and 5.3 ± 0.7 mg/kg Ag. Many of the valuable substances, such as Au and Ag are enriched in specific outputs (e.g. non-ferrous metal fractions) and are therefore recoverable. As the precious metal content in MSW is expected to rise due to its increasing application in complex consumer products, the results of this study are essential for the improvement of resource recovery in the Thermo-Re® process.
- OSTI ID:
- 22436794
- Journal Information:
- Waste Management, Vol. 33, Issue 3; Conference: 1. international symposium on urban mining (SUM), Bergamo (Italy), 21-23 May 2012; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0956-053X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Thermodynamic estimation of minor element distribution between immiscible liquids in Fe-Cu-based metal phase generated in melting treatment of municipal solid wastes
Controlled combustion tests and bottom ash analysis using household waste with varying composition
Related Subjects
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALUMINIUM
ASHES
CADMIUM
CHROMIUM
COMBUSTION
COPPER
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
GOLD
IRON
LEAD
MATERIALS RECOVERY
NICKEL
PLATINUM
RARE EARTHS
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
RHODIUM
SILVER
SOLID WASTES
TIN
ZINC