Abstract
This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation on the treatment of medical waste fly ash (MWFA) from heavy metals and the possibility of recycling it in mortar mixtures. Samples of MWFA were collected and treated to remove heavy metals. Mixtures of mortar were prepared using MWFA as a partial replacement for cement with different percentages ranging from 0 to 20% of the cement weight. Silica nanoparticles were added to the mortar mix to promote early strength development. Different characteristics of the MWFA-mortar were evaluated including microstructure, properties and compositions, workability, compressive and flexural strengths, and finally its ability to stabilize the heavy metal. The results showed that the ashes of MWFA have significant concentrations of heavy metals. Chemical pre-treatment using ethylene diaminetetra acetic acid disodium (EDTA) as a chelating agent was able to reduce the concentration of heavy metals to be below the allowable limits. The fresh and hardened properties of MWFA-mortar results showed that the workability of MWFA-mortar was not significantly affected by MWFA additions, and the compressive strength and the flexural strength values were acceptable up to 20% replacement. The leaching test results proved that the leachability of the heavy metals was reduced below the limits set by EPA.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Rutala WA, Mayhall CG (2016) Medical waste. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 13:38–48
Al-Akhras NM, Al-Ghazawi ZD, Al-Harafshah ZD (2011) Stabilisation of medical waste ash in mortar mixtures. Proc Inst Civil Eng Waste Resour Manag 164:117–124
Oweis R, Al-Widyan M, Al-Limoon O (2005) Medical waste management in Jordan: a study at the King Hussein Medical Center. Waste Manag 25:622–625
Xie Y, Zhu J (2012) The detoxification of medical waste incineration fly ash using self-propagating reaction. Proc Environ Sci 16:222–228
GIZ Country Report on the solid waste management in Jordan, SWEEP-NET and GiZ, April 2014. Horizon 2020 Mediterranean Report, Joint UNEP-European Environment Agency Report, 2014
Lombardi F, Mangialardi T, Piga L, Sirini P (1998) Mechanical and leaching properties of cement solidified hospital solid waste incinerator fly ash. Waste Manag 18:99–106
USEPA Test Method 1311: Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure. In: Test methods for evaluating solid waste. Laboratory manual: Physical/chemical methods. SW-846. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, 1996
Akyıldız A, Köse ET, Yıldız A (2017) Compressive strength and heavy metal leaching of concrete containing medical waste incineration ash. Constr Build Mater 138:326–332
Filipponi P, Polettini A, Pomi R, Sirini P (2003) Physical and mechanical properties of cement-based products containing incineration bottom ash. Waste Manag 23:145–156
Owens PL (1979) Fly ash and its usage in concrete. Concrete 13:21–26
Antoni A, Klarens K, Indranata M, Al-Jamali L, Hardjito D (2017) The use of bottom ash for replacing fine aggregate in concrete paving blocks 138:01005
Al-Fares RA (2013) Medical waste fly ash recycling for possible use in geo-environmental applications. J Eng Res 1:39–52
Youcai Z, Lijie S, Guojian L (2002) Chemical stabilization of MSW incinerator fly ashes. J Hazard Mater 95:47–63
Pozzolana FM (2003) Pozzolanic cements. Cement Concr Compos 15:471–635
Chindaprasirt P, Jaturapitakkul C, Chalee W, Rattanasak U (2009) Comparative study on the characteristics of fly ash and bottom ash geopolymers. Waste Manag 29:539–543
Hemalatha T, Gunavadhi M, Bhuvaneshwari B, Sasmal S, Iyer NR (2015) Characterization of micro- and nano-modified cementitious system using micro analytical techniques. Cement Concr Compos 58:114–128
Mehta PK, Gjørv OE (1982) Properties of portland cement concrete containing fly ash and condensed silica-fume. Cement Concr Res 12:587–595
ASTM C618-19, Standard specification for coal fly ash and raw or calcined natural pozzolan for use in concrete, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2019. https://www.astm.org/
Kim H-K (2015) Utilization of sieved and ground coal bottom ash powders as a coarse binder in high-strength mortar to improve workability. Constr Build Mater 91:57–64
Atiş CD (2005) Strength properties of high-volume fly ash roller compacted and workable concrete, and influence of curing condition. Cement Concr Res 35:1112–1121
Gebler SH, Klieger P (1986) Effect of fly ash on the durability of air-entrained concrete. ACI Symp Publ Spec Publ 91:483–520
Du L, Folliard KJ (2005) Mechanisms of air entrainment in concrete. Cement Concr Res 35:1463–1471
Pistilli M (1983) Air-void parameters developed by air-entraining admixtures, as influenced by soluble alkalis from fly ash and Portland cement. ACI J Proc 80(3):217–222
Kawashima S, Hou P, Corr DJ, Shah SP (2013) Modification of cement-based materials with nanoparticles. Cement Concr Compos 36:8–15
Ababneh AN, Albiss BA, Lafee T (2019) Effect of synthesized calcium carbonate nanoparticles on fresh and mechanical properties of high volume natural pozzolan mortars. Int Rev Civil Eng 10:85–93
Said AM, Zeidan MS, Bassuoni MT, Tian Y (2012) Properties of concrete incorporating nano-silica. Constr Build Mater 36:838–844
Ghafari E, Costa H, Júlio E, Portugal A, Durães L (2014) The effect of nanosilica addition on flowability, strength and transport properties of ultra high performance concrete. Mater Des 59:1–9
Sanchez F, Sobolev K (2010) Nanotechnology in concrete—a review. Constr Build Mater 24:2060–2071
Supit SWM, Shaikh FUA (2015) Durability properties of high volume fly ash concrete containing nano-silica. Mater Struct 48:2431–2445
Memon S, Sheikh MA, Paracha MB (2013) Utilization of hospital waste ash in concrete. Mehran Univ Res J Eng Technol 32(1):1–8
Anastasiadou K, Christopoulos K, Mousios E, Gidarakos E (2012) Solidification/stabilization of fly and bottom ash from medical waste incineration facility. J Hazard Mater 207–208:165–170
Al-Mutairi N, Terro M, Al-Khaleefi A-L (2004) Effect of recycling hospital ash on the compressive properties of concrete: statistical assessment and predicting model. Build Environ 39:557–566
Zhao Y, Liu J (2006) Effect of EDTA and phosphate on particle size during precipitation of nanosized BaSO4 particles. Chem Lett 35:1040–1041
USEPA (1989) Test method 3050: acid digestion of sediments, sludges, and soils. In: Test methods for evaluating solid waste. Laboratory manual: Physical/chemical methods. SW-846. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, 1989
ASTM-C1437 (2015) Standard test method for flow of hydraulic cement mortar. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2015
Sukandar S, Yasuda K, Tanaka M, Aoyama I (2006) Metals leachability from medical waste incinerator fly ash: a case study on particle size comparison. Environ Pollut 144:726–735
Genazzini C, Zerbino R, Ronco A, Batic O, Giaccio G (2003) Hospital waste ashes in Portland cement mortars. Cement Concr Res 33:1643–1650
Bhattacharyya D, Jumawan AB, Sun G, Sund-Hagelberg C, Schwitzgebel K (1981) Precipitation of heavy metals with sodium sulfide: bench scale and full scale experimental results. AIChE Symp Ser 77:31–38
Ma J, Zhou G, Chu L, Liu Y, Liu C, Luo S, Wei Y (2017) Efficient removal of heavy metal ions with EDTA functionalized chitosan/polyacrylamide double network hydrogel. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 5(1):843–851
Zhao YH, Jia QY, Gao Y, Wang YJ (2011) Effect of EDTA on the morphology and size of SrCO3 particles during crystallization. Adv Mater Res 148–149:1551–1555
Scrivener KL (2004) Backscattered electron imaging of cementitious microstructures: understanding and quantification. Cement Concr Compos 26:935–945
Zhao L, Zhang F, Wang K, Zhu J (2009) Chemical properties of heavy metals in typical hospital waste incinerator ashes in China. Waste Manag 29:1114–1121
Acknowledgements
The first and the fourth authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Deanship of Scientific Research at Jordan University of Science and Technology under Grant number 2018/474. The authors would like also to thank the staff of the hazardous medical waste incinerator at Jordan University of Science and Technology for their help and cooperation during sample collection.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ababneh, A., Al-Rousan, R., Gharaibeh, W. et al. Recycling of pre-treated medical waste fly ash in mortar mixtures. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 22, 207–220 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-019-00928-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-019-00928-z