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Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in bottom ashes generated by small-scale thermal treatment furnaces for domestic waste in villages and towns of China

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Abstract

Small-scale Solid Waste Thermal Treatment (SSWTT) is prevalent in remote Chinese locations. However, the ecological threats associated with heavy metals in resultant bottom ash remain undefined. This research study scrutinized such ash from eight differing sites, assessing heavy metal content, chemical form, and leaching toxicity. Most bottom ash samples met soil contamination standards for development land (GB36600-2018). However, levels of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in some samples exceeded agricultural land standards GB15618-2018) by 1591%, 64,478%, 1880%, 3886%, 963%, 1110%, and 2011% respectively. Additionally, the As and Cd contents surpassed the construction land control limit value by 383% and 13% respectively. The mean values of the combined oxidizable and residual fraction (F3 + F4) for each heavy metal in all samples exceeded 65%, with Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb reaching over 95%. All sample leaching concentrations, obtained via the HJ/T 299 procedure, were less than limits set by the identification standards for hazardous wastes (GB5085.3–2007). However, only the leaching concentrations of three samples via the leaching procedure HJ/T 300 met the "Solid Waste Landfill Pollution Control Standard" (GB 16889–2008). The results indicate that the location and type of SSWTT equipment play a crucial role in determining an appropriate solution for bottom ash management.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to EditSprings (https://www.editsprings.cn/) for the expert linguistic services provided. The study was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (grant number: 2018YFD1100600).

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China, 2018YFD1100600.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal and Environmental Engineering Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Shutong Wu, Tingting Hu, Dezhen Chen, Kezhen Qian, Yuyan Hu & Mudassir Hussain Tahir

  2. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Multi-Source Solid Wastes Co-Processing and Energy Utilization, Shanghai, 200092, People’s Republic of China

    Shutong Wu, Tingting Hu, Dezhen Chen, Kezhen Qian, Yuyan Hu & Mudassir Hussain Tahir

  3. Wuxi GaoEr Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd, 1 South Shenxing Road, Yixing, 214217, People’s Republic of China

    Dong Xue

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Shutong Wu，Tingting Hu，Yuyan Hu and Dezhen Chen wrote the main manuscript text and Kezhen Qian prepared figures. Dong Xue completed the sample collection.Mudassir Hussain Tahir has completed the language polishing of the article.

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Correspondence to Yuyan Hu.

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Wu, S., Hu, T., Chen, D. et al. Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in bottom ashes generated by small-scale thermal treatment furnaces for domestic waste in villages and towns of China. Environ Geochem Health 45, 8243–8255 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-023-01709-2

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