MSW Combustion Ash Co-Disposal with Unburned Waste: Implications for Elevated Temperature Landfills

The proposed program addresses the co-disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) ash with unburned MSW, and the potential exothermic reactions that can lead to elevated landfill temperature. The overall objective of the proposed program is to identify and document the composition, phase constituents and chemical/electron state of the MSW ash to better understand its potential for exothermic reactivity when co-disposed with unburned MSW. Findings from the proposed program will offer the solid waste industry guidance on improved waste co-disposal acceptability to minimize the occurrence of elevated landfill temperature.

In order to achieve the objective and deliver beneficial understanding, the following goals have been set forth:

1. Examine the thermal response of MSW ash with respect to potential exothermic reaction (i.e., temperature and enthalpy) by using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)
2. Conduct spectroscopic analyses of MSW ashes to identify composition including minor impurity content, phase constituents and chemical/electronic state by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)
3. Develop and explore phase transformation/stability models based on thermodynamics to predict potential reactions and phase stability/transformations as functions of relevant environmental variables

Click here to view a PDF of the slides from the researchers’ project kickoff meeting held Feb. 13, 2019. Project kickoff meetings provide background on the researchers and project purpose, goals and methodology.

Publications
Final Report