ANTIMONY, ITS SOURCES, APPLICATIONS AND FLOW PATHS INTO URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL-WASTE - A REVIEW

This paper investigates the sources of antimony (Sb) in municipal/indu strial waste and the consequences of the presence of antimony in the i nput of waste. The average Sb concentration of the feed stream to wast e incinerators is approximately 42 mg/kg. More than 50% of the antimon y originates from all types of flame retardants and approximately 35% comes from flame retardants used in consumer electrical and electronic equipment. There is a tendency to decrease the application of halogen ated products (and thus of antimony) in flame retardants. Also, the ot her fields of application of antimony show a decreasing trend. There a re no indications that a substantial increase of the concentration of antimony in the feed to municipal waste incinerators will occur in the near future. During the incineration process, the antimony compounds are only found in the bottom ash and fly ash. No volatile Sb compounds are present in the flue gas. This means that efficacious particle rem oval systems are sufficient for a complete Sb removal during incinerat ion.