FATE AND PARTITIONING OF HEAVY-METALS AFFECTED BY ORGANIC CHLORIDE CONTENT DURING A SIMULATED MUNICIPAL SOLID-WASTE INCINERATION PROCESS

The effect of organic chloride derived from PVC and other possible sou rces in wastes, on the partitioning and speciation of heavy metals and their compounds, during Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) incineration was studied using a laboratory tube furnace and simulated waste spiked wi th organic chloride. The results indicated that an increase in the org anic chloride content and combustion temperature might increase the vo latility of heavy metals and/or their compounds in the wastes, thus, i ncreasing metal partitioning in the fly ash or the flue gases. Metal o xides were the major metal species found in the bottom ash, as identif ied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, regardless of the addition of organic chlorides, while several other metal chlorides were also foun d when spiked at higher concentrations.