Physical properties and chemical species distributions within municipal waste combuster ashes

Incineration of municipal solid waste has been viewed as a preferred alternative to landfilling in recent years. Fly ash and bottom ash are of particular concern because of the high concentration of heavy metals on and within the ash matrix. This paper presents chemical, physical, and structural properties of the ashes from several municipal waste combustors. Properties of both the bulk ash and ash fractions separated by particle size are included. Results have shown significant variability based upon both ash type and particle fraction.