Immobilization of selected heavy metals from fly ash from thermal treatment of municipal sewage sludge in hardening slurries

The growing number of municipal sewage treatment plants in Poland raises the problem of managing more and more sludge. The thermal treatment of municipal sewage sludge (TTMSS), which significantly reduces the volume of waste, results in an increase in the concentration of heavy metals in the fly ashes – the final products of the process. The search for methods of utilization of fly ash from TTMSS resulted in attempts to use it in hardening slurries widely used in hydro-engineering. Due to the nature of the application of this material in the cut-off walls (exposure to groundwater flow) one of the key issues is the degree of heavy metal immobilization. The paper attempted to determine the degree of leaching of selected heavy metals from the hardened hardening slurry, composed of fly ash from TTMSS. For this purpose, the eluates were prepared from samples, after various periods of curing, using a dynamic short_term method called “Batch test”. The liquid used for leaching was: distilled water and 0.1 molar EDTA solution – to determine the amount of potentially mobile heavy metal forms. The results show the possibility of the safe usage of fly ash from TTMSS as an additive for hardening slurries.