This article presents a snapshot of key issues regarding characterization of granular waste materials with respect to their reuse as alternative construction materials, and the factors that need to be considered in their reutilization in order to comply with soil and groundwater protection regulations.
When reusing or disposing of contaminated granular waste materials there is a need to evaluate how the contaminants will interact on the pathway soil-groundwater and the effect this interaction will have on the surrounding environment. While column testing can provide a closer approximation to field percolation conditions than batch testing, there is still a need to develop column testing procedures that consider the requirements of practical testing time frames. This study evaluates the effect of different column contact times (2.5, 5, and 16 h) on the release of inorganic constituents from bottom ash and demolition waste, two commonly reused granular materials. Leaching data for representative constituents of concern, such as copper, chromium, sulfate and chloride, as well as pH and electrical conductivity was compared for all different contact times studied.
Results for the materials investigated in this study showed that variations in contact time have no significant effect on the release of the selected constituents and leaching parameters at low liquid to solid ratios. However, after a liquid to solid ratio of 1 L/kg, the effect is more noticeable, and higher contact times show lower pH values as well as a reduction in the release of constituents of concern from bottom ash. In the case of demolition waste, the variation of contact time did not have a strong effect on the leaching behavior.
Leaching experiments on the release of heavy metals and PAH from C&D waste and MSWI bottom ash
(2010)
Leaching tests are fundamental tools for the assessment of long-term impact of
contaminated waste materials on the soil-groundwater pathway. Waste materials should be
tested under conditions equal to their actual application in re-use scenarios to achieve reliable
results. Since the standards for leaching procedures available on international level so far are
either not validated or considered inadequate in respect to coarse grained materials, new
standards had to be developed. Therefore column percolation and batch test procedures have
been standardized and validated to enable their introduction to new German regulations
concerning waste management. Practical aspects of the test procedures as well as the
boundary conditions compared to the already existing standards will be described. Examples
including round robin test results will be given to justify the selection of the new
specifications.
Leaching tests are fundamental tools for the assessment of long-term impact of contaminated waste materials on the soil-groundwater pathway. Experiments were carried out in the framework of standardization and validation of column percolation and batch test procedures, in particular concerning the stipulation of the experimental setup. The colloid release of column and batch experiments was compared and the influence of different column filling heights (12.5–50 cm) on the release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from soil was studied, as well as the effect of varying contact times (2.5–16 h) on the release of chromium from construction and demolition (C&D) waste and municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash. The results indicate that filtration of the eluate, which is required for batch tests, does not always allow the simulation of the actual colloid amount in soil pore water. Medium column heights four times the inner diameter of the column seemed to provide reasonable equilibrium adjustment conditions and avoid major biodegradation. The release of chromium was only marginally affected by the contact time, varied between 0.115 and 0.150 mg/kg for demolition waste eluate at a liquid-to-solid ratio of approximately 5 L/kg.