Lead extraction from Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) funnel glass: Reaction mechanisms in thermal reduction with addition of carbon (C).

This study quantitatively determined the extraction of lead from CRT funnel glass and examined the mechanisms of thermally reducing lead in the products of sintering Pb-glass with carbon in the pre-heated furnace. The experimentally derived results indicate that a 90.3 wt% lead extraction efficiency can be achieved with 20 wt% of C addition at 950 °C for 3 min under air. The formation of viscous semi-liquid glass blocked the oxygen supply between the interaction of C and Pb-glass, and was highly effective for the extraction of metallic Pb. A maximum of 87.3% lead recover was obtained with a C to Na2CO3 ratio of 1/3 at 1200 °C. The decrease of C/Na2CO3 ratio enhanced the metallic lead recovery by increasing the glass viscosity for effective sedimentation of metallic lead in the bottom. However, with the further increase of temperature and treatment time, re-vitrification of lead back to silicate-glass matrix was detected in both Pb-glass/C and Pb-glass/C/Na2CO3 systems. The findings indicated that with proper controls, using C as an inexpensive reagent can effectively reduce treatment time and energy, which is crucial to a waste-to-resource technology for economically recovering lead from the waste CRT glass.

Effect of municipal solid waste incinerator types on characteristics of ashes from different air pollution control devices.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of fly and bottom ashes sampled from both fluidized bed (FB) and mass-burning (MB) municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs), respectively. Fly ashes from different locations at FB and MB MSWIs equipped with a cyclone, a semi-dry scrubber, and a bag filter as air pollution control devices were examined to provide the baseline information between physicochemical properties and leaching ability. Experimental results of leachability indicated that the bag filter fly ash (FB-FA(B)) from the FB incinerator meets Taiwan regulatory standards set through the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. X-ray diffraction results revealed the presence of Cr5O12 and Pb2O3 in the cyclone fly ash (MB-FA(C)) and bag filter fly ash (MB-FA(B)), respectively, from the MB incinerator. To observe lead incorporation mechanism, mixture of simulate lead-laden waste with bed material were fired between 600 °C and 900 °C in a laboratory scale FB reactor. The results clearly demonstrate a substantial decrease in lead leaching ratio for products with an appropriate temperature. The concentration of Pb in the MB-FA(B) was 250 times that in the FB-FA(B), suggesting that incineration of MSW in FB is a good strategy for stabilizing hazardous metals.

Cadmium Stabilization Efficiency and Leachability by CdAl4O7 Monoclinic Structure.

This study investigated the stabilization efficiencies of using an aluminum-rich precursor to incorporate simulated cadmium-bearing waste sludge and evaluated the leaching performance of the product phase. Cadmium oxide and γ-alumina mixtures with various Cd/Al molar ratios were fired at 800-1000 °C for 3 h. Cadmium could be crystallochemically incorporated by γ-alumina into CdAl4O7 monoclinic phase and the reaction was strongly controlled by the treatment temperature. The crystal structure details of CdAl4O7 were solved and refined with the Rietveld refinement method. According to the structural refinement results, the stabilization efficiencies were quantified and expressed as a transformation ratio (TR) with optimized processing parameters. The preferred treatment temperature was found to be 950 °C for mixtures with a Cd/Al molar ratio of 1/4, as its TR value indicated the cadmium incorporation was nearly completed after a 3 h treatment scheme. Constant-pH leaching tests (CPLT) were conducted by comparing the leachability of the CdO and CdAl4O7 phases in a pH 4.0 environment. A remarkable reduction in cadmium leachability could be achieved via monoclinic CdAl4O7 structure formation to effectively stabilize hazardous cadmium in the waste stream. The CPLT and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results suggested incongruent dissolution behavior during the leaching of the CdAl4O7 phase.

Evaluating the potential of CNT-supported Co catalyst used for gas pollution removal in the incineration flue gas.

This study investigated the use of Cu/Al(2)O(3), Co/Al(2)O(3), Fe/Al(2)O(3), and Ni/Al(2)O(3) catalysts for the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). These CNTs were used as support for Co catalyst preparation and Co/CNT catalysts were applied to a catalytic reaction to remove BTEX, PAHs, SO(2), NO, and CO simultaneously in a pilot-scale incineration system. The analyzed results of EDS and XRD showed low metal content and good dispersion characteristics of the Al(2)O(3)-supported catalysts by excess-solution impregnation. FESEM analyzed results showed that the CNTs that were synthesized from Co, Fe, and Ni catalysts had a diameter of 20nm, whereas those synthesized from Cu/Al(2)O(3) had a diameter of 50nm. Pilot-scale test results demonstrated that the Co/CNT catalyst effectively removed air pollutants in the catalytic reaction and that there was no obvious deactivation by Pb, water vapor, and coke deposited in the process. The thermal stabilization at 250 degrees C and hydrophobicity properties of CNTs enhanced the application of CNT catalysts in flue gas.