Recycling and Reuse of Spent LIBs: Technological Advances and Future Directions.

Recovering valuable metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), a kind of solid waste with high pollution and high-value potential, is very important. In recent years, the extraction of valuable metals from the cathodes of spent LIBs and cathode regeneration technology are still rapidly developing (such as flash Joule heating technology to regenerate cathodes). This review summarized the studies published in the recent ten years to catch the rapid pace of development in this field. The development, structure, and working principle of LIBs were firstly introduced. Subsequently, the recent developments in mechanisms and processes of pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy for extracting valuable metals and cathode regeneration were summarized. The commonly used processes, products, and efficiencies for the recycling of nickel-cobalt-manganese cathodes (NCM/LCO/LMO/NCA) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes were analyzed and compared. Compared with pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, the regeneration method was a method with a higher resource utilization rate, which has more industrial application prospects. Finally, this paper pointed out the shortcomings of the current research and put forward some suggestions for the recovery and reuse of spent lithium-ion battery cathodes in the future.

Investigating the adsorption behavior and quantitative contribution of Pb2+ adsorption mechanisms on biochars by different feedstocks from a fluidized bed pyrolysis system.

The aim of this study was to examine the qualitative and quantitative analysis of Pb2+ adsorption mechanisms performed with biochars derived from rice straw (RSBs), rice husk (RHBs) and saw dust (SDBs) at several pyrolysis temperatures (400-600 °C) in a fluidized bed system. Adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and desorption analysis were determined, and biochars were analyzed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope with Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (SEM-EDS) and Boehm titration method. The effect of minerals on Pb2+ adsorption, including precipitation and cation exchange, revealed increasing contribution of precipitation from a range of 4.13%-38.83% to a range of 34.08%-79.94% and decreasing effect of cation exchange from a range of 50.17%-69.75% to a range of 9.57%-43.47% with increasing pyrolysis temperature. However, it remained the dominant adsorption mechanism of all biochars (accounted for 69.49-89.52%). Especially, RSBs with quite high maximum adsorption capacity (qm) values (116-127.57 mgg-1) were mainly due to precipitation mechanism of Pb2+ adsorption, which exhibited better adsorption capacities than RHBs (25.15-30.40 mgg-1) and SDBs (21.81-24.05 mgg-1). Only with the fluidized bed shown in this study, 2.00t RSBs could be produced and the corresponding Pb2+ adsorption may reach 255.50kg per year depending on its maximum adsorption capacity under 500 °C pyrolysis temperature. The results suggest that RSBs produced in a fluidized bed reactor is a promising, cost-effective, engineered biochar for application of Pb2+ remediation in aqueous solutions.

Effect of temperature tuning on the aerosol acoustic aggregation process.

Diesel exhaust aerosols (DEAs) can absorb and accumulate toxic metal particulates and bacteria suspended in the atmospheric environment, which impact human health and the environment. The use of acoustic standing waves (ASWs) to aggregate DEA is currently considered to be an efficient particle removal method; however, study of the effect of different temperatures on the acoustic aggregation process is scarce. To explore the method and technology to regulate and optimize the aerosol aggregation process through temperature tuning, an acoustic apparatus integrated with a temperature regulation function was constructed. Using this apparatus, the effect of different characteristic temperatures (CTs) on the aerosol aggregation process was investigated experimentally in the ASW environment. Under constant conditions of acoustic frequency 1.286kHz, voltage amplitude 17V and input electric power 16.7W, the study concentrated on temperature effects on the aggregation process in the CT range of 58-72°C. The DEA opacity was used. The results demonstrate that the aggregation process is quite sensitive to the CT, and that the optimal DEA aggregation can be achieved at 66°C. The aggregated particles of 68.17µm are composed of small nanoparticles of 13.34-62.15nm. At CTs higher and lower than 66°C, the apparatus in non-resonance mode reduces the DEA aggregation level. For other instruments, the method for obtaining the optimum temperature for acoustic agglomeration is universal. This preliminary demonstration shows that the use of acoustic technology to regulate the aerosol aggregation process through tuning the operating temperature is feasible and convenient.

Characterization of ash melting behaviour at high temperatures under conditions simulating combustible solid waste gasification.

To achieve high-temperature gasification-melting of combustible solid waste, ash melting behaviour under conditions simulating high-temperature gasification were studied. Raw ash (RA) and gasified ash (GA) were prepared respectively by waste ashing and fluidized bed gasification. Results of microstructure and composition of the two-ash indicated that GA showed a more porous structure and higher content of alkali and alkali earth metals among metallic elements. Higher temperature promoted GA melting and could reach a complete flowing state at about 1250°C. The order of melting rate of GA under different atmospheres was reducing condition > inert condition > oxidizing condition, which might be related to different existing forms of iron during melting and different flux content with atmosphere. Compared to RA, GA showed lower melting activity at the same condition due to the existence of an unconverted carbon and hollow structure. The melting temperature for sufficient melting and separation of GA should be at least 1250°C in this work.

Effects of temperature and composite alumina on pyrolysis of sewage sludge.

An interactive dual-circulating fluidized bed system has been proposed in which the pyrolysis of sewage sludge (SS) and incineration of biomass proceed simultaneously, and alumina is used as the bed material and heat carrier. The alumina coated with biomass ash would mix with sewage sludge in the pyrolysis reactor of this device. It is important to know the influence of composite alumina (CA) on the pyrolysis progress. Sewage sludge was pyrolyzed in a fixed bed reactor from 400 to 600°C using CA as catalyst. The effects of temperature and CA additive ratio on the products were investigated. The product yields and component distribution of non-condensable gas were more sensitive to the change of temperature, and the maximum liquid yield of 48.44 wt.% and maximum Useable Energy of Liquid of 3871 kJ/kg sludge were observed at 500°C with 1/5 CA/SS (mass ratio). The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results showed that the increase of temperature enhanced devolatilization of organic matter and promoted cyclization and aromatization of aliphatics. The presence of CA could strengthen secondary cracking and interaction among primary products from different organic compounds, such as acid-amine condensation, and reduce the content of oxygenated compounds. When the CA additive amount exceeded a certain proportion, the aromatization was clearly strengthened. The effects of CA on decomposition of fatty acids and formation of aromatics were similar to that of temperature. This means that the reaction temperature could be lowered by introducing CA, which has a positive effect on reducing energy consumption.

Experimental and predicted approaches for biomass gasification with enriched air-steam in a fluidised bed.

Thermo-chemical gasification of sawdust refuse-derived fuel was performed on a bench-scale fluidised bed gasifier with enriched air and steam as fluidising and oxidising agents. Dolomite as a natural mineral catalyst was used as bed material to reform tars and hydrocarbons. A series of experiments were carried out under typical operating conditions for gasification, as reported in the article. A modified equilibrium model, based on equilibrium constants, was developed to predict the gasification process. The sensitivity analysis of operating parameters, such as the fluidisation velocity, oxygen percentage of the enriched air and steam to biomass ratios on the produced gas composition, lower heating value, carbon conversion and cold gas efficiency was investigated. The results showed that the predicted syngas composition was in better agreement with the experimental data compared with the original equilibrium model. The higher fluidisation velocity enhanced gas-solid mixing, heat and mass transfers, and carbon fines elutriation, simultaneously. With the increase of oxygen percentage from 21% to 45%, the lower heating value of syngas increased from 5.52 MJ m(-3) to 7.75 MJ m(-3) and cold gas efficiency from 49.09% to 61.39%. The introduction of steam improved gas quality, but a higher steam to biomass ratio could decrease carbon conversion and gasification efficiency owing to a low steam temperature. The optimal value of steam to biomass ratio in this work was 1.0.

Effective treatment of leachate concentrate from waste incineration plant by combination of coagulation and direct contact evaporation.

In order to verify that coagulation as pre-treatment can reduce the temperature of the hot air used for direct contact evaporating the leachate concentrate (LC) and low-grade waste heat such as exhaust steam in the waste incineration plant can be used to evaporate the LC. The supernatants after coagulation using polymerized ferrous sulfate (PFS), polymeric-aluminum (PAC), polymeric silicate aluminum ferric (PSAF) and poly-aluminum ferric chloride (PAFC) as coagulants were further treated in a lab-scale direct contact evaporation system. The results showed that the best performance with removal efficiencies of COD and NH3-N of 58.70% and 29.09% was achieved after coagulation when PAFC dosage = 15 g/L, PAM dosage = 30 mg/L and initial pH of supernatant = 6. After coagulation, a large amount of the fulvic-like acid and aromatic heterocyclic compounds were removed and the degree of complexity and aromaticity of organics decreased. After direct contact evaporation, using PAFC as coagulant still was the best selection due to its lowest concentrations of COD and NH3-N (22 mg/L and 1.02 mg/L) in the condensate produced by this two-stage treatment when initial pH of supernatant was 6 during evaporation and the condensate produced by this two-stage treatment met the water quality standard for using as supplying water for circulating cooling water system when temperature of hot air used for heating LC was at low temperature (250 °C). The fulvic-like acid and aromatic heterocyclic compounds in the condensate continuously reduced. Phenol, adamantane, 1-isocyanato, phthalic anhydrid, tri(2-chloroethyl) phosphat, Heptadecane, 2-methyl, ginsenol and Octadecane, 2-methyl- in the condensate obviously decreased. The effect of four coagulants as pretreatment on reducing the temperature of hot air used for evaporating LC was ranked as PAFC > PFS > PAC > PSAF. PSAF was not recommended due to the large amount of NH3-N produced when using PSAF to treat the LC.

Gas-liquid contact evaporation of concentrate leachate from disk-tube reverse osmosis treatment in waste incineration plant.

In order to utilize waste heat such as exhaust steam and hot air passing through air preheater in the waste incineration plant to heat air used for evaporating leachate concentrate (LC) by gas-liquid contact evaporation technology, hot air of 600 °C, 450 °C and 250 °C was used to evaporate LC in a laboratory-scale evaporator to obtain purified condensate used for supplying water for circulating cooling water system. The influence of pH, hot air temperature and evaporation rate on COD and NH3-N in condensate were investigated to identify the optimum operation of this technology. The results showed that COD concentration in condensate obviously decreased with increase in hot air temperature. Higher hot air temperature led to higher initial evaporation temperature, and evaporation rate of water was significantly greater than that of small molecular organic matter with lower boiling point than water with increasing hot air temperature. Reduction in contents of phenol, ketone and benzene was responsible for COD decreasing in condensate. COD in condensate decreased with increase in pH, as the amount of volatile organic matter such as fatty acids escaped from LC to condensate decreased. The pH had little influence on the DOM in condensate according to EEM spectra analysis. Evaporation rate had little influence on COD in the condensate water. NH3-N concentrations in condensate in all experimental groups were far away from the limit value (10 mg/L) in the water quality standard. Under the premise of meeting water quality standard, the lowest temperature (450 °C) of hot air was selected to save energy and use lower grade waste heat. Therefore, the optimum condition was 450 °C of hot air, pH = 7 of LC and CF = 10. At this condition, molecular weight of DOM in the condensate was smaller and humification degree and aromaticity of DOM were lower according to UV-visible absorption spectrum analysis.

Effect of NaCl on the migration of heavy metals during the non-isothermal and isothermal combustion of sludge: Static and dynamic analyses.

Chlorine has been proven to promote the volatilization of heavy metals during sludge combustion. This work compared the migration of heavy metals with NaCl addition under different combustion modes at 900 â„ƒ. The combustion modes have less effect on the mineral phase of residues, but the volatilization and toxicity reduction of heavy metals were more pronounced under isothermal combustion. The mineral evolution, release of Cl, and migration of metals were dynamically tracked by the continuous sampling at different combustion time under isothermal combustion. It was found that the volatile matter and fixed carbon burned almost simultaneously, and the addition of NaCl promoted them. As combustion proceeded, the minerals gradually crystallized and the heavy metals were volatilized due to the direct and indirect chlorination. Meanwhile, the chlorination and volatilization of Zn was less than that of Pb due to its effective solidification by minerals. The combination of the adsorption by exposed char and solidification by sludge minerals influenced the dynamic leaching behavior of metals. These results will help understand the interactions between heavy metals, inorganic Cl, and Fe-Si-Al minerals during combustion, which will further help optimize the combustion strategy for both stabilization or enrichment of heavy metals when inorganic chlorine exists.

Optimizing invasive plant biomass valorization: Deep eutectic solvents pre-treatment coupled with ZSM-5 catalyzed fast pyrolysis for superior bio-oil quality.

The primary objective of this study is to explore the application of a deep eutectic solvent, synthesized from lactic acid and choline chloride, in combination with a pre-treatment involving ZSM-5 catalytic fast pyrolysis, aimed at upgrading the quality of bio-oil. Characterization results demonstrate a reduction in lignin content post-treatment, alongside a significant decrease in carboxyls and carbonyls, leading to an increase in the C/O ratio and noticeable enhancement in crystallinity. During catalytic fast pyrolysis experiments, the pre-treatment facilitates the production of oil fractions, achieving yields of 54.53% for total hydrocarbons and 39.99% for aromatics hydrocarbons under optimized conditions. These findings validate the positive influence of the deep eutectic solvent pre-treatment combined with ZSM-5 catalytic fast pyrolysis on the efficient production of bio-oil and high-value chemical derivatives. .

Attempts to obtain clean biochar from hyperaccumulator through pyrolysis: Removal of heavy metals and transformation of phosphorus.

The sound disposal of the ensuing heavy metal-rich plants can address the aftermath of phytoremediation. In this study, the first attempt was made to obtain heavy metals-free and phosphorus-rich biochar from phytoremediation residue (PR) by pyrolysis, and the effects of chlorinating agent type, chlorine dosage, and pyrolysis residence time on heavy metal removal, phosphorus (P) transformation, and biochar properties were investigated. The results showed that as chlorine dosage and pyrolysis residence time increased, added polyvinyl chloride (PVC) reduced the concentration of Zn in biochar to one-tenth of that in PR by intensified chlorination, where both Zn concentration (2727.50 mg/kg) and its leaching concentration (29.13 mg/L) met the utilization requirements, in which the acid-base property of biochar plays a key role in heavy metal leaching. Meanwhile, more than 90% of P in PR remained in biochar and the bioavailability of P in biochar enhanced with the decomposition of organic P to inorganic P, where the concentration of plant-availability P (Pnac) expanded from 1878.40 mg/kg in PR to 8454.00 mg/kg in biochar. This study demonstrated that heavy metal hyperaccumulator can be converted into heavy metal-free and phosphorus-rich biochar with promising applications, which provides new perspectives for the treatment of such hazardous wastes.

A study of the stabilization and solidification of heavy metals in co-vitrification of medical waste incineration ash and coal fly ash.

Medical waste incineration ash (MWIA) has significant concentrations of heavy metals, dioxins, and chlorine that, if handled incorrectly, might cause permanent damage to the environment and humans. The low content of calcium (Ca), silicon (Si), and aluminum (Al) is a brand-new challenge for the melting technique of MWIA. This work added coal fly ash (CFA) to explore the effect of melting on the detoxication treatment of MWIA. It was found that the produced vitrification product has a high vitreous content (98.61%) and a low potential ecological risk, with an initial ash solidification rate of 67.38%. By quantitatively assessing the morphological distribution features of heavy metals in ashes before melting and molten products, the stabilization and solidification rules of heavy metals during the melting process were investigated. This work ascertained the feasibility of co-vitrification of MWIA and CFA. In addition, the high-temperature melting and vitrification accelerated the detoxification of MWIA and the solidification of heavy metals.

Mineral transformation and solidification of heavy metals during co-melting of MSWI fly ash with coal fly ash.

Melting is an efficient method to turn municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash (FA) into non-hazardous material. Coal fly ash (CFA) was selected as the silica-alumina source to carry out co-melting research with MSWI FA in this work. The effects of the temperature and the CFA content on mineral transformation and the migration characteristics of heavy metals were analyzed. The results showed that the mixtures of MSWI FA and CFA reacted at high temperatures to mainly generate Ca2Al2SiO7, Ca2SiO4, and CaAl2Si2O8 primarily and then melted and formed the amorphous-phase vitreous body when the CFA content was more than 40% and the temperature was higher than 1300 °C. During the melting process, Cd and Pb were almost volatilized, while Cr, Mn, and Ni were almost retained. Besides, the volatilization rates of Cu and Zn fluctuated with the temperature and the CFA content. Suitable treatment temperature and CFA content were conducive to the transformation of the heavy metals in the FA into stable forms, and the melting products were no longer hazardous wastes because the vitreous body could effectively encapsulate heavy metals. This study aims to help reuse the FA and CFA collaboratively and be more environmentally friendly.

Effect of biomass addition on the surface and adsorption characterization of carbon-based adsorbents from sewage sludge.

Sewage sludge with the additive corn cob was used as prescusor to prepare sludge-based carbon adsorbents by pyrolysis method. And then, the carbonizated products were activated with potassium hydroxide. The mixing ratio of the corn cob to sewage sludge was investigated. The surface area and pore size distribution, elemental composition, surface chemistry structure and the surface physical morphology were determined and compared. The results demonstrated that the addition of corn cob into the sewage sludge sample could effectively improve the surface area (from 287 to 591 m2/g) and the microporosity (from 5% to 48%) of the carbon based adsorbent, thus enhancing the adsorption behavior. The sulfur dioxide adsorption capacity was measured according to breakthrough test. It was found that the sulfur dioxide adsorption capacity of the adsorbents was obviously enhanced after the addition of the corn cob. It is presumed that not only highly porous adsorbents, but also a high metallic content of these materials are required to achieve good performances.

Improved adsorption capacity and applicable temperature of gaseous PbCl2 capture by modified montmorillonite with combined thermal treatment and acid activation.

The emission of semi-volatile heavy metals during the thermal utilization of various fuels has been a huge threat to the environment. In this study, the montmorillonite modified by thermal treatment and hydrochloric acid activation was evaluated for the PbCl2 adsorption performance. The optimum adsorption temperature of sorbents increased with the thermal treatment temperature (<500 °C) for the increased amount of reactive sites caused by the removal of interlayer water and hydroxyl, while a higher treatment temperature will collapse the lamellar structure of montmorillonite and greatly inhibit the PbCl2 adsorption. Besides, the hydrochloric acid activation can help inhibit the melting of sorbents during the adsorption process by removing the impurities and promote the PbCl2 vapor to contact with more reactive sites at higher temperatures. By comparing different sorbents, montmorillonite was found to exhibit better adsorption performance at 600-700 °C, while the sorbent thermal-treated at 500 °C and then acid-activated got the highest adsorption efficiency at 900 °C, which was 17.83% higher than that of montmorillonite. This study provided an environmental-friendly modification method to capture more heavy metals at high-temperature conditions, which can be partly realized by the recycling of montmorillonite used for the removal of normal gas pollutants in lower temperatures conditions or acid wastewater treatment.

Experimental study on adsorption of PbCl2 and CdCl2 on kaolin modified by leachates from municipal solid waste incineration power plant.

Six kinds of waste liquids produced in the treatment process of leachate in a waste incineration plant were used to improve the adsorption effect of raw kaolin on heavy metal chloride. The capture performances of these modified kaolin on PbCl2 and CdCl2 vapor were investigated in a two-stage fixed bed combustor. The results indicated that the adsorption effects of raw kaolin on PbCl2 and CdCl2 were improved in some experimental groups, main effective component was Na+ in the leachate, but the influences did not change regularly with the increase in the concentration of Na + introduced into kaolin. The adsorbents formed by modifying 10 g kaolin with 21.25 ml leachate 2 were the best adsorbents for PbCl2 and CdCl2. The capture efficiencies of PbCl2 and CdCl2 can reach 95% and 63.88%, with the increase of 36% and 53%, respectively. Using leachate as modifying agent had the same effect as directly using Na+. Adsorptions of PbCl2 and CdCl2 were still mainly chemical adsorptions. After adsorption of PbCl2, the modified kaolin not only generated PbA12Si2O8, but also produced other chemical compounds. The adsorption of CdCl2 by modified kaolin did not generate CdAl2Si2O8, but other chemical reactions occurred to generate CdAl2O4 and Pb8Cd (Si2O7)3.

Experimental and theoretical studies on the adsorption characteristics of Si/Al-based adsorbents for lead and cadmium in incineration flue gas.

Si/Al-based adsorbents are effective adsorbents for capturing heavy metals in incineration flue gases at high temperatures in the furnace. In this work, the adsorption characteristics and adsorption mechanisms of Si/Al-based adsorbents for lead and cadmium vapors were studied using a combination of experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The trapping performance of a series of Si/Al-based adsorbents for Pb and Cd vapors was investigated using a self-designed gas-solid two-phase rapid adsorption experimental system. The results showed that kaolinite and montmorillonite exhibited better heavy metal adsorption capacity than SiO2 and Al2O3, and were significantly stronger for Pb than for Cd. Chemisorption dominated the capture of Pb/Cd by Si/Al-based adsorbents at high temperatures. The results of DFT calculations indicated that the chemisorption mechanisms dominated the adsorption of Pb and Cd species on the metakaolinite (001) surface, and the adsorption energy of Pb species on the metakaolinite surface was greater than that of Cd species. The exposed O atoms and unsaturated Al atoms of metakaolinite (001) surface were effective adsorption active sites for heavy metals and their chlorides. In the adsorption reaction, the binding of Pb/Cd atoms and surface exposed O sites, as well as the strong interaction between Cl and unsaturated Al atoms, were responsible for the capture of Pb and Cd chlorides by metakaolinite.

Insight into the role of SO2 on selenium conversion during adsorption by CaO: Theoretical calculation and experimental study.

SO2 can noticeably impact the control of high toxic selenium emissions from flue gas by CaO. Surprisingly, our experiments showed that under certain conditions, SO2 can promote selenium capture by CaO, rather than hinder it. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, a combination of theoretical calculations and experiments was conducted. Thermodynamic equilibrium analysis revealed that gaseous SO2 and solid Ca-S reaction products can promote SeO2 converting to SeO/Se0. The Ca-S products facilitated greater SeO2 conversion compared to SO2. Experimental results demonstrated that selenium adsorption capacity of incompletely sulfurized CaO (CaO with pre-adsorbed SO2) was higher than that of completely sulfurized CaO (Ca-S products), highlighting the importance of adsorption sites of CaO. Density functional theory calculations showed that the pre-adsorbed SO2 hardly affected selenium adsorption energy on the SO2/CaO surface, while completely sulfurized CaO had low selenium adsorption energy, explaining the experimental phenomenon and proving necessary of CaO. Additionally, SeO/Se0 had higher adsorption energy on CaO than SeO2. Overall, the promotion of SO2 on selenium adsorption was primarily affected by two factors: 1) sulfur facilitating SeO2 conversion to SeO/Se0 which can be adsorbed more easily by CaO; 2) sufficient adsorption sites on CaO surface existing for SeO/Se0 adsorption, despite co-adsorption with sulfur.

Thermodynamic evaluation on chemical looping conversion of Cd- and Zn-contained phytoremediation plant with different CaO pathways.

With the development of phytoremediation for soil contamination, disposal of phytoremediation plant becomes a serious problem. Thermochemical conversion of phytoremediation plant can greatly reduce the volume and mass, meanwhile the clean and reusable utilization is realized. As one of the thermochemical conversion technologies, chemical looping (CL) offers a carbon negative way for clean utilization of biomass. In this technology, CaO has binary roles of heavy metal solidification and CO2 sorption for gasification enhancement. To assess the CaO pathway in CL of phytoremediation plant, two different CL processes are constructed and comparatively studied based on thermodynamic evaluation. The effects of different operating parameters on the products of gasifier (GR) and reduction reactor (RR) are compared and discussed. Results demonstrated that the CaO addition in GR is beneficial to the production of pure combustible gases. Increasing RR temperature can promote the chemical looping reactions in RR. Under lower temperature, CaO in RR can consume more CO2 leading to CO2 free environment. When it is higher than 850 °C, there is no effect of CaO in RR. Increasing the amount of OC in system can enhance the conversion of combustible gases. When αOC is higher than 0.3, the OC is reduced to a mixed state of Fe3O4 and FeO. When the CaO circulates only between GR and calciner, pure CO2 can be captured at the outlet of calciner. Existence of CaO is beneficial to retain Cd and Zn in solid phases. When the gasification temperature increases from 500 °C to 800 °C, the Cd(g) increases while Cd decreases in both CL1 and CL2. For a long lifetime of OC, CaO is suggested to circulates between GR and calciner.

Effect of CaO and montmorillonite additive on heavy metals behavior and environmental risk during sludge combustion.

Serious pollution is caused by heavy metals (HMs) emission during sludge combustion treatment, but the addition of minerals has the ability to alleviate the migration of HMs to the gaseous state. In this study, HMs (As, Cr, Zn and Cu) behavior, speciation, and environmental risk during sludge combustion with CaO and montmorillonite (MMT) additive was investigated in the lab-scale tube furnace. The results showed that the sludge combustion was mainly determined by volatile matter. In general, CaO inhibited the volatilization of Cr, Zn, and Cu, but promoted As volatilization. MMT inhibited the volatilization of HMs, but the effect was not obvious at high temperatures. Besides, the improvement of retention effect was not found for Cr and Cu with the increase of CaO at 1000 °C, there might exist threshold value for CaO on HMs retention process. Meanwhile, CaO increased acid-soluble fraction of As significantly at high temperatures, decreased residual fraction of Cr by oxidation, converted Zn and Cu to residual fraction. MMT increased the acid-soluble fraction of As and residual fraction of Cr. In view of the HMs environmental risk in ash, the combustion temperature of sludge was necessary to control under 1000 °C and minerals additive amount was needed to manage above 1000 °C.