Recovery of Metals from Combustion Residues

From a quality and quantity perspective, waste avoidance and waste recovery measures play a significant role in reducing the throughput of recyclables in thermal waste treatment. Nevertheless, in Germany, for example, it can be assumed that residual waste has an average metal content of 4 % by weight. Consequently, the combustion residues bottom ash and fly ash contain substantial amounts of metals which are finite resources and whose primary production is associated with high power consumption. The most important metals include aluminium, copper, zinc, non-ferrous alloys, chromium-nickel steels and iron.

In conventional grate-based waste-to-energy plants bottom ash is removed from the furnace via a wet-type discharger filled with water. In combination with the recovery of raw materials from combustion residues, the dry discharge of bottom ash is becoming more and more important. Particularly in Switzerland, but also in several other countries, this process has generated a great deal of interest in the past few years. On the one hand, the discharge of classified dry bottom ash is economically viable due to effective metal separation, maximization of revenues from metal recovery (non-ferrous metals, above all), reduction of disposal costs as a result of weight reduction, and associated lower transport costs. On the other hand, there are additional benefits due to the enhanced quality of the discharged dry bottom ash and simpler bottom ash handling in subsequent treatment, preparation and recovery processes.

 

 

Hochlauf der Wasserstoffwirtschaft
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (8/2024)
Überblick über und Diskussion der Maßnahmen zum beschleunigten Ausbau der Wasserstoffinfrastruktur in Deutschland

Die innerstaatliche Umsetzung des Pariser Klimaschutzübereinkommens - ein Rechtsvergleich
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (8/2024)
Like all public international law treaties, the Paris Climate Accords rely on national law for their implementation. The success of the agreement therefore depends, to a large extent, on the stepstaken or not taken by national governments and legislators as well as on the instruments and mechanisms chosen for this task. Against this background, the present article compares different approaches to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, using court decisions as a means to assess their (legal) effectiveness.

Klimaschutzrecht und Erzeugung erneuerbarer Energien in der Schweiz
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (8/2024)
Verschachtelte Gesetzgebung unter politischer Ungewissheit

 

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