A novel method for metals extraction from municipal solid waste using a microwave-assisted acid extraction

This paper investigated the development and evaluation of an extraction process for copper, chromium, cobalt, iron, manganese, zinc, lead, cadmium, barium, magnesium, and vanadium from municipal solid waste incineration ash (bottom and fly ashes) based on microwave-assisted acid extraction method. In this study, a novel conventional microwave-mediated technique was applied by using various acidic extracting agents, namely, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and phosphoric acid. Several experimental conditions and parameters were modified and optimized to determine the most effective conditions for maximizing metal extraction. The results were also compared with our preliminary research, which investigated the optimization of conventional heating for extracting the same metals. The current study concluded that the microwave-assisted acid extraction method was much more effective than conventional heating. The metals from the bottom ash were much easier to extract in contrast with the fly ash. For the bottom ash, 71 wt% of Co, 75.69 wt% of Cr, 56.19 wt% of Cd, 35.23 wt% of Ba, 30.2 wt% of Pb, and 5.41 wt% of Mn were effectively extracted using the protocol C (2 M HCl and 3 M H3PO4). 13.87 wt% of Al, 10.59 wt% of Cu, 7.2 wt% of Fe, 5.25 wt% of Mg were also extracted using the protocols D and E (3 M HNO3 and 3 M H2O2) from MSW-BA. On the other hand, for the fly ash, 2.27 wt% of Cu, 0.93 wt% of Fe, 2.32 wt% of Zn, 6.28 wt% of Cd, 1.98 wt% of Ba, 3.46 wt% of Mg and 4.7 wt% of V were extracted by using the protocol A (5 M HCl and 5 M HNO3). 1.48 wt% of Cr, 0.93 wt% of Fe, 1.19 wt% of Mn, and 1.18 wt% of Al were extracted using the protocol C (2 M HCl and 3 M H3PO4). It was also confirmed that higher microwave power levels had a positive effect on the metal extraction, and longer contact times had an adverse effect. When comparing the cost analyses for both methods, it was found that the microwave-assisted acid extraction was less expensive than the conventional heating. The present study offers a promising method, which is simple and cost-effective and presents a minimal environmental risk to extract metals from municipal solid waste incineration ash. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study confirmed that microwave-assisted acid extraction was more effective than conventional heating. Bottom ash was easier to extract compared to fly ash, and using different acidic extracting agents led to optimal metal extraction results.