ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Behaviour of inorganic constituents of municipal sewage sludge during fluidized-bed combustion

M. Hartman, M. Pohořelý, and O. Trnka

Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-165 02 Prague, Czech Republic

E-mail: hartman@icpf.cas.cz

Received: 7 September 2006  Revised: 18 December 2006  Accepted: 21 January 2007

Abstract: The fate of main heavy metals in municipal sewage sludge (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, and Zn) was investigated using a fluidized-bed reactor. The behaviour of metals in the incinerator was explored by comparing metal contents in the two main ash streams: bottom (in-bed) ash and ash separated by a cyclone (cyclone-catch ash). All metals showed enrichment in the cyclone ash. The ash originating from sewage sludge is thermally quite stable consisting of quartz, hematite, spar(s), mica(s), apatite, and anhydrite. It does not soften nor becomes sticky and does not tend to agglomerate at temperatures up to 950°C.

Keywords: heavy metals - fluidized-bed combustion - sewage sludge - ash - cyclone separation

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-007-0017-4

Chemical Papers 61 (3) 181–185 (2007)