Vitrification of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash with B2O3 as a fluxing agent

Abstract In this paper, B2O3 was used as a fluxing agent to reduce the melting temperature of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash and promote the glassy phase formation. Ash fusion temperature (AFT) test, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and thermodynamic calculation were carried out. The results showed that the flow temperature decreased from 1211 °C to 986 °C with an increase in the B2O3 content from 0 to 15 wt%. The melting slag lead to a decrease in the surface area and an increase in the mass transfer resistance of heavy metals. Thus, the agglomeration of the fly ash particles became easier with the reduced viscosity of the liquid slag. The volatilization of Pb, Cd and Zn in fly ash was inhibited. The leaching behavior of heavy metals was evaluated, the results indicated that Zn and Cu were stable whereas the Pb and Cd were soluble in glassy slag.