Accelerated carbonation of different size fractions of MSW IBA and the effect on leaching

Abstract Accelerated carbonation has been studied as a treatment method for MSW IBA, and the main advantage is that it can shorten the treatment duration from months to days, compared to natural weathering. This study investigated the effect of accelerated carbonation on different size fractions of IBA collected from two incineration plants in Singapore. The different size fractions were ground to − , and SO 4 2− were evaluated. It was found that carbonation resulted in the reduction of leaching of most constituents, except Cl − and SO 4 2− . The reduction in leaching after carbonation can be attributed to the decrease in pH and formation of secondary minerals, rather than the precipitation of calcite. The research also suggested that since the leaching of soluble constituents from untreated IBA is mainly from the fine fractions and the fine fractions are more reactive to accelerated carbonation, size separation is beneficial in improving the carbonation efficiency and reducing the volume of IBA that needs to be treated, which can potentially reduce the treatment cost of IBA.