Abstract
Although the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) is decreasing in Japan, nearly 80% of it has been incinerated. Incineration residue now comprises three quarters of the final waste to be disposed of in landfills. In the stoker incineration facility, for example, incineration residue is composed of grate shift ash, bottom ash, flue gas ash (such as boiler ash), and air pollution control residue. As each ash has different characteristics, it is necessary to control discharge separately from the facility in order to optimize the methods of resource recycling/final disposal suitable to each type. In Japan, approximately one quarter of incineration residue is recycled; the main way to recycle incineration residues currently is by melting and as raw material for cement. In Europe, metal particle recovery facilities from incineration bottom ash are rapidly spreading and in Europe and Taiwan, incineration residues are being recycled into construction materials. Introducing metal particle recovery facilities and applying aging treatments are both advantageous for subsequent cement raw material, construction materials, as well as final disposal. Now, the recycling and disposal of flue gas ash and air pollution control residue are left as our future tasks.
