Abstract
Heavy metals such as Cd, Pb, Zn, Sn, and Hg were discharged together with smoke and dust when municipal solid waste were incinerated. The emissions of these five metals were given as following.
(1) The emissions of Cd, Pb, Zn, and Sn in the soot and dust have positive correlation with the disposal quantity of the waste plastics (especially chlorine plastics) in refuse.
(2) In the case that the proportion of the waste plastcis were from 7 to 13%, electrostatic precipitators have proved efficiently clearing up the emissions of Cd, Pb, Zn, and Sn. However, when the disposal quantity of the waste plastics were much, it had been not sufficient to clear up the emissions of these heavy metals because of the insufficiency of dust-collecting capacity in electrostatic precipitators.
(3) The emission of Hg was supposed to come from a kind of dry cell, a thermometer, and a fluoresent light contained in the refuse.
Therefore, separation of the these stuffs from the municipal solid waste by separate collection prior to incineration should reduse the emissions of Cd, Pb, Zn, Sn, and Hg.
