Engineering Characteristics of Bottom Ash in Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators

Incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) produces by-products which can be broadly classified as bottom and fly ashes, and the bottom ash is the primary by-product that accounts for 80% of the total. The main goal of the present work is to study the engineering properties of the incineration bottom ash, produced by Ningbo Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plan in China. The study includes physical and engineering properties, such as radioactive nuclide, particle size distribution, physical and chemical compositions, organic matter content, mud content, moisture content, apparent and bulk densities, water absorption rate, solidity, bearing capacity, etc. The test results indicate that the harmful substance content of the bottom ash agrees with the environmental regulations. Compared with natural aggregates, the bottom ash has more uniform particle size distribution, more complex constituents, higher strength, higher water content, higher water absorption rate and lower density. So the engineering characteristics of the bottom ash are close to those of natural aggregates, and its engineering application is feasible.