MINTEQ modeling for evaluating the leaching behavior of heavy metals in MSWI fly ash

At present, all kinds of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash stabilization technology has been reported and successfully applied in many countries. However, leaching procedures are very different that the technologies lack uniform standard, and it is even impossible to predict the long-term stabilization. Geochemical model can explain the environmental stabilization based on chemical phase and thermodynamic crystal structure, and it is also able to guide the development of environment-friendly stabilization technology and choosing of chemical agents. Both experiment analysis and geochemical modeling were used to study the correlation between leaching behavior of MSWI fly ash and variation of pH. Dissolution/precipitation mechanism was applied in the simulation. The result indicated that the pH-dependent leaching behavior predicted by Visual MINTEQ is well in agreement with the result of pH-dependent test. pH value of leachate can significantly change the leaching behavior of MSWI fly ash. The leaching behavior of heavy metals for Pb and Cd is controlled by dissolution/precipitation mechanism, whereas for Zn and Ni, it is effected by surface adsorption reaction over a special extent of pH value.