Study on the ecological risk of heavy metals during oily sludge incineration with CaO additive

In order to explore the effect of CaO on the ecological risk of chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in Oily sludge (OS), the incineration experiments of OS with and without calcium oxide (CaO) additive were carried out respectively in a horizontal tube furnace at the temperature ranging from 800 °C to 1000 °C. Furthermore, the ecological risk based on Risk Assessment Code (RAC) of Cr, Cu and Zn in OS, bottom ash from OS incineration (OSA) and bottom ash from OS incineration in the presence of CaO additive (OSA-CaO) were investigated in this work. The results showed that most of the Cr and Cu in OS remained in bottom ash, while Zn volatilized with the flue gas. At the same time, the RAC of Cr, Cu and Zn in OS decreased significantly after incineration. Compared with OSA, CaO obviously promoted the stabilization of Cr and Cu in OSA-CaO, but had little effect on the behavior of Zn. Moreover, CaO also reduced the RAC of Cu and Zn in samples, and reduced its harm to ecosystem. This study supplied essential data and theoretical support for the industrial treatment of OS, and was of great help to the harmless treatment of OS.