Prospective environmental and economic assessment of municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash valorization

This study presents an integrated environmental and economic assessment of an innovative valorization process for municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash (IBA), which is currently used mainly in landfill construction but contains recoverable minerals and metals. The assessments consider a 2023 laboratory-scale and two prospective 2030 scenarios, which are all modeled specifically for Germany. The assessment framework enables a comprehensive evaluation of the process and is applicable to other datasets and technologies. Results are presented for a 2023 laboratory-scale and two prospective 2030 scenarios, all modeled for Germany. From an environmental perspective, substitution analysis reveals considerable impact reductions across multiple categories. Using recovered minerals in cement production, for instance, can avoid up to 92.78 kg CO₂-equivalents per Mg of valorized IBA. The economic assessment shows potential revenues of up to €147.44 per Mg of valorized IBA. Scenario analysis further demonstrates that both environmental and economic performance are highly dependent on future regulatory and market conditions.