As landfill space for the disposal of products of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) such as fly ash and slag becomes increasingly scarce, a reduction of disposed material is urgently required. The method of using incineration products in concrete production is explored in this paper through a feasibility study of utilizing fly ash and slag to replace cement and coarse aggregate in appropriate proportions. Results show that C30 concrete optimum replacement rates of fly ash and slag are 30% and 20%, which can meet the minimum strength requirement. The leaching concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Cd in MSWI concrete samples are determined to be less than the identification value of solid waste leaching toxicity. Based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, MSWI fly ash has certain dispersion. The particle size of MSWI fly ash is determined to be close to that of the coal fly ash, and the surface morphology is irregular. The main components include SiO2, CaCO3, and Ca2SiO4, and they are similar to those present in the coal fly ash. The slag structure is loose as well as irregular, and its main component is SiO2. The SiO2 and Al2O3 in fly ash and slag participate in the hydration reaction of cement and can increase concrete strength. It is thus confirmed that fly ash and slag generated by waste incineration can be used to replace cement and coarse aggregate in appropriate proportions, and it is an effective method to solve the problem of scarcity of solid waste landfill space.
Crop straw, as a widely used biomass resource, can be processed to produce renewable energy and green products. However, about 70% of straw were burned in the open air, causing serious environmental pollution and air pollution. In order to reduce the burden on the environment, the different straw management strategies are comparatively studied and evaluated by applying the life-cycle assessment (LCA) method. Within the system boundary from cradle to grave, three alternative scenarios, including straw particleboard, straw cement-bonded particleboard, and straw direct combustion power generation, are compared with the current common treatment (straw open burning). e comprehensive inventory analysis on each treatment scenario is carried out indepth, and the corresponding resource consumption and environmental impact of each treatment scenario are calculated, respectively. e LCA results showed that the environmental impacts of reusing crop straw to produce straw particleboard and cement-bonded particleboard (Scenario 1 and Scenario 2) is significantly reduced by 6% and 10%, by comparison with the use of wood resource. Greenhouse gas emissions from straw direct combustion power generation (Scenario 3) processes are reduced by 30% compared with coal power generation. From the environmental point of view, the scenario of straw particleboard product has the smallest impact on the environment, while straw open burning is not an advisable way due to the highest environmental impact from the highest greenhouse gas emissions and acidification effects. From the perspective of energy consumption, the energy consumption for the combustion power generation is the smallest in all scenarios. It is suggested that governments are supposed to construct reasonable scenarios for the straw disposition based on the local development status and condition. e research results can provide scientific guidance for the management strategy of the comprehensive utilization of straw resources.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.