THE PRESENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF HEAVY-METALS IN MUNICIPAL SOLID-WASTE INCINERATORS

Heavy metals are both a hazard to human health and a risk to the environment. Among the different sources, it seems interesting to study the waste incineration process for the increasing number of composite materials which are disposed by this method. This paper will focus mainly on the processing of heavy metals in municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration plants. In particular, the study will be concerned with analyzing, on the basis of established methodologies, the amount and type of heavy metals in both input waste and each incineration effluent. The data from this kind of analysis is essential for optimizing as much as possible incinerator working conditions and for being able to correctly choose the most appropriate effluent treatment technique.