title: Persistence of engineered nanoparticles in a municipal solid-waste incineration plant.
abstract: More than 100 million tonnes of municipal solid waste are incinerated worldwide every year. However, little is known about the fate of nanomaterials during incineration, even though the presence of engineered nanoparticles in waste is expected to grow. Here, we show that cerium oxide nanoparticles introduced into a full-scale waste incineration plant bind loosely to solid residues from the combustion process and can be efficiently removed from flue gas using current filter technology. The nanoparticles were introduced either directly onto the waste before incineration or into the gas stream exiting the furnace of an incinerator that processes 200,000 tonnes of waste per year. Nanoparticles that attached to the surface of the solid residues did not become a fixed part of the residues and did not demonstrate any physical or chemical changes. Our observations show that although it is possible to incinerate waste without releasing nanoparticles into the atmosphere, the residues to which they bind eventually end up in landfills or recovered raw materials, confirming that there is a clear environmental need to develop degradable nanoparticles.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8093                 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Walser
authors.forename: Ludwig K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Limbach
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brogioli
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Erismann
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flamigni
authors.forename: Bodo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hattendorf
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Juchli
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Krumeich
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Karol
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prikopsky
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rossier
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saner
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sigg
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hellweg
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Günther
authors.forename: Wendelin J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Stark
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution; D002563:Cerium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005740:Gases; D006801:Humans; D017745:Incineration; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D062611:Solid Waste
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D062611:Solid Waste; D002563:Cerium; C030583:ceric oxide