Landfill mining: Resource potential of Austrian landfills--Evaluation and quality assessment of recovered municipal solid waste by chemical analyses.
Since the need for raw materials in countries undergoing industrialisation (like China) is rising, the availability of metal and fossil fuel energy resources (like ores or coal) has changed in recent years. Landfill sites can contain considerable amounts of recyclables and energy-recoverable materials, therefore, landfill mining is an option for exploiting dumped secondary raw materials, saving primary sources. For the purposes of this article, two sanitary landfill sites have been chosen for obtaining actual data to determine the resource potential of Austrian landfills. To evaluate how pretreating waste before disposal affects the resource potential of landfills, the first landfill site has been selected because it has received untreated waste, whereas mechanically-biologically treated waste was dumped in the second. The scope of this investigation comprised: (1) waste characterisation by sorting analyses of recovered waste; and (2) chemical analyses of specific waste fractions for quality assessment regarding potential energy recovery by using it as solid recovered fuels. The content of eight heavy metals and the net calorific values were determined for the chemical characterisation tests.
Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Leoben, Austria tanja.wolfsberger@unileoben.ac.at.
Tanja
T
Wolfsberger
Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Leoben, Austria.
Alexia
A
Aldrian
Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Leoben, Austria.
Renato
R
Sarc
Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Leoben, Austria.
Robert
R
Hermann
Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Leoben, Austria.
Daniel
D
Höllen
NUA-Abfallwirtschafts GmbH, Traiskirchen, Austria.
Andreas
A
Budischowsky
AWV Mürzverband, Allerheiligen im Mürztal, Austria.
Andreas
A
Zöscher
UTC Umwelttechnik und Technische Chemie ZT GmbH, Klagenfurt, Austria.
Arne
A
Ragoßnig
Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management, Leoben, Austria.
Roland
R
Pomberger
D001317:Austria; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D059027:Recycling; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D018505:Waste Management
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D062611:Solid Waste
Landfill mining; chemical analyses; heavy metal content; pretreatment; quality assessment; resource potential; solid recovered fuel; sorting analyses