Sintering of MSW fly ash for reuse as a concrete aggregate

The sintering process of municipal solid waste (MSW) fly ash was investigated in order to manufacture sintered products for reuse as concrete aggregates. Four types of fly ash resulting from different Italian MSW incineration plants were tested in this study. A modification of the chemical composition of MSW fly ash - through a preliminary four-stage washing treatment of this material with water - was attempted to improve the chemical and mechanical characteristics of sintered products. The sintering treatment of untreated or washed fly ash was performed on cylindrical compact specimens (15 mm in diameter and 20 mm in height) at different com act pressures, sintering temperatures and times. The sintering process of untreated MSW fly ashes proved to be ineffective for manufacturing sintered products for reuse as a construction material, because of the adverse chemical characteristics of these fly ashes in terms of sulfate, chloride, and vitrifying oxide contents. A preliminary washing treatment of MSW fly ash with water greatly improved the chemical and mechanical characteristics of sintered products and, for all the types of fly ash tested, the sintered products satisfied the Italian requirements for normal weight aggregates for use in concretes having a specified strength not greater than 12 and 15 N/mm(2), when measured on cylindrical and cubic specimens, respectively. A compact pressure of 28 N/mm(2), a sintering temperature of 1140 degreesC, and a sintering time of 60 min were the best operating conditions for manufacturing sintered products of washed MSW fly ash. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.