Effects of Surfactants on the Removal of Carbonaceous Matter and Dioxins from Weathered Incineration Fly Ash

Han-Qiao Liu; Fang Liu; Guo-Xia Wei; Rui Zhang; Yu-Wen Zhu

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2017.08.0266

Effects of Surfactants on the Removal of Carbonaceous Matter and Dioxins from Weathered Incineration Fly Ash

Control Techniques and Strategy

Han-Qiao Liu ¹, Fang Liu¹, Guo-Xia Wei², Rui Zhang¹, Yu-Wen Zhu¹

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¹School of Energy and Safety Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin 300384, China
²School of Science, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin 300384, China

Received: August 8, 2017
Revised: August 23, 2017
Accepted: August 23, 2017
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.08.0266

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Cite this article:
Liu, H.Q., Liu, F., Wei, G.X., Zhang, R. and Zhu, Y.W. (2017). Effects of Surfactants on the Removal of Carbonaceous Matter and Dioxins from Weathered Incineration Fly Ash. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 17: 2338-2347. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.08.0266

HIGHLIGHTS

Effect of surfactants on flotation effect of the weathered fly ash was studied.
The appropriate surfactant type and dose were determined.
The relationship between carbon removal and dioxin removal was demonstrated.

ABSTRACT

Our previous study demonstrated flotation to be effective in removing carbonaceous matter and dioxins from fresh fly ash in medical waste incinerators (MWIs). However, flotation of weathered fly ash seems to be difficult because of the oxidation of the ash surface and the presence of hydrophilic unburned carbon. Three types of surfactants namely nonionic Tween 80, anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cationic CTAB were employed at different doses to improve flotation performance. Results indicated that Tween 80 exhibited superior decarburization performance compared with SDS and CTAB. The effect of surfactants on dioxin removal was found to correspond to the carbon removal from MWI fly ash. The optimal removal yields (90.6% of carbonaceous matter and 88.6% of dioxins) were obtained when 5% (w/w) Tween 80 was added. However, an excessive dose might cause the dissolution of dioxins.

Keywords: Flotation; Carbonaceous matter; Dioxins; Weathered fly ash; Surfactant