Environmental impacts of the use of bottom ashes from municipal solid waste incineration: A review

Abstract This paper presents a literature review concerning the performance from an environmental viewpoint of construction related products made with municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash. It starts with an initial assessment of the bottom ash, and how it performs when used as aggregate substitute in cement-based products, as cement constituent and as raw feed in cement production. Evaluation of the material’s environmental performance when used as aggregate replacement in unbound and cement-bound base and subbase layers for road pavement construction, as well as in asphalt concrete layers, is also undertaken. This paper also appraises the behaviour of ceramic-based products, including glass, glass-ceramics, and general ceramics. As a result of the high quantities of potentially leachable contaminants inherent to the bottom ash, the environmental assessment carried out throughout this paper is mostly based on the materials’ leaching behaviour, but also based on life cycle assessments and gas emission analyses. The results of several leaching trials, conducted according to various specifications, were reviewed and paralleled with corresponding regulations, with the objective of establishing the products’ viability from an environmental point of view.