Interaction of municipal solid waste ash with water.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration ash is composed mainly of glasses and common minerals. We examine the dominant chemical reactions occurring between water and MSW ash using batch reactors. The ash-water solutions are dominated by ions released by soluble salts. X-ray diffraction documents the dissolution of soluble salts and the precipitation of at least one secondary alteration mineral. Three types of reactions are identified. (1) After rapid exhaustion of soluble salts, sodium and potassium exhibit nearly steady-state behavior due to the slow release of ions from less soluble minerals and glasses. Approximately 10 kg of anhydrous salts could be precipitated from a solution contacting each metric ton of ash