Effect of Major Constituents of MSW Fly Ash During Electrodialytic Remediation of Heavy Metals

Abstract

Electrodialytic remediation (EDR) is a technique in which contaminants are removed from waste material by applying an electric field which forces their movement into concentration chambers through ion‐exchange membranes. In the current work EDR is used for the treatment of heavy metal–contaminated fly ash. The objective is to study the impact of major constituents of fly ash on remediation times, on efficiency, and on the performance of membranes. The results show that major constituents foul the ion‐exchange membranes, decreasing their ability to transport metal ions out of the waste compartment.

Keywords:

• Heavy metal
• fly ash
• ion‐exchange membranes
• electrodialytic remediation

Acknowledgments

This work was partially funded by the Portuguese Project POCTI/AGG/45073/2002, approved by FCT and POCTI with FEDER funds.