Properties of Ceramic Produced from Clay and MSW Incineration Bottom Ash Mixtures

Abstract

The bottom ash, by-product from municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration process, incurs high cost for its disposal. The aim of the present work is to study the feasibility of reuse of the bottom ash in clay ceramic production in order to introduce an alternative way to manage this waste. In this study, batch compositions were prepared by adding of 0-50 wt% of the bottom ash from domestic incinerator plant in Thailand into the clay. The properties of the samples after sintering at 1075-1125°C such as bulk density, water absorption and flexural strength were determined. A leaching test of the selected sample was also done. The results showed that the clay with high amount of bottom ash had good physical and mechanical properties. The low water absorption of less than 0.5% and highest flexural strength of 75 MPa were obtained for the clay with 30 wt% bottom ash sintered at 1125 °C. These results suggested that it is possible to reuse MSW incineration bottom ash as a raw material for producing clay ceramics.