Biomass Incinerator Ash Impacts (& coal plant or waste incinerator ash toxic effects)
Biomass Ash has varying levels of toxic metals depending on the fuel source and area the fuel was grown. The primary concerns are the levels of cadmium, mercury, and lead. Cadmium levels are often problematic, and mercury can also be high, averaging 1.9 parts per million in fly ash in one study. Much of the mercury in wood waste is in emissions, but can also be high in ash, where mercury is concentrated by as much as a factor of 40 compared to the fuel stock level. Ash with significant levels of toxic metals must be treated as toxic waste.
Waste incinerator ash usually has much higher levels of toxics, depending on the waste stream content. (see later doc.)
From waste to raw material—the route from biomass to wood
ash for
cadmium and other heavy metals; M. Narodoslawsky
and I. Obernberger
Institute for Chemical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25, A-8010, Graz, Austria accepted 21 February 1996. Available online 20 March 1998.
Abstract
Energetic utilization of biomass is considered an environmentally safe way of providing energy, especially for process heat and district- heating purposes. The main advantage of energy from biomass is the CO2-neutrality of this energy-production process. However, this process produces a solid by-products, namely ash, that has to be considered. This ash contains nutrients like calcium, potassium and phosphorus that should be recycled to forest or agricultural soils, thus closing not only the carbon cycle but also the fluxes of mineral materials caused by these technologies. The problem is, however, that besides nutrients, the ash also contains heavy metals. Cadmium poses a special risk to the use of wood ash in agriculture. It pollutes a large fraction of the ash generated in a biomass combustion plant, namely the cyclone fly-ash and, to an even higher degree, the filter fly-ash or (where flue gas condensation is installed) the condensation sludge. A medium-term solution to the recycling of solid residues from biomass combustion is blending cyclone fly-ash and bottom ash and using the mixture in agriculture. Although a large part of nutrients might be recycled in this manner, care has to be taken of the relatively high amount of cadmium in this material. A new technology currently under development takes advantage of the different temperatures in a biomass combustion plant. This technology enables concentration of cadmium (and other volatile heavy metals) in a very small portion of the whole ash flux from a plant and the concentrations of environmentally relevant substances in the remainder of the ash is kept low. In this manner, wood ash from the process industry or district heating systems might be transformed from waste to raw material for agricultural use.
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Farber
Medical Solutions, LLC 1285 Wood Ave. Bridgeport, CT 06604 Attn.: Stewart Farber,
MS Public Health [203] 441-8433 - office [203] 522-2817 - mobile [203] 367-0791 - fax website:
www.farber-medical.com email:
farber@farber.info |
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Greenfield Zoning
Board of Appeals
14 Court Square
Greenfield, MA 01370
ALKALI
DEPOSITS FOUND IN BIOMASS POWER PLANTS
www.trmiles.com/alkali/alkali.htm#EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Alkali
in the ash of annual crop biomass fuels creates serious fouling and slagging
in conventional boilers. Even with the use of sorbents and other additives,
power plants can only fire limited amounts of these fuels in combination with
wood. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), U. S. Department of
Energy, and the biomass power industry carried out eight full-scale firing
tests and several laboratory experiments to study the nature and occurrence of
deposits with the goal of increasing the quantities of these biofuels that can be used. This report describes the
results of the laboratory and power plant tests that included: tracking and
analyzing fuels and deposits by various methods; recording operating
conditions; and extensive laboratory testing.
The handbook of biomass combustion and co-firing (Cd)
Letter to Ed (Dear
Sirs,)
I request that this
letter and any information attached to it be added to the public record.
I am an environmental
radiation monitoring scientist [A.B. Brown University in Chemistry, Master of Science in Public Health
from UMASS Amherst in Air Pollution Control]. Professionally, I have
been involved in conducting and assessing environmental radiation monitoring
studies for over 20 years.
In the early 1990s, I
initiated a study by radiation scientists all over the US who documented the
levels of natural and man-made radioactivity in wood ash gathered from domestic
wood burning of both hardwoods and softwoods from the East Coast to Georgia,
South Carolina, Idaho, and California.
The study was initiated
by a Feature Article I authored to the Health Physics Society's Newsletter
[Volume XVIII, No. 4] titled "Preliminary Study of Cs-137
[Cesium-137] Uptake by Trees and Its Implications for BRC, Waste Disposal, and Dosimetry].
The Health Physics Society is an International Society of over 5,000
radiation safety scientists involved in environmental, medical, and industrial
radiation protection.
This initial study,
noted above, documents the presence of radioactive Cs-137, a man-made
radioactive isotope, in a small number of wood ash samples from around New
England. My initial Article called for actual measurements of Cs-137 in wood
ash to be measured since concentrations of man made
Cs-137 were found to be quite variable. I measured one sample of wood ash from
trees harvested near Warren, VT distant from any source of the release of
radioactive Cs-137 from any industrial source of radioactivity. This first
measurement in Warren, VT was 10 times higher than a wood ash sample from
burning trees cut down
in Southern Vermont near the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. This finding
of higher Cs-137 in more Northern Vermont to levels 10 times lower in Southern
Vermont shows how variable the concentration of radioactive Cs-137 can be in
trees, and how the resulting content of
Cs-137 in wood ash could vary accordingly.
In this initial
Article, I called for scientists all over the US to make Cs-137 measurements in
wood ash to document then current levels, and to send the data to me to
compile. As background, Cs-137 was
created and dispersed worldwide in the environment primarily from the open air testing of
atomic bombs by the United States and the former Soviet Union from the 1940s
into the 1960s. When radioactive
Uranium-235 or Plutonium-238 is fissioned in the
explosion of an atomic or hydrogen bomb, the major amount of radioactivity from long half life fission products deposited in the environment
is from Cesium-137 and Strontium-90. Both isotopes have a half life of about 30
years. A half life of
30 years means that both Cs-137 and Sr-90 decline by a factor of about 2 every
30 years.
Data in my initial
study clearly indicate that radioactive Cs-137 is present in wood ash samples
gathered from all over the US. The highest average concentrations [in declining
averages based on the samples analyzed] were measured in Maine, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Six samples analyzed in California were 50
times lower documenting how the higher measurements of Cs-137 were primarily
seen in the Eastern US.
The results of this
research were presented on October 21st, 1992 at the 5th Annual National Biofuels Conference, which was organized by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency and other Federal and State environmental agencies and
organizations. I was an invited speaker
at this Biofuels Conference, and participated in a panel discussing
the significance of radioactivity in wood ash to the use of biofuels.
Radioactive Cs-137 levels in a sample as measured in 1991 will have declined by
about 34% to the present.
A wood burning power
plant represents an industrial process which brings very large quantities of
wood [which contains radioactive Cs-137, Strontium-90, and a long list of
natural radioactive isotopes at varying concentrations depending on the wood
supply] and concentrates it in one location. This concentrated presence of
radioisotopes, as present in the biomass, is upon combustion released into the
stack gas emissions from the facility, and into the ash generated and disposed
of by the biomass power plant either as a waste product, or as a fertilizer as
a soil amendment.
The radioactivity
present in wood ash or in the stack gas releases from industrial wood burning
power generation using biomass has to my knowledge not been measured and
assessed. However, there is no disputing that both man made
and natural radioactivity will be present in both the stack releases and in the
ash. Both sources of release represent a pathway by which
radioactivity can reach people and the environment in a more concentrated
manner.
It is appropriate
that any applicant proposing to build a 50 MW[e] wood burning power plant make
a basic set of measurements to assess the radioactivity content of the wood
which will be used to feed the boilers, of the Cs-137 which might be released
in the stack gas emissions once the facility begins operation, and which will
be present in the thousands of tons of bottom and fly ash which will be
disposed of in various ways. Only in this manner, will it be possible to
characterize in a basic way what radiation exposure may result from the
operation of a biomass fueled power plant.
Respectfully yours,
Stewart Farber, MS Public Health
Farber Medical Solutions, LLC
1285 Wood Ave.
Bridgeport, CT 06604 [203] 441-8433
[office] [203] 522-2817 [cell] [203] 367-0791 [fax]
website: www.farber-medical.com email:
farber@farber.info
Attachment:
Cesium-137 in Wood Ash -Results of Nationwide Survey, Stewart Farber, Consulting Scientist; Presented at the 5th Annual National Biofuels Conference, Newton, MA; October 21, 1992 38 pages including Attachments
Mercury in Biomass Feedstock and Combustion
Residuals; Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, Peter Thy1 
and Bryan M. Jenkins2
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Department of Geology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA |
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Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA |
Published online: 29 September 2009
Abstract An exploratory survey of the mercury content of some common California biomass feedstocks shows that the concentrations are well below EPA toxicity levels with representative feedstock concentrations of 20 ppb for rice straw, 28 ppb for wheat straw, and 32 ppb for whole-tree wood chips. The temporal variability for rice straw (17–20 ppb) is near the analytical uncertainty (∼2 ppb). Saline-irrigated feedstock does not contain greatly higher mercury contents (17–38 ppb) compared to normally irrigated feedstock. Water leaching has likewise no detectable effects on mercury mobility, despite an up to 30% increase in the Hg concentrations attributable to mass losses during leaching. Combustion at temperatures of at least 575°C results in complete volatilization of mercury leaving solid ash and slag residuals
with mercury contents at or near the lower limit of detection (5 ppb).
The mercury strongly concentrated in fly ash can reach concentrations up
to 40 times (<1,166 ppb) the corresponding fuel concentrations.
Trace Metal Concentrations in Ashes from Various Types of Biomass Species Author: Ayhan Dem
rba
a
Published in: 
Energy Sources, Part A:
Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, Volume 25, Issue 7 July 2003 , pages 743 –
751 http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713849950&db=all
Abstract
In this study, toxic metal levels in selected samples of various biomass types—wood, wood bark, fruit shell, mushroom, and lichen—were determined. The samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometrically for their toxic metal elements: As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Hg. The maximum levels of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Hg were 4.118 mg/kg in beech trunk wood ash, 3.926 mg/kg in Cladonia rangiformis, 15.057 mg/kg in Lactarius piperatus, 92.488 mg/kg in Amanita muscaria, 40.832 mg/kg in beech trunk bark ash, and 0.718 mg/kg in Cladonia rangiformis, respectively, in all the samples. The problem of uptake and accumulation of these elements has environmental and toxicological aspects as well
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Range in elemental composition of industrial |
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Element |
Wood Ash* |
Limestone |
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Macroelements |
Concentration in % |
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Calcium |
15 (2.5-33) |
31 |
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Potassium |
2.6 (0.1-13) |
0.13 |
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Aluminum |
1.6 (0.5-3.2) |
0.25 |
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Magnesium |
1.0 (0.1-2.5) |
5.1 |
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Iron |
0.84 (0.2-2.1) |
0.29 |
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Phosphorus |
0.53 (0.1-1.4) |
0.06 |
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Manganese |
0.41 (0-1.3) |
0.05 |
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Sodium |
0.19 (0-0.54) |
0.07 |
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Nitrogen |
0.15 (0.02-0.77) |
0.01 |
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Microelements |
Concentration in mg/kg |
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Arsenic |
6 (3-10) |
. |
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Boron |
123 (14-290) |
. |
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Cadmium * |
3 (0.2-26) |
0.7 |
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Chromium |
57 (7-368) |
6.0 |
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Copper |
70 (37-207) |
10 |
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Lead * |
65 (16-137) |
55 |
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Mercury * |
1.9 (0-5) |
. |
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Molybdenum |
19 (0-123) |
. |
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Nickel |
20 (0-63) |
20 |
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Selenium |
0.9 (0-11) |
. |
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Zinc |
233 (35-1250) |
113 |
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Other Chemical Properties |
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CaCO3 Equivalent |
43% (22-92%) |
100% |
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pH |
10.4 (9-13.5) |
9.9 |
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% Total solids |
75 (31-100) |
100 |
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* Mean and (Range) taken from analysis of 37 ash samples |
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· Mark Risse, Extension Engineering, 307 Hoke Smith Bldg., Athens 30602. 706-542-2154
· Glen Harris, Extension Agronomist, P.O. Box 1209, Tifton 31793. 912-386-3194
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/bestwoodash.html
MSW Incinerators
The 160 MSW incinerators operating in the U.S. produce about 8 million tons of ash each year containing, by rough estimate, some 18,000 tons of lead, plus lesser quantities of other potent toxins such as cadmium, arsenic, mercury and dioxin.[ Assuming the 8 million tons are 90% bottom ash containing 2000 ppm lead and 10% fly ash containing 4000 ppm lead] Ash containing 2000 ppm lead is contaminated at a level more than 5 times as high as the "level of concern" EPA recently set for lead in soil.
Hazardous waste can cost up to $300 per ton for burial at a legally-designated hazardous waste dump. Judi Enck of the New York Public Interest Research Group estimates that ash can be placed in an "ash monofill" for only $70 or $80 per ton. (note: costs outdated)
RACHEL'S HAZARDOUS WASTE News #403, 1994, www.ejnet.org/rachel/rehw403.htm
RACHEL'S HAZARDOUS WASTE
NEWS #390
RACHEL'S HAZARDOUS WASTE
NEWS #391 ---
RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT &
HEALTH WEEKLY #457 ---
Rachel’s News
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?St=4
Rachel’s News : Index
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?St=4
#797 --
Toxic Lead and Violence,
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?St=4
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#769 --
Prenatal Exposures and Disease, |
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?St=4
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#678 -
ADHD and Children's Environment, |
http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/index.cfm?St=4
Toxic Metal Content of
Coal Plant Ash
Coal Ash
Each year, coal plants in the U.S. churn out nearly 140 million tons of coal ash — more than 900 pounds for every American — generating the country's second-largest stream of industrial waste, surpassed only by mining. If you piled all the coal ash on a single football field, it would create a toxic mountain more than 20 miles high. A report from the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice identified 31 sites in 14 states they say have been contaminated by coal-combustion ash, which contains arsenic, mercury and selenium. Some of the sites contained levels of arsenic and other toxic metals in contaminated water at up to 145 times the levels of federal standards, the report concludes.
the American Lung Association expects coal emissions to kill at least 23,000 this year.
Ash from waste
incinerators is similar to coal plant ash, but worse in some cases.
