Study on Low-Temperature Pyrolysis of Dioxins in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash Using Water-Washed Synergistic Catalysts

Fly ash produced by Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) contains significant quantities of dioxins, posing a major challenge for safe disposal. Compared to other high-temperature disposal methods, low-temperature pyrolysis (<500 °C) can efficiently degrade dioxins in fly ash at relatively low temperatures. To better understand the effects of water-washing and catalysts on dioxin decomposition during low-temperature pyrolysis, this study investigates the impact of water-washing and three different catalysts (V2O5-WO3/TiO2, Fe/C, and CaO) on the decomposition of dioxins in washed fly ash (WFA). The results indicate that, despite the fact that water-washing pretreatment causes dioxin enrichment in WFA, the toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) of dioxins within WFA remains lower at the identical pyrolysis temperature when contrasted with that in raw fly ash (RFA). Low-temperature pyrolysis carried out at 250 °C is capable of degrading 99.3% of the dioxins present in water-washed fly ash, achieving a significantly better performance compared to the raw fly ash, which has a degradation efficiency of merely 80%. Nevertheless, when the temperature is set at 210 °C, the degradation efficiency of the WFA turns out to be relatively low, only reaching 29%. The addition of catalysts remarkably promoted dioxin degradation at 210 °C. Among them, CaO exhibited the most outstanding performance, achieving a degradation efficiency as high as 94.8%. It should be emphasized that the catalyst ratio plays a pivotal role in the degradation process. Specifically, the proportion of CaO should not to be less than 10 wt.%.