Treatment of Bottom Ashes of Waste-to-Energy Installations – State of the Art –

Separation of the bottom ashes in several fractions and recycling of the metals and stony fractions facilitate the further integration of Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technology as part of a circular economy. Recycling of metals and utilization of bottom ash will substitute the mining and manufacturing of virgin material, thus lowering the burden on our natural resources. The increased awareness on resource recovery potential in and of the bottom ash has caused substantial developments, such as more efficient separation techniques and alternative process solutions. The scope oft his article is to give an overview of the current status of bottom ash treatment and the potential uses of the mineral and metal fractions.