Bottom Ash Processing With the Leaching Reactor

Bottom ash is usually buried in landfills. Throughout Switzerland, there are 28 such bottom ash land­fills. However, space for new sto­rage sites is scarce, and in some cantons, there is no longer any landfill capacity available.

The end product of solid waste in­cineration is called raw bottom ash and must be further proces­sed in a bottom ash processing plant. Often the first processing is mechanical, whereby it is crus­hed and separated from metals, ferrous, non-ferrous, and orga­nics substances. It then moves via conveyors to optical sorting to se­parate out materials such as glass or bricks. What remains at the end are minerals, such as stones.

The whole process requires water, which is always reused in the cyc­le. This water must be continuously treated; this is where process water treatment comes into play. Final­ly, after the leaching reactor, was­tewater treatment processes the water containing heavy metals and pollutants in such a way that it can be discharged into the surrounding waters.

The landfill bottom ash cause long-term polluted landfill leacha­te with dissolved carbons, metals, and salts. However, the treatment of the bottom ash is very costly in order not to endanger the environ­ment with it.

The deposited landfill bottom ash contains high levels of metals such as iron, aluminum, copper, and ot­her non-ferrous and heavy metals. By returning the metals to the ma­terial cycle, this loss of resources can be reduced, thus avoiding the environmental pollution associa­ted with the primary production of these metals. In addition, the limi­ted space available in landfills can be conserved. This not only reduces the loss of resources but also signi­ficantly reduces the environmental impact.

World novelty on the market – Leaching Reactor

We are proud to launch our first own residue treatment machine, which is also a world novelty: the Leaching Re­actor for bottom ash processing. The machine is desig­ned to extract pollutants from bottom ash by mixing the bottom ash with acid. With this new machine, AIK Technik AG once again demonstrates its spirit of innovation and invention.

AIK Technik AG has developed a new type of machine, as a spe­cific component for bottom-ash processing, which can be used to further process bottom ash – a re­sidual material from incineration plants. This is an important step towards sustainable disposal and recycling. The process is based on chemical-mechanical treat­ment. Heavy metals can thus be dissolved out of the bottom ash (leaching). The leaching reactor is an important and forward-looking component in bottom ash proces­sing plants. It is integrated into a specific module that supports the entire bottom ash preparation process. The complete process enables bottom ash to be depo­sited in more favorable landfill classes or even recycled. The new process is an important innova­tion, providing a sustainable so­lution to a growing problem. In re­cent years, the amount of bottom ash generated by incinerators has increased sharply, and there is a growing shortage of type D land­fills where the bottom ash is to be deposited in Switzerland. The new machine from AIK Technik AG offers an environmentally friendly and resource-saving solution to this problem.

The Leaching Reactor will decontaminate the bottom ash mass to be landfilled and reduce it by at least 25%, thus substantially lowering environmental emissions. The Lea­ching Reactor will thus make a significant contribution to the protection of the environment.

Research and development have always been an important part of our work. AIK Technik AG invests annually in new technology de­velopments as well as in the opti­mization and further development of existing plants, components, and processes.

In doing so, our efforts are syste­matically directed toward new pro­cesses that could replace the cur­rent ones. We design the operating sequences of existing procedures and processes more efficiently in order to reduce material and ener­gy requirements. Our plants em­body sustainability, a real added-value for the economy, energy, and the environment.

Thanks to our own in-house labo­ratory, we are always in a position to carry out expert laboratory and operational analyses and to provi­de our customers with competent support and assistance in trouble­shooting and process and operati­onal optimization. We use different analysis methods (water, solids), which are successfully used in the optimization of existing processes as well as in the application of new process developments.

AIK Technik AG also has its own spare parts warehouse. Services are therefore available at any time and the team is ready for action. Our after-sales service with the delivery and management of spare and worn parts is an integral part of our quality management and is highly appreciated by our custo­mers.