6/17/2015

Recycle Florida Today

Renewable Energy and
Advances in Technology
Development of a Waste to Energy
Bottom Ash Recycling Program in
Pasco County, Florida

Why Recycle WTE Ash?

Environmental Benefit
Offset impacts from virgin
mineral use
Reduce landfilling
Opportunities for
increased metals recycling
Recycling credits
F.S. 403.706 (4)(a)
Fiscal benefit
Decreased aggregate costs
Reduced landfill volume

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Ash Reuse in Pasco County

WTE ash recycling has been
attempted in Florida multiple
times in the past several
decades.
Many of these efforts focused
on combined ash
In 2013, after a statewide
working group funded by the
Hinkley Center focusing on
pathways and limitations for
combustion residual
recycling, Pasco County
moved forward with a
demonstration project.

Research, Development and

Demonstration (RD&D) Project
[pursuant to Section 403.70715 of the Florida Statutes]

The County applied for a

RD&D permit to
construct a test roadway
using WTE bottom ash.
Preliminary
characterization data
provided to FDEP
Multiple beneficial use
options were targeted
for evaluation.

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WTE Ash Characteristics

The majority of the WTE facilities in Florida
currently combine bottom and fly ash prior to
metals recovery
Fly ash increases the leaching and decreases
several of the critical physical properties of the
bottom ash with respect to reuse
For viable ash recycling to be practiced the
streams need to be split, a fraction of the bottom
ash recombined with the fly ash and the
remaining fraction recycled

Ash Size Fractions

3/4 to 3/8 Fraction < 3/8 Fraction

Combined
<3/8 Fraction fraction used
Used as
aggregate
3/4 3/8 Fraction as road base

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Performance Characterization
Materials were characterized
for their structural properties
during the development of the
roadway designs, and the
materials produced during
construction were further
tested and evaluated.

The FDOT State Materials Office was of critical assistance 7

Ash was cured (aged) prior to use

Aged Ash
Curing the ash reduces
the ash pH and results in
less leaching of elements
such as lead.
Additional testing was
conducted on the cured
ash (as well as ash-
amended products).
EPA methods 1313-1316

Method 1314 Setup

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Leaching as a Function of pH
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Fresh
Leaching (mg/L)

0.1 SPLP
Aged
SPLP
0.01

0.001
0 2 4 6 pH 8 10 12 14

Aging can reduce leaching of certain elements by over an order of magnitude

Large implications for beneficial use
In countries where ash is recycled, aging for a period of time is often required

Test Roadway
4 5
2 3
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Test Strip Base Course Pavement

1 WTE Bottom Ash Asphalt
2 Lime Rock Asphalt
3 Lime Rock Asphalt with WTE Bottom Ash
4 Lime Rock Concrete
5 Lime Rock Concrete with WTE Bottom Ash
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Road Base
4 inches Asphalt Pavement

10 inches WTE Bottom Ash

Aged Less than Ash

33%
Aged Greater than Ash
67%

WTE bottom ash

consisting of
combination of:
o <3/8-inch fraction
o >3/8-inch fraction
(<3/4 inch)

Partial Aggregate
Replacement in Asphalt
Pavement
Aggregate Replacement
4 inches
in Asphalt Pavement

10 inches Limerock

Sand
5%
8%
Aggregate (Granite)
19%
RAP
19% 49%
Aged Greater than Ash

Asphalt Binder

WTE bottom ash

consisting of:
o >3/8-inch fraction
(<3/4 inch)

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Partial Aggregate
Replacement in Portland
Cement Concrete Pavement
Aggregate Replacement
8 inches in PCC Pavement

6 inches Limerock

10% 3% Cement

16% Coal Fly Ash

29% Aggregate (Lime

27% Rock)
Aged Greater
13% than Ash
Sand
WTE bottom ash
consisting of:
o >3/8-inch fraction
(<3/4 inch)

Preliminary Construction

Initial Condition of Roadway

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Preliminary Construction

Installation of Groundwater Monitoring Wells

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Material Screening

Storage, processing and aging conducted on top of an existing Class I landfill

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Wetting Before Placement

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Size Fraction 3/4 to 3/8

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WTE Bottom Ash as Base

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Thanks!
Townsend Research Group Page
http://pages.ees.ufl.edu/townsend/

Research publications
http://pages.ees.ufl.edu/townsend/publications/refereed-
journal-publications/

ttown@ufl.edu

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Ash as a Road Base Course

Less Than Ash Greater Than Ash
Optimum Dry Density Optimum Dry Density
118.5
104
103 LBR =153 118 LBR =170
102 117.5
101
Dry Density (PCF)

100 117
99 116.5
98
116
97
96 115.5
95
115
94
93 114.5
8 13 18 23 28 8 10 12 14 16
Moisture Content (%) Moisture Content (%)

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HMA with WTE Bottom Ash as

Partial Aggregate Replacement

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Suitability of Bottom Ash for Use in Hot

Mix Asphalt Pavement

Durability of aggregates assessed

by LA Abrasion Test
Previous LA Abrasion values have
been in the 45-50% range
Pasco County GT Ash = LA
Abrasion 42%
Attributed to removal of fines
FDOT Spec <45%
Resulted in a 0.5% Increase in
the amount of asphalt binder
required

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PCC with WTE Bottom Ash as

Partial Aggregate Replacement

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Use in Concrete Pavement

During Pasco project we developed a
series of mixes for use of WTE bottom
ash as a partial course aggregate
replacement in concrete pavement
Using a size separated fraction of the
bottom ash we were able to produce
mixes using a 25% replacement of ash
and meet strength goals
Non ferrous metal in portions of the ash
caused problems related to gas
formation
Use of admixtures helped to reduce
some of these concerns
Slab instrumented during placement
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6000

7-Day Strength
Bottom Ash in 5000
Less Than Ash

Strength (PSI)
4000
Portland Cement 3000

Concrete 2000

1000
Example of preliminary 0
testing in the laboratory Control 10% 20% 30%
(not final mix for roadway)
Compressive
Splitting Tensile

7-Day Strength
Greater Than Ash
4000

3500

Strength (PSI)
3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
Control 10% 20% 30% 49

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Request for Authorization

Following positive preliminary results, Pasco
County submitted a request for authorization for
the county-wide use of processed WTE bottom
ash in three applications:
Ash used as a road base course
Ash used as an aggregate Portland Cement Concrete
Ash used as an aggregate in Asphalt
Supported by a technical evaluation document
prepared by UF.

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Technical Evaluation Document

An independent engineering analysis was conducted
which incorporated:
Laboratory test results
Climactic and hydrogeologic data specific to Pasco County
Typical pavement design and construction practices in
Pasco county
Modeling of rainwater infiltration through pavement
surfaces
Fate and transport modeling of the potential for elements
leached from the ash to impact the groundwater at a
prescribed distance (100 ft) from the roadway

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Technical Evaluation Document

Environmental testing for permit application
done with aged ash, and ash amended
products produced from the aged ash
Batch tests done on ash-amended products
Column testing on aged ash used as an input
in the modeling effort
Enabled the demonstration of a wash-off
mechanism for certain elements over time

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Modeling Approach
Leachate
(Infiltration [I]
and initial
Pavement concentration [Co])

Base Compliance
Point

Unsaturated
Zone

Plume
Saturated
Zone
Groundwater flow

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Request for Authorization

Authorization letter from FDEP: Dec 5, 2015
Examples of specific conditions:
Aging of the ash for a period of three months
Covering completely with a pavement layer
Removal of excess ash from the sides of the road
Removal of ash used as a base if the roadway is
removed
120 hour storage limit at batch plants

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Next Steps
Continue monitoring progress of the roadway
test strips.
The County plans to move forward with ash
recycling in County roadways and explore options
for the reuse of mined ash from the on-site ash
monofill.
Staging, Generation, Aging ash
Five miles of road base use equates to approximately
200 days of usable bottom ash from the facility

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Advanced Metals Recovery

Thank You

Justin Roessler
Doctoral Student, University of Florida
jroessler12@ufl.edu
352-270-1454

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