Urban mining of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) residues with emphasis on bioleaching technologies: a critical review

Funari, Valerio; Toller, Simone; Vitale, Laura; Santos, Rafael M.; Gomes, Helena I.

Abstract

Metals are essential in our daily lives and have a finite supply, being simultaneously contaminants of concern. The current carbon emissions and environmental impact of mining are untenable. We need to reclaim metals sustainably from secondary resources, like waste. Biotechnology can be applied in metal recovery from waste streams like fly ashes and bottom ashes of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI). They represent substantial substance flows, with roughly 46 million tons of MSWI ashes produced annually globally, equivalent in elemental richness to low-grade ores for metal recovery. Next-generation methods for resource recovery, as in particular bioleaching, give the opportunity to recover critical materials and metals, appropriately purified for noble applications, in waste treatment chains inspired by circular economy thinking. In this critical review, we can identify three main lines of discussion: (1) MSWI material characterization and related environmental issues; (2) currently available processes for recycling and metal recovery; and (3) microbially assisted processes for potential recycling and metal recovery. Research trends are chiefly oriented to the potential exploitation of bioprocesses in the industry. Biotechnology for resource recovery shows increasing effectiveness especially downstream the production chains, i.e., in the waste management sector. Therefore, this critical discussion will help assessing the industrial potential of biotechnology for urban mining of municipal, post-combustion waste.

Citation

Funari, V., Toller, S., Vitale, L., Santos, R. M., & Gomes, H. I. (2023). Urban mining of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) residues with emphasis on bioleaching technologies: a critical review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(5), 59128–59150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26790-z

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 29, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Apr 12, 2023
• Publication Date: May 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 17, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 13, 2024
• Journal: Environmental Science and Pollution Research
• Print ISSN: 0944-1344
• Electronic ISSN: 1614-7499
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 59128–59150
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26790-z
• Keywords: Circular economy · Waste-to-energy (WtE) plants · Incineration wastes · Critical raw materials · Secondary raw materials · Resource recovery
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/19675318
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11356-023-26790-z