Avsättningsmöjligheter för slaggrus från avfallsförbränning vid Åmotfors Energi

The incineration of waste is steadily increasing in Sweden and so is the production of ashes. The bottom ash has for many years been used as construction material in landfills. Now many of the nation's landfills are closed and there is a great need to find another beneficial use for the ash. Bottom ash is a gravel-like material and with its material properties it can replace natural gravel in parts of roads and surface constructions. Today this use is only approved within landfill areas where leachate is collected and checked. Outside the landfill area, authorities are uncertain of the environmental impact of the bottom ash and of what future risks it entails. The aim of this work was to investigate market opportunities for bottom ash from Åmotfors Energy, with the goal to be a background basis for an application of the use of bottom ash outside the landfill area. The results of analyzes shows that the bottom ash from Åmotfors Energy is comparable with bottom ash from the rest of Sweden regarding both the total concentrations and environmental aspects. When the values from the analyses of the ash are compared with the standard values for total allowed concentrations announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, the guideline values for almost all parameters are exceeded. If you instead look at the leaching from bottom ash - almost all parameters pass the guidelines. The reason why the guideline values for leaching may be withheld while the guideline values for total concentrations exceeded is that ash has a capacity to bind substances stronger than earth materials and waste, which the guideline values are set for. It is possible to find an application for use of bottom ash from Åmotfors Energi outside the landfill area. It is important to choose a project where the bottom ash is suitable as a construction material. Examples of these include surface construction near industries or road constructions where there is no contact with groundwater. Near Åmotfors the national road 61 is under reconstructions and if bottom ash from Åmotfors Energi would be allowed in the construction, about 130 000 ton could be useful. This is about 13 years of production. Bottom ash can also be used in parking spaces near shopping centers which are continuously being expanded in Eda Municipality. For a normal parking space of 20 000 square meters about 20 000 tonnes of bottom ash is needed. The results of interviews with landfills in neighboring municipalities gave indications that there could be a need for bottom ash as a construction material on two of the landfills. The need was estimated to 5000 - 10 000 tonnes per year over the next few years. The ash from Åmotfors Energi is, like bottom ashes from other waste incineration plants to be seen as a resource. Today, metal is extracted from the ashes because of the economic benefits, but in the future it is possible that we will see bottom ash as a resource that can replace of virgin and non-renewable materials