LIFE Project FALL  |
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Filtering of Asbestos fibres in Leachate from hazardous waste Landfills
( LIFE03 ENV/IT/00323 )
Environmental problem
The Since July 2002 all the wastes containing asbestos have been classified as dangerous materials. From 2005 on, this category of mineral was banned across the European Union. In the next few years we can expect to face an increasing load of dangerous wastes and the disposal of waste containing asbestos will surely be problematic. Presently, regulations regarding the contamination of landfill leachate by asbestos fibres are lacking and no particular treatment for their disposal has been established.
Objectives
The project aimed
to implement a new filtration treatment of asbestos fibres in leachate
from hazardous waste landfills. Instead of using the common biological
and chemical-physical treatments, which are inadequate for asbestos
fibres, an on-site MW-UF (microwave and ultra filtration) pre-treatment
was set up. The ultra filtration of the liquid treated with a microwave
process effectively blocks fibres and other toxic materials and delivers
a liquid depurated from these toxic agents and free of organic matter.
The operational objectives
of the project were:
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To set out analytical methods for quantitative determination of asbestos fibres in leachate (not yet standardised)
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To monitor the Barricalla S.p.A. landfill leachates
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To realise a prototype capable of retaining 99% of the asbestos fibres with dimensions considered to be dangerous and which requires little maintenance (only once a month)
Results
- An analytical method for PCOM, SEM and TEM was defined, which also comprisess the sample preparation method
download analytical method
- The Barricalla S.p.A. landfill leachate was monitored for a two years long period: a few hundreds thousands fibres per liter were found in average
download monitoring
- The prototype was engineered and demonstrated to be capable of blocking up to 100% of the fibres, with an average of 97%. The 0,5 micron filter did not show signs of clogging after one month
download prototype
