Fractionation of Cadmium, Lead and Copper in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Bottom Ash

The basic physicochemical properties such as: dry mass, pH, pseudo-total content of cadmium, lead and copper, were determined in the fresh bottom ash samples from a municipal waste incineration plant. In order to study fractional composition of the investigated heavy metals, the BCR method was used (F1 – acid soluble and exchangeable fraction, F2 – reducible fraction, F3 – oxidizable fraction, F4 – residual fraction). The average percentage of cadmium in particular fractions was as follows: F1 (37.5%) > F4 (27.2%) > F2 (25.3%) > F3 (10.0%), for lead: F4 (36.5%) > F2(27.2%) > F3(23.4%) > F1(12.9%), and in the case of copper F4(66.3%) > F3(22.1%) > F2(7.4%) > F1(4.2%). Among the studied metals, in mobile pool (F1-F3) the highest amount of cadmium was noted (72.8%); for lead it was 63.5%, and for copper 33.7% of the pseudo-total content.