Antimony mobility from E-waste plastic in simulated municipal solid waste landfills. (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Intrakamhaeng, Vicharana; Clavier, Kyle A.; Liu, Yalan; Townsend, Timothy G.
• Is Part Of: Chemosphere. Volume 241(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: Antimony -- Landfill -- Plastic -- E-Waste -- Leachate; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Physiological effect -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Periodicals; Atmospheric chemistry -- Periodicals; 551.511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125042
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0045-6535

Abstract

Abstract: The fate of antimony (Sb) leached from electronic and electrical equipment plastic when disposed of in a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill was assessed using simulated anaerobic landfill lysimeters and three different batch leaching tests: toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), EPA method 1313, and MSW leachate extractions. Plastic from cathode ray tube televisions sets was noted to have the highest Sb concentrations, and was thus the focus of the study. Sb leachability from EPA 1313 stat and TCLP were similar at approximately 0.1% by weight at the same pH (4.93), while MSW landfill leachates extracted less Sb at approximately 0.02% by weight. Solution pH was not the controlling factor, and other conditions resulting from the landfill leachate resulted in lower concentrations of leached Sb. In simulated landfill experiments, Sb leached at approximately 0.01% by weight after a liquid-to-solid ratio of 3. Sb behaves differently in the landfill environment than arsenic leaching from a similar study, most likely from the reducing conditions brought on by the decomposing waste. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Sb was extracted to a lower extent in MSW landfill leachate compared to TCLP. Differences in Sb concentration were not because of pH. Sb (III) is likely the dominant Sb species in reducing conditions of a landfill.