Levels and patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in incineration ashes

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were analysed in weathered bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration, fly ash from a mixed heating plant and an ash mixture from different kinds of biofuels. Although of different origin and age, all three ashes are evaluated in different small-scale fill applications. The ultimate goal is the usage of these ashes on a larger scale. The samples were Soxhlet extracted and analysed using GC/MS in the full scan mode. The sum of the 16 US EPA PAHs was found to vary from 140 μg/kg up to more than 77 000 μg/kg. Total amounts of PAHs were similar in bottom ash and in fly ash. The concentration in the mixed biofuel ash was more than 10 times higher, and exceeded the generic guidelines for PAHs in soil set by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The patterns of the individual PAHs normalised to the total concentration of PAHs were found to be very similar for all the three ashes. Naphthalene and phenanthrene were the dominating PAHs for all ash samples, but the mixed biofuel ash also contained high levels of fluoranthene and pyrene.