WRc attendance and celebration at CIWEM Urban Drainage Group conference
Published on: 22 Nov 2024
Read moreIt's #TechnicalTuesday and #teamWRc's Claudia Peppicelli is talking about metal speciation: classification at its finest...
Industrial waste streams are often composed of a complex mix of minerals and amorphous materials - for instance, thermal treatment residues such as incinerator bottom ash or boiler ash. Metals may be present in wastes as many compounds (species) such as oxides, carbonates or as elemental metal. Some compounds are hazardous above specific limit values, some are not.
The correct selection of the appropriate chemical compounds contained into the waste stream is essential for a WM3 assessment (the Technical Guidance document on waste classification) and makes the difference between a non-hazardous or hazardous classification.
The incorrect choice of compounds to be used in a hazardous property assessment could result in an incorrect waste classification. We use metal speciation techniques to identify and quantify relevant compounds. Our toolbox includes sequential chemical extractions, modelling and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to help our clients avoid misclassification.
Learn more about the Waste Doctors' speciation and classification work here.