Researchers in Switzerland have released the results of a study on the persistence of engineered nanoparticles in a municipal solid waste incineration plant.
Little is known about the fate of such nanoparticles during incineration, despite the fact that more than 100 million tons of municipal solid waste is incinerated worldwide every year, and that number is expected to grow.
The researchers found that cerium oxide nanoparticles introduced into a full-scale waste incineration plant bind loosely to solid residues from the combustion process and can be removed from flue gas using current filter technology.
The team’s observations show that while it is possible to incinerate waste without releasing nanoparticles into the atmosphere, the residues to which they bind are still ending up in landfills or recovered raw materials.
This observation led the authors to conclude that there is a clear environmental need to develop degradable nanoparticles.
The original article may still be available at
http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nnano.2012.64.html
Source: Nature Nanotechnology (20 May 2012)
Author(s): Tobias Walser, Ludwig K. Limbach, Robert Brogioli, Esther Erismann, Luca Flamigni, Bodo Hattendorf, Markus Juchli, Frank Krumeich, Christian Ludwig, Karol Prikopsky, Michael Rossier, Dominik Saner, Alfred Sigg, Stefanie Hellweg, Detlef Günther & Wendelin J. StarkFonte: Meridian Institute
