Biodegradability of leachates from Chinese and German municipal solid waste

The quantitative and qualitative composition of Chinese municipal solid waste （MSW） differs significantly from German waste. The focus of this paper is on whether these differences also lead to dissimilar qualities of leachates during storage or landfilling. Leachates ingredients determine the appropriate treatment technique. MSW compositions of the two cities Guilin （China） and Essen （Germany）, each with approx. 600000 inhabitants, are used to simulate Chinese and German MSW types. A sequencing batch reactor （SBR） is used, combining aerobic and anaerobic reaction principles, to test the biodegradability of leachates. Leachates are tested for temperature, pH-value, redox potentials, and oxygen concentration. Chemical oxygen demand （COD） values are determined. Within 8 h, the biodegradation rates for both kinds of leachates are more than 90%. Due to the high organic content of Chinese waste, the degradation rate for Guilin MSW leachate is even higher, up to 97%. The effluent from SBR technique is suitable for direct discharge into bodies of water.     

Utilization of fly ash from coal-fired power plants in China

The rapidly increasing demand for energy in China leads to the construction of new power plants all over the country. Coal, as the main fuel resource of those power plants, results in increasing problems with the disposal of solid residues from combustion and off gas cleaning. This investigation describes chances for the utilization of fly ash from coal-fired power plants in China. After briefly comparing the situation in China and Germany, the status of aluminum recycling from fly ash and the ad- vantages for using fly ash in concrete products are introduced. Chemical and physical analyses of Chinese fly ash samples, e.g., X-ray diffraction （XRD）, ICP （Inductive Coupled Plasma） and particle size analysis, water requirement, etc. are presented. Rea- sonable amounts of aluminum were detected in the samples under investigation, but for recovery only sophisticated procedures are available up to now. Therefore, simpler techniques are suggested for the first steps in the utilization of Chinese fly ash.