Metals Leaching in Permeable Asphalt Pavement with Municipal Solid Waste Ash Aggregate

The leaching behaviors of four heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu and Cr) from unbounded municipal solid waste incineration-bottom ash aggregate (MSWI-BAA) and permeable asphalt (PA) mixture containing MSWI-BAA were investigated in the laboratory. The horizontal vibration extraction procedure (HVEP) test and a simulated leaching experiment were conducted on MSWI-BAA with three particle sizes, but only the simulated leaching experiment was carried out on a type of PA specimen (PAC-13) with and without these MSWI-BAAs. Leaching data were analyzed to investigate the leaching characteristics, identify the factors affecting leaching and assess the impact on the surrounding environment. Results indicated that the leaching process was comprehensively influenced by contact time, leaching metal species and MSWI-BAA particle size, regardless of MSWI-BAA alone or used in PAC-13 mixture. The leaching concentrations of Cr, Zn and Pb from MSWI-BAA in HVEP testing was strongly related to MSWI-BAA particle size. The use of MSWI-BAA in PAC-13 mixture did not change the basic tendency of heavy metal leaching, but it led to an increase of Cr and Zn in leachate overall. The leachate from the MSWI-BAA and PAC-13 mixture with MSWI-BAA was shown to be safe for irrigation and would have very little negative impact on surrounding surface and underground water quality.