Mineral fusion

Fossil fuel utility fly ash and bottom ash, municipal solid waste bottom ash and fly ash, industrial combustor ashes can and usually do contain various amounts of heavy metals including lead and cadmium. Ordinarily the greater quantity of these heavy metals are concentrated in the fly ash portions of ash residues which are finely divided and thus much more available and subject to leaching and the subsequent contamination of surrounding environments. This paper reports that electrical power may be applied in a variety of ways to melt, fuse, or vitrify the typical calcium alumina silica systems with varying degrees of efficiency. The modified joules resistance melting and cold top, and even introduction of cold ash residue charge, offers an efficient means of capturing and retaining heavy metals as oxides to become an integral part of the fused glass matrix and thus passes through the system to become usable as end products, perhaps qualifying for the term: Ultimate Recycled Materials