Chemical and microbiological investigation of gas emissions and fly/bottom ashes from medical waste incinerator, performing toxicity and mutagenicity tests

ABSTRACT PhD Thesis CHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF GAS EMISSIONS AND FLY/BOTTOM ASHES FROM MEDICAL WASTE INCINERATOR, PERFORMING TOXICITY AND MUTAGENICITY TESTS SEMRA MALKOÇ Anadolu University Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Environmental Engineering Program Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Müfide BANAR 2004, 146 pages In this study, incineration of medical wastes in a laboratory scale tubular incinerator using physicochemical and microbiological tests were simultaneously investigated. Experiments were carried out at the temperatures of 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 °C. Heavy metals (Ag, Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Ni, Pb ve Zn), calcium, sodium, potassium, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen and sulphur were analyzed in bottom and fly ashes from incineration. HC1 was monitored from gas emissions. XRD analysis, bacteriological analysis (using indicator microorganism Bacillus stearothermophilus), Ames Salmonella mutagenicity tests, toxicity test were also performed in bottom ashes. Also, chemical and XRD analysis were done in the bottom ash of a industrial scale hazardous waste incinerator. According to the physicochemical and microbiological results in bottom and fly ashes, concentration of heavy metals were higher in bottom ash than fly ash, increase in temperature resulted decrease in HC1 levels from gas emissions, there were nothing any Bacillus stearothermophilus spores which was used as indicator microorganism alive under experimental studies. When the data obtained from AMES and cytotoxicity tests investigated, bottom ash at 500 °C had irreversible mutagenicity and genotoxicity effects and acute lethal toxicity level of this material was low. Keywords rlncineration of medical waste, heavy metal, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Mutagenicity and toxicity, XRD