Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Department d'Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, 43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.
Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Catalonia, Spain.
Environ Res. 2018 Nov;167:191-197. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.07.014. Epub 2018 Jul 19.
In 2009, a cement plant located in Alcanar (South Catalonia, Spain) started co-processing a special kind of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) called ENERFUEL™. In April 2014 and 2017, 5 and 8 years after RDF co-processing, the concentrations of metals and metalloids (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl, V and Zn) and PCDD/Fs were measured in samples of soils, herbage and air collected in the vicinity of the facility. The comparison of the current concentrations with those obtained in a baseline study (2008), when fossil fuels were used solely, has shown that the environmental concentrations of metals, metalloids and PCDD/Fs were not significantly modified. The concentrations of metals, metalloids and PCDD/Fs in soil, vegetation and air of Alcanar are in the low part of the ranges found around other cement plants in Catalonia (in general, below 50th percentile). Non-carcinogenic risks due to exposure to metals, metalloids and PCDD/Fs were lower than the safety value (HQ<1). In turn, carcinogenic risks were below the 10 Spanish threshold. The present results corroborate that, from an environmental point of view, the use of wastes as alternative fuels (AF) in a cement plant, which is operating with suitable technical conditions, is a good option for waste management. It contributes towards overcoming challenges such as climate change and fossil fuel depletion, while utilizing principles of circular economy.
2009 年，西班牙加泰罗尼亚南部的阿尔坎塔拉（Alcanar）的一家水泥厂开始协同处理一种特殊的垃圾衍生燃料（RDF），名为 ENERFUEL™。2014 年 4 月和 2017 年，即 RDF 协同处理 5 年和 8 年后，在该设施附近采集了土壤、草料和空气样本，测量了其中的金属和类金属（As、Cd、Co、Cr、Cu、Hg、Mn、Ni、Pb、Sb、Tl、V 和 Zn）以及多氯二苯并对二恶英/呋喃（PCDD/Fs）的浓度。将当前浓度与仅使用化石燃料时的基线研究（2008 年）获得的浓度进行比较后表明，金属、类金属和 PCDD/Fs 的环境浓度并未显著改变。阿尔坎塔拉土壤、植被和空气中金属、类金属和 PCDD/Fs 的浓度处于加泰罗尼亚其他水泥厂周围发现的浓度范围的较低部分（通常低于第 50 百分位）。由于接触金属、类金属和 PCDD/Fs 而产生的非致癌风险低于安全值（HQ<1）。反过来，致癌风险低于西班牙的 10 个阈值。目前的结果证实，从环境角度来看，在具有合适技术条件的水泥厂中使用废物作为替代燃料（AF）是一种废物管理的好选择。它有助于克服气候变化和化石燃料枯竭等挑战，同时利用循环经济的原则。
