Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
Environ Pollut. 2019 Oct;253:680-707. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.012. Epub 2019 Jul 9.
Solid wastes containing potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are widely generated around the globe. Critical concerns have been raised over their impacts on human health and the environment, especially for the exposure to PTEs during the transfer and disposal of the wastes. It is important to devise highly-efficient and cost-effective treatment technologies for the removal or immobilisation of PTEs in solid wastes. However, there is an inadequate overview of the global flow of PTEs-contaminated solid wastes in terms of geographical distribution patterns, which is vital information for decision making in sustainable waste management. Moreover, in view of the scarcity of resources and the call for a circular economy, there is a pressing need to recover materials (e.g., precious metals and rare earth elements) from waste streams and this is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly practice compared with ore mining. Therefore, this article aims to give a thorough overview to the global flow of PTEs and the recovery of waste materials. This review first summarises PTEs content in various types of solid wastes; then, toxic metal(loid)s, radioactive elements, and rare earth elements are critically reviewed, with respect to their patterns of transport transformation and risks in the changing environment. Different treatments for the management of these contaminated solid wastes are discussed. Based on an improved understanding of the dynamics of metal(loid) fates and a review of existing management options, new scientific insights are provided for future research in the development of high-performance and sustainable treatment technologies for PTEs in solid wastes.
含有潜在有毒元素 (PTEs) 的固体废物在全球范围内广泛产生。人们对它们对人类健康和环境的影响表示了严重关切，特别是在废物转移和处置过程中对 PTEs 的暴露。设计高效且具有成本效益的处理技术以去除或固定固体废物中的 PTEs 非常重要。然而，对于 PTEs 污染固体废物在地理分布模式方面的全球流动情况，缺乏全面的概述，这是可持续废物管理决策的重要信息。此外，鉴于资源的稀缺性和对循环经济的呼吁，从废物流中回收材料（例如贵金属和稀土元素）迫在眉睫，与矿石开采相比，这是一种更可持续和环保的做法。因此，本文旨在全面概述 PTEs 的全球流动和废物材料的回收。本文首先总结了各种类型固体废物中的 PTEs 含量；然后，对有毒金属 (loid)、放射性元素和稀土元素进行了批判性评论，重点讨论了它们在不断变化的环境中的运输转化模式和风险。讨论了处理这些污染固体废物的不同方法。基于对金属 (loid) 命运动态的深入理解和对现有管理选择的回顾，为未来研究开发固体废物中 PTEs 的高性能和可持续处理技术提供了新的科学见解。
