Chen Ziwei, Xian Xiangping, Liu Lili, Ng S Thomas
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong 999077, Hong Kong.
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong 999077, Hong Kong.
J Hazard Mater. 2025 Sep 15;496:139186. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139186. Epub 2025 Jul 8.
Chloride salts extracted from hazardous municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) are promising candidates for ultra-high-temperature heat storage with potential economic and environmental benefits. This study explores the structural transitions, transport performance, and thermophysical properties of heavy metal-containing molten chloride salts in the MSWIFA system (NaCl-KCl-CaCl-ZnCl). The results reveal that as ZnCl content increases, the short-range order of molten salts decreases while the medium-range order enhances. At the long range, the disorder first increases before decreasing, governed by the interactions between ion clusters and their mixing degree. The structural transformation results in a linear increase in the average density from ∼ 1.44-1.58 g∙cm at 1073 K. Self-diffusion coefficients for Na, K, Ca, Zn, and Cl ions are in the range of 5.94-7.70×10, 7.26-8.35×10, 2.31-3.45×10, 2.45-3.28×10, and 4.66-5.96×10 cm/s, respectively. The melt viscosity (∼ 1.04-6 mPa∙s) follows the N-type variation trend with turning points at 5 and 15 wt% ZnCl and the thermal conductivity (∼ 0.308-0.463 W∙m∙K) follows the reverse N-type trend with turning points at 15 and 20 wt% ZnCl. Mass specific heat capacity is negatively correlated with ZnCl content, ranging from 1.03 to 0.926 J∙g∙K, while the molar entropy is positively correlated with ZnCl content, varying from 193 to 208 J∙mol∙K. The operating temperature window gradually narrows from around 410-303 K. These findings provide crucial insights for optimizing the design and performance of MSWIFA-based molten salt systems for recycling hazardous waste into useful resources making contributions to sustainable development.