Asbestos are stable minerals having extremely fine fibrous structure and have been utilized in various industrial products for a long time. However, it has become to be widely recognized that they induce serious respiratory diseases such as fibroid lung and malignant mesothelioma. Therefore, their usage is being withdrawn and proper treatments of their wastes are being required. Major asbestos minerals are chrysotile, crocidolite and amosite, and show relatively high melting temperatures. Although most of them have been utilized as mixtures with other construction materials like mortar, their wastes usually have high melting temperatures, too.
In this study, a mixed melting treatment of asbestos waste and incineration ash was proposed to increase flexibility in controlling the fluidity of the formed slag melt. In addition, a simple and convenient test method was proposed to rapidly evaluate the high temperature property of asbestos wastes. By applying this method, fundamental melting experiment was carried out using various reagents and samples of asbestos wastes, ashes and candidate fluxing materials under different conditions. Further, the relation between the mixing ratios of the asbestos wastes, ashes and fluxing materials and property of the formed slag melt was examined.
Based on the above results, important factors to be considered in the melting treatment process of asbestos waste are pointed out. The validity of the present concept was verified through several test operations using a practical ash-melting furnace.