Atom-efficient route for converting incineration ashes into heavy metal sorbents.

Bottom ashes produced from municipal solid-waste incineration are suitable for sorbent synthesis because of their inherent composition, high alkalinity, metastable mineralogy, and residual heat. This work shows that bottom ashes can be atom-efficiently converted into valuable sorbents without the need for costly and hazardous chemicals. The ashes were hydrothermally treated in rotary autoclaves at autogenic pH conditions to promote the conversion of precursor mineral phases into zeolites and layered silicate hydrates.