Assessment of Heavy Metal Content in Plant Waste and Environmental Impact Evaluation through Thermal Analysis

Abstract

The growing trend of converting plant waste into energy requires a comprehensive analytical investigation into the potential environmental risks of heavy metal pollution. Therefore, this paper presents an in-depth analytical study of the heavy metal content in waste samples of Eucalyptus collected from three locations in Iraq: Al-Khadra District, Al-Taji, and Samarra. The analysis included ultimate and proximate, ICP-MS, Thermal, and SEM-EDX analysis. TGA/DTG analyses were used to characterize the thermal behavior of the samples; the obtained TG and DTG curves were used to evaluate the volatilization of heavy metals during the gasification process. Results indicated that the samples followed a general trend of heavy metal contamination with Pb, followed mainly by Al, Fe, Ni, As, and Cu. Increasing temperature through TGA experiments raised the heavy metal content in char to maximum volatilization at 900°C. This work emphasizes assessing heavy metal content in plant waste, intending to evaluate the environmental impact of such wastes and has shown how gasification is among the promising thermos-conversion technologies for waste-to-energy conversion. The outcome of this work adds to the development of strategies that could be used to mitigate the environmental impact of heavy metal contamination in plant waste while assisting in sustainable energy production.