Gesteins- und Wasserwechselwirkung

Our Aim

The aim of our research is the provision of a scientific basis for decision making in waste management with regard to the potential long-term risk to groundwater resources associated with the landfilling or utilisation of wastes or the remediation of contaminated sites.

Our focus

Worldwide, waste materials are increasingly being incinerated and/or cement-stabilised or are being incorporated in construction materials. Our work therefore focuses on the release of the remaining contaminants after incineration, the heavy metals, to the environment from basic media including cementitious materials.

Our methods

We combine mechanistic laboratory studies with field observations and modelling in order to understand the geochemical and hydrological processes that control contaminant mobility.

Our current projects

• Leaching processes in cement-stabilised wastes
• The binding of heavy metals to cement minerals
• Oxidation kinetics of antimony(III)
• Mobility of antimony in contaminated soils
• Materials-flow analysis of antimony in Switzerland

Current Projects

Characterisation of waste materials

 

• Keywords: Acid neutralising capacity, elemental composition, mineral components, long-term leaching
• Research Projects: Municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash (picture), demolition wastes, sewage sludge ash, air pollution control residues
• Partners: Peter Baccini, Herman Moench, Laura Canonica, Sandro Brandenberger  

Landfill studies

 

• Keywords:Geochemistry, hydrology, leaching processes, modelling
• Research Projects: Municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash, Landfill Lostorf (picture); Lysimeter study of cement-stabilised air pollution control residues; sewage sludge ash, Landfill Elbisgraben
• Partners: Karim Abbaspour, Gerald Richner, Thomas Vitvar, Werner Baumann, Marc Eberhard, Marcel Schaap

Metal binding in the cement matrix

 

• Keywords: cement minerals, heavy metals, spectroscopy, microscopy
• Research Projects: zinc binding to Ca silicate hydrate (picture), anion binding to basic Ca alumino sulphates
• Partners: Felix Ziegler, Reto Giere, Isabel Baur, Andre Scheidegger, Erich Wieland, Michael Kersten

Heavy-metal geochemistry

 

• Keywords: heavy metals, acid mine drainage, lakewater, redox, solubility
• Research Projects:     
• Partners: Laura Sigg, Fred Glasser

Contaminated sites

• Keywords: site investigation, geochemistry, risk assessment, modelling
• Research Projects: 
• Partners: Edi Hoehn, Karim Abbaspour, Peter Huggenberger