Fly ash

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Fly ash (also known as a coal combustion product, or CCP) is the finely divided mineral residue resulting from the combustion of powdered coal in electric generating plants. It is also called pulverized fuel ash. Fly ash consists of inorganic, incombustible matter present in the coal that has been fused during combustion into a glassy, amorphous structure. Coal can range in ash content from 2%-30%, and of this around 85% becomes fly ash. (The remaining 15% is called bottom ash and isn’t lifted up by the flue gases.)

Fly ash material is solidified while suspended in the exhaust gases and is collected by electrostatic precipitators or filter bags. Since the particles solidify while suspended in the exhaust gases, fly ash particles are generally spherical in shape and range in size from 0.5 µm to 100 µm. They consist mostly of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) and iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), and are hence a suitable source of aluminum and silicon for geopolymers. They are also pozzolanic in nature and react with calcium hydroxide and alkali to form cementitious compounds. Fly ash also contains some heavy metals.

1 Uses
2 Problems
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Uses

Owing to its pozzolanic properties, fly ash is used as a replacement of Portland cement in concrete. It can replace up to 50% by mass of Portland cement, which can add to the final strength of the concrete and increase chemical resistance and durability. The replacement of Portland cement with fly ash also reduces the greenhouse gas signature of concrete, as the production of one tonne of Portland cement produces one tonne of CO2.

The American Coal Ash Association's annual survey of the uses of fly ash in the United States shows its applications such as cement, flowable fill, raw feed as clinker, soil modification/stabilization, and agriculture. American Coal Ash Association Survey 2004. Ash used as a cement replacement must meet strict construction standards, but no standard environmental standards have been established in the United States. Three-fourths of the ash must have a fineness of 45 µm or less, and have a carbon content, called the loss on ignition (LOI), of less than 4%. In the US, LOI needs to be under 6% based on ASTM-C618

Fly ash is also used as a component in the production of flowable fill (also called controlled low strength material, or CLSM), which is used as self-leveling, self-compacting backfill material in lieu of compacted earth or granular fill. Flowable fill includes mixtures of Portland cement and filler material and can contain mineral admixtures, such as fly ash. Filler material usually consists of fine aggregate (in most cases, sand), but some flowable fill mixes may contain approximately equal portions of coarse and fine aggregates.

Fly ash has been used as filler material in lower-strength applications. In higher-strength applications, the strength of flowable fill mixes can range from 200 to 1,200 lbf/in² (1.4 to 8.3 MPa), depending on the design requirements of the project in question.

More recently, fly ash has been used as a component in geopolymer mixtures. Another new application is using fly ash in roller compacted dams. This has been demonstrated in the Ghatgar Dam Project in India.

[edit] Problems

Producers of fly ash contend it is harmless and has much the same properties as soil. But according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fly ash contains heavy metals, including nickel, vanadium, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, barium, chromium, copper, molybdenum, zinc, lead, selenium and radium. Fly ash disposed at Chisman Creek, near Norfolk, Virginia, created surface and groundwater contamination in the area, which was declared a Superfund site in 1983.[1] Although fly ash producers blame situations like Chisman Creek on improper disposal, Chisman Creek demonstrates its hazardous nature. Additionally, traces of radioactive materials are present in fly ash. Given the large quantities of fly ash that are produced, a tremendous amount of radioactive waste is generated. [2] This radioactivity is due to the elements in the decay chain of uranium and thorium, the radium is of great concern as ²²⁶Ra decays to form radon (²²²Rn) which has a half-life of days and is able to form mobile daughter radioisotopes. As a result, in many parts of the world a limit has been set on the level of radioactivity permitted in building materials made using fly ash. This type of radioactive material often is known by the code name NORM.

In the past, fly ash produced from coal combustion was simply taken up by flue gases and dispersed into the atmosphere. This created significant environmental concerns and health risks. These days, most power plants are required by law to reduce their fly ash emissions to less than 1% of ash produced. The remainder is collected using electrostatic precipitators or filter bags in a baghouse.

This collected ash either is sold for use in the cement/construction industry or disposed of in ash ponds or landfills. Recently, more fly ash is used beneficially, though more than 65% of fly ash produced from coal power stations is still disposed of. This amounts to approximately 7 million tonnes (Mt) disposed of annually in Australia, 40 Mt in the United States and hundreds of megatonnes in India and China. As a result, the disposal of fly ash is a growing concern for many countries worldwide. In India alone, fly ash landfills cover an area of 40,000 acres (160 km²).