Solutions to the problem of waste deposition at a coal-fired power plant

This paper deals with the impact on the environment of the combined operation of a power plant and a coal mine located in Velenje, Slovenia. The consequences of intensive deep underground mining are the sinking of the surface and the filling up of the emerging hollows with water. As far as the various consequences of coal combustion are concerned, only the harmful effects of the surface deposition of ash and stag are discussed, with the poisoning of the lake and the river water being considered the most harmful. The integrated system of waste treatment at the power plant is presented. The idea of the system is to use the waste materials such as ash, slag, gypsum, contaminated water, etc. as the building materials or to apply them in the process of improving the ash dump and the environment. The system needs to be closed as much as possible, so that the waste cannot influence the surroundings of the dump. The physical and chemical properties of the waste materials from the power plant, the results of ecological measurements and the impact of the ecological damage are presented. In addition, we present: a description of the applied methods; the activities and the technical measures; the obtained results and the difficulties; and the problems that need to be overcome in order to normalise the ecological conditions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.