Characteristics variation of coal combustion residues in an Indian ash pond

Coal-fired power plants all over the world are cited as one of the major sources that generate huge quantities of coal combustion residues (CCRs) as solid wastes. Most frequently CCRs are collected through electrostatic precipitators, mixed with bottom ash by hydraulic systems and deposited in ash ponds. The quality of the CCRs at different locations in one of the ash ponds in Central India was evaluated to understand the variation in characteristics with a view to effective utilization. Results revealed that the presence of fine particles (< 50 mum) increased with increasing distance from the ash slurry inlet zone in the ash pond. Wide variations in the bulk density (800-980 kg m(-3)), porosity (45-57%) and water-holding capacity (57.5-75.7%) of CCRs were recorded. With increasing distance the pH of the CCRs decreased (from 9.0 to 8.2) and electrical conductivity increased (from 0.25 to 0.65 dS m(-1)). The presence of almost all the heavy metals in CCRs exhibited an increase with distance from the ash slurry discharge zone due to the increase in surface area (from 0.1038 to 2.3076 m(2) g(-1)) of CCRs particles. The present paper describes the variation of characteristics of CCRs deposited in the ash pond and their potential applications.