Flue gas desulfurization gypsum and coal fly ash as basic components of prefabricated building materials

The manufacture of prefabricated building materials containing binding products such as ettringite (6CaO·Al₂O₃·3SO₃·32H₂O) and calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) can give, in addition to other well-defined industrial activities, the opportunity of using wastes and by-products as raw materials, thus contributing to further saving of natural resources and protection of the environment.Two ternary mixtures, composed by 40% flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum or natural gypsum (as a reference material), 35% calcium hydroxide and 25% coal fly ash, were submitted to laboratory hydrothermal treatments carried out within time and temperature ranges of 2 h–7 days and 55–85 °C, respectively. The formation of (i) ettringite, by hydration of calcium sulfate given by FGD or natural gypsum, alumina of fly ash and part of calcium hydroxide, and (ii) CSH, by hydration of silica contained in fly ash and residual lime, was observed within both the reacting systems. For the FGD gypsum-based mixture, the conversion toward ettringite and CSH was highest at 70 °C and increased with curing time. Some discrepancies in the hydration behavior between the mixtures were ascribed to differences in mineralogical composition between natural and FGD gypsum.     

Influence of flue-gas desulfurization systems on coal combustion by-product quality at kentucky power stations burning high-sulfur coal

Two Kentucky power plants burning similar blends of high-sulfur western Kentucky and southern Indiana coal provide a unique opportunity to examine the variations in coal combustion by-products due to differences in the method of wet flue-gas desulfurization (FGD). One plant employed carbide lime-based scrubbing for two units and a dual-alkali process for the third unit. The second plant employed a Mississippian limestone from Kentucky for all four units. This study provides an example of optical and SEM petrographic techniques, supplemented by chemical analyses, applied to the study of, at least from the geologic perspective, non-traditional materials. The coal sources comprise a blend of high volatile C and B bituminous, high vitrinite (85–90%, mmf), high-sulfur (> 3%, dry) coals. The fly ash is dominated by glassy phases (70–80%) with about 5–10% spinel (predominately magnetite), 3–10% quartz, and 4–10% isotropic coke comprising the remaining portion of the ash. SEM observations indicate that the glassy particles exhibit a bimodal size distribution with sub-micron glass spheres and a population of larger (several 10s of microns) spheres. The bottom ash has higher proportions of spinels and mullite, with negligible carbon forms, compared to the fly ash from the same units. Fly ashes were observed to be lower in Fe and higher in Al, Si, and S compared to the bottom ashes. Carbide lime, a by-product of acetylene manufacture, soda ash, and limestone were the reagents used in the flue-gas desulfurization processes. The primary FGD by-product is a calcium sulfite slurry which is vacuum filtered and mixed with fly ash and, usually, lime, to form a stable product for disposal. The FGD by-products have some potential, as yet unrealized, for utilization.     

火电厂脱硫等环保设施存在的主要问题及对策

分析火电厂脱硫、除尘、废水处理等环保设施在建设和运行过程中存在的主要问题,如脱硫设施普遍存在燃煤硫分偏离设计值、旁路运行、除尘器出口烟尘浓度过大、GGH堵塞、烟气连续监测仪测量偏差大、运行维护管理不及时等。从主设备管理、加强运行和维护管理、数据管理等方面,提出加强脱硫等环保设施管理的主要对策,确保脱硫等环保设施的连续、稳定、高效运行。     

Properties of mortars made by uncalcined FGD gypsum-fly ash-ground granulated blast furnace slag composite binder

A series of novel mortars were developed from composite binder of uncalcined FGD gypsum, fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) for the good utilization of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) gypsum. At a fixed ratio (20%) of GGBFS to the composite binder, keeping consistency of the mortar between 9.5 and 10.0 cm, the properties of the composite mortar were studied. The results show that higher water/binder (W/B) is required to keep the consistency when increasing the percentage of FGD gypsum. No obvious influences of the W/B and content of FGD gypsum on the bleeding of paste were observed which keeps lower than 2% under all experimental conditions tried. The highest compressive and flexural strengths (ratio is 20% FGD gypsum, 20% GGBFS and 60% FA) are 22.6 and 4.3 MPa at 28 days, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate that massive ettringite crystals and C-S-H gels exist in the hydration products. At 90 days the mortars with FGD gypsum is dramatically smaller drying shrinkage (563-938 micro strain) than that without FGD gypsum (about 2250 micro strain). The release of the SO(4)(2-) from the mortar was analyzed, indicating that the dissolution of sulfate increases with FGD gypsum. The concentration of SO(4)(2-) releasing from the mortar with 10% FGD gypsum is almost equal to that obtained from the mortar without FGD gypsum. The release of SO(4)(2-) from the mortar with 20% FGD gypsum is 9200 mg·m(-2), which is lower than that from the mortar with 95% cement clinker and 5% FGD gypsum.     

Investigation of hydrogen generation from municipal solid waste incineration fly ash

Hydrogen generation from municipal solid waste incineration fly ash was investigated to understand the influences of contacting method, kinds of contact solution, liquid to solid ratio, and particle size distribution of materials. Redox properties of materials and hydrogen generation were also studied. The largest quantity of gas generated in contact with water was 29.1 ml/g-ash, most of which was hydrogen. Fluidized bed fly ash generated more gas than stoker fly ash. In order to calculate the hydrogen generation potential (the maximum quantity of gas generated in contact with water), a novel system using a Y-shaped test tube and NaOH was utilized. This method gives values which are related to the quantity of generated gas in contact with water. A relationship between the aluminum content and hydrogen generation potential was observed, especially for fluidized bed fly ash. The reducing potential of fluidized bed fly ash was higher than that of stoker fly ash. Only fluidized bed fly ash showed a positive correlation between aluminum content and reducing potential, and between reducing potential and hydrogen generation potential. These results suggest that fluidized bed fly ash contains more Al⁰ than stoker fly ash. Received: September 11, 1998 / Accepted: March 19, 1999     

FGD废水对水力除灰系统影响初探

从理论上分析了FGD废水与灰水的作用机理,研究了FGD废水对循环冲灰系统中的重金属排放和碳钢腐蚀的影响。结果表明：重金属排放浓度取决于灰水pH值,絮凝吸附作用有利于进一步降低重金属残留量。     

Fly ash of mineral coal as ceramic tiles raw material

The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of mineral coal fly ash as a raw material in the production of ceramic tiles. The samples of fly ash came from Capivari de Baixo, a city situated in the Brazilian Federal State of Santa Catarina. The fly ash and the raw materials were characterized regarding their physical chemical properties, and, based on these results; batches containing fly ash and typical raw materials for ceramic tiles were prepared. The fly ash content in the batches varied between 20 and 80 wt%. Specimens were molded using a uniaxial hydraulic press and were fired. All batches containing ash up to 60 wt% present adequate properties to be classified as several kinds of products in the ISO 13006 standard () regarding its different absorption groups (pressed). The results obtained indicate that fly ash, when mixed with traditional raw materials, has the necessary requirements to be used as a raw material for production of ceramic tiles.     

A study of disposed fly ash from landfill to replace Portland cement

The landfills of fly ash are the problem of all power plants because this disposed fly ash is not used in any work. This research studies the potential of using disposed fly ashes which have disposal time of 6-24 months from the landfill of Mae Moh power plants in Thailand to replace Portland cement type I. Median particle sizes of disposed fly ashes between 55.4 and 99.3 microm were ground to reduce the sizes to about 7.1-8.4 microm. Both original and ground disposed fly ashes were investigated on physical and chemical properties. Compressive strengths of disposed fly ash mortars were determined when Portland cement type I was replaced by disposed fly ashes at the rate of 10%, 20%, and 30% by weight of cementitious material (Portland cement type I and disposed fly ash). The results presented that most particles of original disposed fly ashes were solid and sphere with some irregular shape while those of ground disposed fly ashes were solid and irregular shape. CaO and LOI contents of disposed fly ashes with different disposal times had high variation. The compressive strengths of original disposed fly ash mortars were low but those of ground disposed fly ash mortars at the age of 7 days were higher than 75% of the standard mortar and increased to be higher than 100% after 60 days. From the results, it could be concluded that ground disposed fly ashes were excellent pozzolanic materials and could be used as a partial replacement of cement in concrete, even though they were exposed to the weather for 24 months.     

Leaching behavior of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans from the fly ash and bottom ash of a municipal solid waste incinerator

The leaching behavior of dioxins from landfill containing bottom ash and fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration has been investigated by leaching tests with pure water, non-ionic surfactant solutions, ethanol solutions, or acetic acid solutions as elution solvents for a large-scale cylindrical column packed with ash. Larger amounts of dioxins were eluted from both bottom ash and fly ash with ethanol solution and acetic acid solution than with pure water. Large quantities of dioxins were leached from fly ash but not bottom ash by non-ionic surfactant solutions. The patterns of distribution of the dioxin congeners in the leachates were very similar to those in the bottom ash or fly ash from which they were derived.     

粉煤灰及其制备沸石对高浓度氨氮的去除比较

以粉煤灰为原料,采用改进的水热合成法制备了粉煤灰沸石,并将粉煤灰和粉煤灰沸石用于高浓度氨氮的吸附去除。实验结果表明:在粉煤灰和粉煤灰沸石的投加量分别为0.10 g/m L和0.04 g/m L、反应体系p H为5~7、初始氨氮质量浓度为500 mg/L的条件下,分别吸附660 min和60 min,粉煤灰和粉煤灰沸石对氨氮的去除率分别约为20.1%和50.7%左右,粉煤灰沸石对高浓度氨氮的去除效果明显优于粉煤灰;粉煤灰和粉煤灰沸石对氨氮的吸附动力学行为符合准二级动力学方程;Langmuir和Freundlich等温吸附模型能较好地描述粉煤灰对氨氮的等温吸附过程,而粉煤灰沸石对氨氮的等温吸附过程则更适宜用线性模型和Freundlich模型描述。     

烟气脱硫副产物资源化利用现状与发展方向

简述了我国燃煤电厂湿法、半干法烟气脱硫副产物——脱硫石膏、脱硫灰渣的利用现状,针对利用过程中所遇到的问题,提出了烟气脱硫副产物资源化利用的新技术方向,并对新技术的可行性进行了论证。     

碱激发粉煤灰对Cs~+的吸附行为

将粉煤灰进行碱激发改性,运用XRD和SEM技术对碱激发粉煤灰进行了表征,通过静态平衡吸附实验研究了碱激发粉煤灰对Cs+的吸附动力学和热力学特性,并对吸附前后的碱激发粉煤灰进行了FTIR分析。表征结果显示,碱激发处理后,粉煤灰的晶相发生了改变,且粉煤灰表面密实的硬壳层被破坏。实验结果表明:在初始Cs+质量浓度为200 mg/L、吸附温度为25℃、溶液pH为10、碱激发粉煤灰投加量为12.0 g/L的条件下,碱激发粉煤灰对Cs+的平衡吸附率可达80%以上,其吸附能力比碱激发前提高了3倍以上;吸附过程可用准二阶动力学方程来描述,并较好地符合Langmuir等温吸附模型;碱激发粉煤灰对Cs+的吸附是吸热过程,且能自发进行;该过程以物理吸附为主,并伴随化学吸附。     

Trace element partitioning in ashes from boilers firing pure wood or mixtures of solid waste with respect to fuel composition,chlorine content and temperature

Trace element partitioning in solid waste (household waste, industrial waste, waste wood chips and waste mixtures) incineration residues was investigated. Samples of fly ash and bottom ash were collected from six incineration facilities across Sweden including two grate fired and four fluidized bed incinerators, to have a variation in the input fuel composition (from pure biofuel to mixture of waste) and different temperature boiler conditions. As trace element concentrations in the input waste at the same facilities have already been analyzed, the present study focuses on the concentration of trace elements in the waste fuel, their distribution in the incineration residues with respect to chlorine content of waste and combustion temperature.Results indicate that Zn, Cu and Pb are dominating trace elements in the waste fuel. Highly volatile elements mercury and cadmium are mainly found in fly ash in all cases; 2/3 of lead also end up in fly ash while Zn, As and Sb show a large variation in distribution with most of them residing in the fly ash. Lithophilic elements such as copper and chromium are mainly found in bottom ash from grate fired facilities while partition mostly into fly ash from fluidized bed incinerators, especially for plants fuelled by waste wood or ordinary wood chips. There is no specific correlation between input concentration of an element in the waste fuel and fraction partitioned to fly ash. Temperature and chlorine content have significant effects on partitioning characteristics by increasing the formation and vaporization of highly volatile metal chlorides. Zinc and cadmium concentrations in fly ash increase with the incineration temperature.     

An Investigation into the Influence of Filler Silanization Conditions on Mechanical and Thermal Parameters of Epoxy Resin-Fly Ash Composites

The insulation material of electronic devices should offers high thermal conductivity whilst retaining suitable mechanical properties. Epoxy resin is an example of a material that is commonly used by industry for electronic insulation, despite the fact that neither the thermal conductivity nor the mechanical properties are particularly satisfying. These properties can be enhanced by incorporating filler, with silica flour representing the most popular filler. An economically appealing solution is to replace silica flour with fly ash as filler material, however it must be remembered that compatibility of fly ash and epoxy resin is not ideal. In order to improve the coupling between these two materials, fly ash particles covered with [3-(2-Aminoethylamino)propyl]trimethoxysilane were obtained with six different conditions of the silanization process, where the amount of silane, the temperature and the time of the reaction were changed. The presence of the silane layer was confirmed via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The mechanical properties, including tensile strength, Young Modulus and fracture toughness, as well as the thermal conductivity of the final samples were investigated. In the case of composites with silanized fillers, all of the mechanical properties were improved, and an enhancement of thermal conductivity was observed for several composites. Moreover, the differences in coupling between the silanized fly ash and the untreated fly ash, and the epoxy matrix were precisely recorded by means of SEM. The presented studies confirm that an effective silanization process can significantly improve the properties of composites, while also verifying the usefulness of waste material. The results highlight that fly ash may be utilized to create a more economically affordable insulation material.     

Evaluation of the mechanical properties of class-F fly ash

Coal-burning power plants in the United States (US) generate more than 70 million tons of fly ash as a by-product annually. Recycling large volumes of fly ash in geotechnical applications may offer an attractive alternative to the disposal problem as most of it is currently dumped in ponds or landfills. Class-F fly ash, resulting from burning of bituminous or anthracite coals, is the most common type of fly ash in the US. In the present study, the mechanical characteristics (compaction response, compressibility, and shear strength) of class-F fly ash were investigated by performing various laboratory tests (compaction test, one-dimensional compression test, direct shear test and consolidated-drained triaxial compression test) on fly ash samples collected from three power plants in the state of Indiana (US). Test results have shown that despite some morphological differences, class-F fly ash exhibits mechanical properties that are, in general, comparable to those observed in natural sandy soils.     

Recycling of municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash by using hydrocyclone separation

The municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) in Taiwan generate about 300,000 tons of fly ash annually, which is mainly composed of calcium and silicon compounds, and has the potential for recycling. However, some heavy metals are present in the MSWI fly ash, and before recycling, they need to be removed or reduced to make the fly ash non-hazardous. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to use a hydrocyclone for the separation of the components of the MSWI fly ash in order to obtain the recyclable portion. The results show that chloride salts can be removed from the fly ash during the hydrocyclone separation process. The presence of a dense medium (quartz sand in this study) is not only helpful for the removal of the salts, but also for the separation of the fly ash particles. After the dense-medium hydrocyclone separation process, heavy metals including Pb and Zn were concentrated in the fine particles so that the rest of the fly ash contained less heavy metal and became both non-hazardous and recyclable.     

Chemical changes in different types of coal ash during prolonged,large scale,contact with seawater

In this study, we followed the chemical changes occurring in coal ash exposed to prolonged (300 days), large scale, contact with running seawater. Four major components (Al, Ca, Mg, Fe) and seven minor and trace elements (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn, Pb, Hg) were measured in four coal ash types: fly and bottom ash freshly obtained from coal-fired power plant, and old ash (crushed and blocks) recovered from the sea after 3-5 years contact with seawater. Changes occurred in the chemical composition of the coal ash along the experiment: Fe increased in fresh ash, Al increased in old ash and Ca increased in all ash types except old ash blocks. Cu and Hg decreased in fresh fly ash while Cr increased, Cd decreased in all ash types except bottom ash, and Mn decreased in bottom ash. Most of the changes occurred in the fresh fly ash, and not in the old ash, indicating equilibrium after prior exposure to seawater. In addition, more changes occurred in fresh fly ash than in bottom ash, emphasizing the differences between the two ash types. While the changes in the concentrations of the major elements may be an indication of the integrity of the ash matrix, the only elements of environmental significance released to the environment were Hg and Cd. However, calculated seawater concentrations were much lower than seawater quality criteria and therefore the coal ash was considered suitable for marine applications concerning seawater quality.     

Removal of unburned carbon from municipal solid waste fly ash by column flotation

Unburned carbon (UC) is the major source of organic contaminants in municipal solid waste (MSW) fly ash. So most organic contaminants can be removed by the removal of the UC from the MSW fly ash. In this paper, we first used a technique of column flotation to remove UC from MSW fly ash. The influences of column flotation parameters on the recovery efficiency of UC were systematically studied. It was found that the UC recovery efficiency was greatly influenced by the gas flow rate, pH value, collector kerosene's concentration and the types of fly ash. By optimizing the above parameters, we have successfully removed 61.2% of the UC from MSW fly ash having 5.24% UC content. The removal mechanism was well accounted for the kinetic theory of column flotation and surface-chemistry theory. The results indicate that the column flotation technique is effective in removing the UC from MSW fly ash, and show that there is a strong possibility for practical application of this technique in removing the organic contaminants from MSW fly ash.     

Reducing volatilization of heavy metals in phosphate-pretreated municipal solid waste incineration fly ash by forming pyromorphite-like minerals

This research investigated the feasibility of reducing volatilization of heavy metals (lead, zinc and cadmium) in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash by forming pyromorphite-like minerals via phosphate pre-treatment. To evaluate the evaporation characteristics of three heavy metals from phosphate-pretreated MSWI fly ash, volatilization tests have been performed by means of a dedicated apparatus in the 100-1000 °C range. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test and BCR sequential extraction procedure were applied to assess phosphate stabilization process. The results showed that the volatilization behavior in phosphate-pretreated MSWI fly ash could be reduced effectively. Pyromorphite-like minerals formed in phosphate-pretreated MSWI fly ash were mainly responsible for the volatilization reduction of heavy metals in MSWI fly ash at higher temperature, due to their chemical fixation and thermal stabilization for heavy metals. The stabilization effects were encouraging for the potential reuse of MSWI fly ash.     

CuCl2改性飞灰吸附气相零价汞

采用CuCl₂对循环流化床锅炉飞灰进行改性,在固定床反应器上对CuCl₂改性飞灰进行了气相零价汞（Hg⁰）吸附实验。考察了CuCl₂负载量和吸附温度对改性飞灰Hg⁰吸附能力的影响,并结合颗粒内扩散模型、准一阶动力学模型、准二阶动力学模型和耶洛维奇模型拟合结果分析该过程的控制步骤。结果表明： CuCl₂改性飞灰的Hg⁰穿透时间远大于未改性飞灰,对Hg⁰的吸附量随CuCl₂负载量的增加而增加;CuCl₂改性飞灰的Hg⁰吸附能力随吸附温度的升高先增大后减小,150 ℃为最佳吸附温度;准二阶动力学模型的拟合值与实验值相关系数最高,且该模型初始吸附速率与实验值最为接近,即准二阶动力学模型更适合于描述CuCl₂改性飞灰的Hg⁰吸附过程。