Application of Coal Ash in Building and Construction

Summary

Coal ash produced from coal fired power plants can be separated into either fly ash, which is a very fine powder material from coal combustion or bottom ash, which is much coarser. In New Jersey fine coal ash was mixed with asphalt for paving the entrance to an industrial park in Elizabeth and bottom ash was used as a raw material substitute in resurfacing a federal highway. A study of using energy-to-waste ash for road-base aggregate in New Jersey found that there were no adverse environmental consequences of storing the ash in exposed piles prior to use. Additionally the coal ash can be used in the production of building blocks, and due to the fine and light nature of the ash, producing lighter blocks.

Industry

Industry Sector	Specific Industry
Building & construction sector	Manufacturer of building and paving blocks
Building & construction sector	Road construction company
Energy utility sector	Coal fired power plant

Region

New Jersey, USA.

Applied Technologies

• Not known

Triple Bottom Line Aspects (direct at operational level)

Economic	Potential savings in material purchase costs Potential lower disposal costs for power plant
Environment	Landfill diversion Reduction in raw material use
Social	Lighter blocks can result in lower employee liabilities

Additional Comments

None.

References

• Management of Residues from Thermal Processes (n.d.) "Appendix 1 - Case Studies for MSW Ash Residue Re-use Applications", Retrieved from: http://www.ieabioenergytask36.org/task36_supporting_documents/task36_pdfs/publications/Mangement_of_Residues_from_Thernal_Processes_Appendix1.PDF

Last Update

18 January 2007