Fly Ash Production, Characteristics, and Applications

The annual production of Fly ash, a by-product from coal-based thermal power plants (TPPs), is about 500 million tonnes (MT). Some of the problems associated with Fly ash are the large area of land required for disposal, its right management under water layers so that it does not become airborne, and toxicity associated with heavy metal leached to groundwater. Fly ash, being treated as waste and a source of air and water pollution till the recent past, is in fact a resource material and has also proven its worth over a period of time as construction material. The potential of materials like fly ash for gainful utilization is determined by innovations that develop useful products like bricks and fly ash concrete mix. The continued innovations have added to the understanding of civil engineers for the right use of waste from coal-based thermal power plants (fly ash) to develop technology for fly ash bricks and concrete. The quality of fly ash is determined by the quality of coal, which in turn, affects the quality of fly ash bricks and concrete.