Coal Ash Leachate Potential From Stoker Boilers.
Abstract
The Department of Defense (DOD) has 28 installations that use coal and produces about 120,000 short tons of ash per year. Coal ash may he classified as hazardous waste if regulatory tests show leaching of heavy metals and other elements, which would make disposal a more complicated and expensive process. However, the hazardous nature of coal ash remains unclear because current toxicity tests fail to effectively characterize the elemental distribution and chemical solubility of trace metals in the landfill environment. This study investigated the hazardous potential of industrial coal-fired boiler wastes and outlined disposal regulations and feasible disposal options. Coal and ash samples from three Illinois sites were examined and the leaching characteristics of the ash samples analyzed with specially designed laboratory extraction procedures in association with inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy analysis (ICP-AES). Regulated elements including Ag, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, and Se were shown to remain in largely insoluble forms while elements such as B and S leached at higher levels. Experimental results obtained in this research will help operators of coal-fired boilers select coal types and disposal options to curtail the leaching of potentially toxic levels of inorganic contaminants. -BKA
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA290819
Entities
People
- John F. Cerbus
- Martin J. Savoie
- Sheldon Landsberger
- Susan Larson
Organizations
- Construction Engineering Research Laboratory