Project Number: WVA00400
CRIS Number: 0178492
EFFECTS OF COMPLEX MIXTURES ON THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS AND SOIL MATERIALS
Investigators: Mcdonald, Jr., L. M.
Performing Department: Plant & Soil Sciences -- 1825
Start Date: 06/01/1998
Termination Date: 09/30/2002
Reporting period: 01/01/2001 to 12/31/2001
Progress Report:
A consequence of incomplete coal combustion in low nitrogen oxide emission burners is residual carbon on the fly ash. The carbon contents of this ash often exceed the limits for use in cements. But, because they have properties similar to activated carbon, high carbon ashes have potential as a low-cost substitute in treatment wall technologies. We evaluated the sorptive capacity of three fly ashes for the BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene) class of compounds, common groundwater pollutants. As expected, there was a correlation between sorptive capacity and carbon content of the ash. However, as BTEX solute concentrations increased, organic compounds were released from the ash itself. That is, the solutes began to act as solvents. The BTEX concentrations where organic contaminants were released from the ash followed the order ethylbenzene (less than) benzene = toluene (less than)xylene. Additional work needs to be done to determine what compounds are being released from these ashes and what other organic solutes may act as solvents.
Publications: (No publications.)
Impact:
This work is still preliminary, but may have implications for the disposal practices for these types of ashes.