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Sustainable Utilization of Anthropogenic Coal Fly Ash Through Mechanical and Chemical Activation

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Anthropogenic Environmental Hazards

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Abstract

Anthropogenic coal fly ash (CFA) is a pozzolanic material comprises silico-alumina, making it an excellent secondary raw material with a range of applications. It is utilized for wastewater treatment, extraction of valuable minerals, and the production of ceramics, cement, concrete, building materials, composites, paints, and plastic materials. The crystalline and amorphous phases of CFA contain metals and metalloid oxides, with the amorphous portion playing a significant role in chemical reactions. However, the direct use of coal fly ash poses challenges due enriched potentially toxic trace elements. Nevertheless, the upstream extraction of valuable minerals and efficient downstream applications of CFA can be improved through mechanical and/or chemical activation. Industrial and laboratory-scale purification and modification of coal fly ash by size reduction, surface modification, and functionalization are discussed in this chapter.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India, and Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Dilip Kumar Rajak

  2. Department of Applied Sciences and Chemical Engineering, The Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Dilip Kumar Rajak

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIET, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Swapan Suman

  4. Department of Petroleum Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India

    Chandan Guria

  5. Department of Ocean Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

    Ganesh Kumar

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  1. Dilip Kumar Rajak
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  2. Swapan Suman
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Resource Management Lab, Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, SRM University Andhra Pradesh, Guntur, India

    Pankaj Pathak

  2. Center for Advanced Chemistry, Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam

    Rajiv Ranjan Srivastava

  3. Department of Earth Resources & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Sadia Ilyas

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Rajak, D.K., Suman, S., Guria, C., Kumar, G. (2023). Sustainable Utilization of Anthropogenic Coal Fly Ash Through Mechanical and Chemical Activation. In: Pathak, P., Srivastava, R.R., Ilyas, S. (eds) Anthropogenic Environmental Hazards. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41013-0_7

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