Coolside waste management research

The data obtained from both the laboratory and field columns include pH, conductivity and ionic concentrations. This solute data must be manipulated to infer chemical species concentrations and the Mineral phases present in the column environment. For this a venerable and well-tested Public domain program WATEQ4F (reference: WATEQ4F with Revised Thermodynamic Data Base and Test Cases for Calculating Speciation of Major, Trace, and Redox Elements in Natural Waters. USGS Open File Report 91-183. James W. Ball and D. Kirk Nordstrom) was selected. This program, written in Fortran, expects a single input file and produces a single output file. Given the large amount of data collected in column experiments and the difficulty of extracting relevant data from the voluminous output provided by this program, work is being performed to simplify the data reduction process

PILOT DEMONSTRATION OF TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH VALUE MATERIALSFROM THE ULTRA-FINE (PM2.5)FRACTION OF COAL COMBUSTION ASH

Dry fly ash samples were collected from 6 of the7 largest power plants operated by Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E). Samples were taken from individual ESP hoppers in a continuous flow through stages of particulate collection. A total of 41 samples were taken from 16 operating units. The samples were thoroughly characterized for pertinent physical and chemical composition. The fly ash samples contained 10 to 50% -10{micro}m material, with higher concentrations of finer particles located in the latter stages of particulate collection. Flotation evaluation was conducted on a continuous flow though a single unit at each power station to assess the viability of using froth flotation to reduce the LOI in the fly ash to very low levels (i.e. 0.5% LOI) in order to enable eventual use as fillers. Ash from all of the units tested responded favorably with the exception of the ash from Henderson Station, which is attributed to a significant proportion of un-combusted or partially-combusted petroleum coke in the ash at this station, Bulk samples of dry ash and pond ash were also collected from Mill Creek, Trimble County, E.W. Brown and Coleman power plants and evaluated for carbon removal by froth flotation. Release analyses showed that flotation could effectively reduce carbon to acceptable levels for most of the substrates tested. The exception was the Mill Creek ashes. The cause of this exception will be further investigated

Technology for the Recovery of Fuel and Adsorbent Carbons from Coal Burning Utility Ash Ponds and Landfills

Several sampling techniques were evaluated to recover representative core samples from the ash ponds at Western Kentucky Energy's Coleman Station. The most successful was a combination of continuous-flight augers and specially designed soft-sediment sampling tubes driven by a Hammerhead drill mounted on an amphibious ARGO vehicle. A total of 51 core samples were recovered and analyzed in 3 ft sections and it was determined that there are 1,354,974 tons of ash in Pond C. Of the over 1.35M tons of ash present, 14% or 190K tons can be considered as coarse (+100 mesh). Pond C contains approximately 88K tons of carbon, nearly half of which is coarse and potentially recoverable with spiral concentration while the fine carbon (-100 mesh) is recoverable with froth flotation. There are 1.27M tons of carbon-free ash, 12% of which is coarse and potentially usable as block sand. Spiral concentration testing on bulk samples showed that product grade of 30 to 38% C (4200 to 5500 Btu/lb) was obtainable. When this product was cleaned again in an additional stage of spiral concentration, the product grade was improved to 7200 to 8200 Btu/lb with an accompanying 13 to 29% decrease in yield. Release analysis of hydraulically classified pond ash showed that froth flotation could provide froth products with as high a grade as 9000 Btu/lb with a yield of 5%. Increasing yield to 10% reduced froth grade to 7000 Btu/lb. Batch flotation provided froth grades as high as 6500 Btu/lb with yields of 7% with 1.5 lb/ton SPP and 1 lb/ton frother. Column flotation test results were similar to those achieved in batch flotation in terms of both grade and yield, however, carbon recoveries were lower (<70%). High airflow rate was required to achieve >50% carbon recovery and using wash water improved froth grade. Bottom ash samples were recovered from each of the units at Coleman Station. Characterization confirmed that sufficient quantity and quality of material is generated to produce a marketable lightweight aggregate and recover a high-grade fuel product. Spiral concentration provided acceptable grade lightweight aggregate with yields of only 10 to 20%. Incorporating a sieve bend into the process to recover coarse, porous ash particles from the outside race of the spirals increased aggregate yield to as high as 75%, however, the carbon content of the aggregate also increased. An opening size of 28 mesh on the sieve bend appeared to be sufficient. Lightweight concrete blocks (28 to 32 lbs) were produced from bottom ash and results show that acceptable strength could be attained with a cement/concrete ratio as low as 1/4. A mobile Proof-of-Concept (POC) field unit was designed and fabricated to meet the processing objectives of the project. The POC plant consisted of two trailer-mounted modules and was completely self sufficient with respect to power and water requirements. The POC unit was hauled to Coleman Station and operated at a feed rate of 2 tph. Results showed that the spirals operated similarly to previous pilot-scale operations and a 500 lb composite sample of coarse carbon was collected with a grade of 51.7% C or 7279 Btu/lb. Flotation results compared favorably with release analysis and 500 lbs of composite froth product was collected with a grade of 35% C or 4925 Btu/lb. The froth product was dewatered to 39% moisture with vacuum filtration. Pan pelletization and briquetting were evaluated as a means of minimizing handling concerns. Rotary pan pelletization produced uniform pellets with a compressive strength of 4 lbf without the use of any binder. Briquettes were produced by blending the coarse and fine carbon products at a ratio of 1:10, which is the proportion that the two products would be produced in a commercial operation. Using 3% lime as a binder produced the most desirable briquettes with respect to strength, attrition and drop testing. Additionally, the POC carbon products compared favorably with commercial activated carbon when used for removal of mercury from simulated flue gas. A business model was generated to summarize anticipated costs incurred during the first year of operation of a 50 tph feed capacity plant. Using the best available data from a variety of sources, the business model showed that even when using conservative pricing and sales volume, the processing plant would be economically viable in the first year of operation. Not surprisingly, economic success would be sensitive to sales volume and pricing. In order to maximize both of these factors, it is imperative that high quality products be produced

Pilot Demonstration of Technology fo the Production of High Value Materials from the Ultra-Fine (PM 2.5) Fraction of Coal Combustion Ash

Work on the project primarily focused on the design and testing of different hydraulic classifier configurations. A four cell, open channel, cross flow classifier with and without weirs separating the cells was evaluated. Drawbacks to this configuration included thick sediment compression zones and relatively low throughput. The configuration was redesigned with inclined lamellae plates, to increase sedimentation area and decreased sediment compression zone thickness. This configuration resulted in greater throughput for any given product grade and enhanced product recovery. A digital model of a hydraulic classifier was also constructed based upon Stokes law and the configurations of the tests units. When calibrated with the size of the ash used in the tests, it produced a reasonable approximation of the size, yield and recovery of the actual product. The digital model will be useful to generate test data, at least on a relative basis, of conditions that are hard to generate in the laboratory or at larger scale. Test work on the dispersant adsorption capacity, settling tests and leaching test were also conducted on materials collected from the Coleman power station pond

Pilot Demonstration of Technology for the Production of High Value Materials from the Ultra-Fine (PM 2.5) Fraction of Coal Combustion Ash

Work on the project focused on the determination of the hydraulic classification characteristics of the Coleman and Mill Creek ashes. The work utilized the hydraulic classifier developed earlier in the project. Testing included total yield, recovery of <5 {micro}m ash diameter particles and LOI partitioning as functions of dispersant dosage and type, retention time and superficial velocity. Yields as high as 21% with recoveries of up to 2/3 of the <5 {micro}m ash fractions were achieved. Mean particle size (D{sub 50}) of varied from 3.7 to 10 {micro}m. The ashes were tested for there pozzolanic activity in mortars as measured by strength activity index using ASTM criteria. Additional testing included air entrainment reagent demand and water requirements. The classified products all performed well, demonstrating excellent early strength development in the mortars. Some increased air entrainment demand was noted. The conceptual design of a process demonstration unit PDU was also completed. A flexible, trailer-mounted field unit is envisioned

PILOT DEMONSTRATION OF TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HIGH VALUE MATERIALS FROM THE ULTRA-FINE (PM 2.5) FRACTION OF COAL COMBUSTION ASH

Broad range dispersants, including naphthalene sulfonate-formaldehyde condensates (NSF) and polycarboxylate based products, were tested on both wet and dry fly ash samples from the LG&E Energy Corp. plants in the study. Tests included both total adsorption and measurement of sedimentation rate via time density relationships. A wide range of dosages were required, ranging from 0.3 to 10 g/kg. In general the ponded ash required less dispersant. Leaching tests of 5% ash solutions by weight revealed a wide range of soluble salts to be present in the ash, and found a relationship between calcium ion concentration and dispersant dosage requirement. Other parameters measured included SO{sub 4}, Cl, F, NO{sub 3}, PO{sub 4}, Al, Ca, Mg, K, Na and alkalinity. An assessment was made of the available software to digitally model the overall process circuit. No prefabricated digital model was found for hydraulic classification or froth flotation. Work focused on building a model for hydraulic classification in an Excel spread sheet based on Stokes Law. A pilot plant scale hydraulic classifier was fabricated and operated. The performance of the hydraulic classifier was found to be forecastable within reasonable bounds, and work to improve both are ongoing