Technical and radiological characterisation of fly ash and bottom ash from thermal power plant

Abstract

Huge quantities of fly ash and bottom ash are generated from thermal power plants and it presents great concern for country, mainly due to the environmental effects. In this study, fly ashes and bottom ash were characterized from technical and radio logical aspects. Health effect due to the activity of radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K was estimated via radium equivalent activity (Raeq), external hazards index (Hex), the external absorbed dose rate (D) and annual effective dose rate (EDR). The specific surface area (40.25 m2 g−1), particle density (1.88 g cm−3) and LOI (23.49%) were typical for bottom ash. Siliceous fly ash contained 32% reactive silica. The annual effective dose rate for all ashes is≤0.2 mSv y−1. Both, fly ash and bottom ash present potential secondary raw materials to be used for building purposes as result of their technological and radiological assessment.