The recycling of the coal fly ash in glass production

The recycling of fly ash obtained from the combustion of coal in thermal power plant has been studied. Coal fly ash was vitrified by melting at 1773 K for 5 hours without any additives. The properties of glasses produced from coal fly ash were investigated by means of Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. DTA study indicated that there was only one endothermic peak at 1003 K corresponding to the glass transition temperature. XRD analysis showed the amorphous state of the glass sample produced from coal fly ash. SEM investigations revealed that the coal fly ash based glass sample had smooth surface. The mechanical, physical and chemical properties of the glass sample were also determined. Recycling of coal fly ash by using vitrification technique resulted to a glass material that had good mechanical, physical and chemical properties. Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) results showed that the heavy metals of Pb, Cr, Zn and Mn were successfully immobilized into the glass. It can be said that glass sample obtained by the recycling of coal fly ash can be taken as a non-hazardous material. Overall, results indicated that the vitrification technique is an effective way for the stabilization and recycling of coal fly ash.