Abstract

Fly ash generated from heavy fuel incineration in power plants: Physical and chemical characteristics

Author(s): Mohammad A.Al Ghouti, Ayoup M.Ghrair, Hani Khoury, Yahya S.Al-Degs, Majeda Khraisheh

In Jordan, large amounts of fly ash (FA) are produced as a result of burning heavy fuel in power plants. The brackish granular flash ash was systematically analysed by different analytical techniques including scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy (FTIR), lazier diffractometer (LD), Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and acoustic and electroacoustic spectrometer in order to investigate geometrical structure, morphology, surface chemistry and composition of the resulted FA. The FAwas sampled form the places where heavy fuel is burned to produce electricity. This study revealed that about 50%of FAparticles diameters were less than 530 nm. FAparticleswere predominantly appeared as smooth ofmineral spheres. The FA was rich in C, S, Mg, V, Ni and Fe indicating the carbonaceous nature of this material. TheAl and Si contents were insignificant. The size distribution, chemical and morphological properties of the FA particles were found to be log-normal. The FAcontains high heavy metals content, particularly vanadiumoxide (V2O5: 8.07%wt) and nickel oxide (NiO: 0.91 %wt). Discussion on the physical and chemical characteristics of carbonaceous FA produced in power plants is addressed in this work.