Treated Oil Shale Ashes as Cement and Fine Aggregates Substitutes for the Concrete Industry.

The increased global demand for energy and the environmental concerns associated with fossil fuels highlight the need for alternative approaches. Fossil fuel combustion, particularly coal and oil shale, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and generates large amounts of ash residues, posing environmental challenges. This study focuses on the potential of thermal treatment to upgrade oil shale bottom ash (OSBA) for use as a cement replacement in concrete, addressing both the economic viability of oil shale combustion and the environmental issue of ash waste management. The findings have significant implications for improving the economics and environmental sustainability of oil shale combustion in construction. By enhancing the properties of OSBA, this study contributes to the advancement of greener energy solutions and waste management practices in the energy and construction sectors.

Neutralization of Acidic Industrial Wastes and Fixation of Trace Element by Oil Shale Ash: Formation of a Green Product.

Oil shale is a rock that contains organic matter in a concentration that allows it to be used as an energy source. As a result of the shale combustion process, large amounts of two types of ash are formed: fly ash (∼10%) and bottom ash (∼90%). At present, in Israel, only fly oil shale ash is used, which constitutes a minority of the oil shale burn products, whereas bottom oil shale ash is accumulated as waste. Bottom ash contains a high percentage of calcium in the form of anhydrite (CaSO4) and calcite (CaCO3). Thus, it can be used to neutralize acidic waste and to fix trace elements. This study examined the process of scrubbing the acid waste by the ash, its characterization pre- and post-upgrade treatment, to test its suitability as a partial substitute for aggregates, natural sand, and cement in concrete mixtures. In the current study, we compared the chemical and physical characterization of oil shale bottom ash before and after upgrading the ash via chemical treatment. In addition, its utilization as a scrubbing reagent for acidic wastes from the phosphate industry was studied.

The geochemical evolution of brines from phosphogypsum deposits in Huelva (SW Spain) and its environmental implications.

The present study focuses on the geochemistry of large phosphogypsum deposits in Huelva (SW Spain). Phosphogypsum slurry waste from fertiliser production was disposed in large ponds containing aqueous waste (i.e. brines) and exposed to weathering. These evaporation ponds were found to be dynamic environments far from attaining steady state conditions where a number of trace pollutants are subjected to temporal variations in response to changing environmental conditions. Chemical, mineralogical and morphological data were used to improve our understanding on the dynamics of a large number of elements in the phosphogypsum-brine-evaporation deposits system. Weekly sampling of brines over the course of 1 yr indicated a substantial enrichment in potentially harmful elements (e.g. As, Cr, Cu, F, Ni, U, V, Zn) present in time-dependent concentrations. The evaporation deposits formed multi-layered precipitates of chlorides, sulphates, phosphates and fluorides containing a large number of pollutants in readily soluble forms. The precipitation sequence revealed a time-dependent composition reflecting alternating precipitation and re-dissolution processes associated with seasonal changes in the local weather conditions. Concatenation of precipitation/re-dissolution stages was found to progressively enrich the brines in pollutants. These findings were supported by the observations from a tank experiment simulating the phosphogypsum-brine-evaporation deposits system under laboratory conditions. Given the substantially high concentrations of pollutants present in mobile forms in the brine-salt system, actions to abate these compounds should be implemented.

Environmental impact and potential use of coal fly ash and sub-economical quarry fine aggregates in concrete.

The Israeli quarry industry produces 57 Mt of raw material and ∼4-6Mt of associated sub-economical by-products annually. These sub-economical quarry fines are not used because production and transportation costs considerably exceed their retail value. Therefore these by-products, are stored in large piles of fine grain size particles, create environmental risks to their surrondings. This paper evaluates the possibility of mixing the sub-economical quarry by-products of two Israeli quarries with sub-economical Class F coal fly ash (<20wt.% CaO) to form an economical aggregate sand substitute to be used as a concrete filler product. To study the feasibility of the aggregate as partial substitute to sand in concrete several analyses, including leaching experiements (EN12457-2), analytical techinques (SEM-EDX, ICP-MS, ICP-AES, and XRD), as well as an analysis of the mechanical and chemical properties of the concrete aggregate (strength, workability, and penetration) were performed. Scrubbing quarry waste with coal fly ash was found to be very effective for reducing the leaching rate of potentially harmful trace elements. In addition, adding fly ash with quarry fines as partial substitute to sand enhanced the performance of the concrete mixture and the properties of the fresh and harden concrete.

Sustainable Blended Cements-Influences of Packing Density on Cement Paste Chemical Efficiency.

This paper addresses the development of blended cements with reduced clinker amount by partial replacement of the clinker with more environmentally-friendly material (e.g., limestone powders). This development can lead to more sustainable cements with reduced greenhouse gas emission and energy consumption during their production. The reduced clicker content was based on improved particle packing density and surface area of the cement powder by using three different limestone particle diameters: smaller (7 µm, 3 µm) or larger (70 µm, 53 µm) than the clinker particles, or having a similar size (23 µm). The effects of the different limestone particle sizes on the chemical reactivity of the blended cement were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry and differential thermogravimetry (TG/DTG), loss on ignition (LOI), isothermal calorimetry, and the water demand for reaching normal consistency. It was found that by blending the original cement with limestone, the hydration process and the reactivity of the limestone itself were increased by the increased surface area of the limestone particles. However, the carbonation reaction was decreased with the increased packing density of the blended cement with limestone, having various sizes.

Potential of Hazardous Waste Encapsulation in Concrete Compound Combination with Coal Ash and Quarry Fine Additives.

Coal power plants are producing huge amounts of coal ash that may be applied to a variety of secondary uses. Class F fly ash may act as an excellent scrubber and fixation reagent for highly acidic wastes, which might also contain several toxic trace elements. This paper evaluates the potential of using Class F fly ashes (<20% CaO), in combination with excessive fines from the limestone quarry industry as a fixation reagent. The analysis included leaching experiments (EN12457-2) and several analytical techniques (ICP, SEM, XRD, etc.), which were used in order to investigate the fixation procedure. The fine sludge is used as a partial substitute in concrete that can be used in civil engineering projects, as it an environmentally safe product.