scholarly journals An Assessment of the Phytoremediation Potential of Planted and Spontaneously Colonized Woody Plant Species on Chronosequence Fly Ash Disposal Sites in Serbia—Case Study

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Olga Kostić ◽  
Gordana Gajić ◽  
Snežana Jarić ◽  
Tanja Vukov ◽  
Marija Matić ◽  
...  

In this study, the potential of planted (Tamarix tetrandra Pall. ex M.Bieb. and Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and spontaneously colonized (Amorpha fruticosa L. and Populus alba L.) woody species for the phytoremediation of potentially toxic trace elements (TEs) such as As, B, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Se, and Zn, from the chronosequence fly ash (FA) deposit lagoons (L1 and L2) at the ‘Nikola Tesla A’ Thermal Power Plant (TENT-A) in Serbia were analyzed. The differences in the pseodototal and bioavailable (DTPA-extractable) concentrations and mobility (AR index) of TEs in FA at the examined lagoons are a result of the time-conditioned influence of weathering (3 and 11 years respectively) and vegetation development on changing the basic physical and chemical properties of FA (texture, pH, EC, CEC, C, N, and bioavailable P and K) and its toxicity. This resulted in differences in the concentration of TEs in the roots and leaves of the examined plants at L1 and L2. All examined species accumulated Cr the most in the root (BAF > 1 and TF < 1), which suggests that they are good stabilizers of this element. Biological indices for As (BAF > 1 and TF < 1) identified T. tetrandra and A. fruticose as good stabilizers of As. P. alba stood out as accumulating the highest levels of B, Ni, and Zn, T. tetrandra the highest levels of Cu, Mn, and Se, and R. pseudoacacia the highest levels of As and B in leaves (BAF > 1; TF > 1), which makes them good extractors of these elements from the FA at TENT-A. However, due to toxic concentrations of As, B, Se, and Zn in their leaves, they are not recommended for the phytoremediation of the investigated lagoons through the process of phytostabilization. Under conditions of elevated total Cu and Ni concentration in FA, the content of these elements in the leaves of A. fruticosa at both lagoons were within the normal range. This, in addition to a good supply of essential Zn, the stabilization of As and Cr in the roots, an increase in BAF, and a decrease in TF for B with a decrease in its mobility in ash over time, singles this invasive species out as the best candidate for the phytostabilization of TEs in FA at the TENT-A ash deposit site.

2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Kostic ◽  
Miroslava Mitrovic ◽  
M. Knezevic ◽  
Snezana Jaric ◽  
Gordana Gajic ◽  
...  

Four woody species, Tamarix tentandra Pallas, Populus alba L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L. (planted) and Amorpha fruticosa L. (naturally colonized) were studied at two fly ash deposit lagoons, weathered 3 (L1) and 11 years (L2). All species were assessed in terms of their invasive ability, photosynthetic efficiency, photosynthetic pigments and damage symptoms, while the characteristics of the habitat were assessed in terms of trace element content and the pH and EC of the ash. A reduced vitality of all populations growing on the ash was observed, except for the naturally colonized A. fruticosa. High vitality on all sites, except at L2, increased chlorophyll content and absence of damage symptoms indicates a tolerance in relation to the uptake of toxic elements from the ash. Therefore, the characteristics of naturally colonized species can be used for modeling future actions of biological restoration of fly ash deposits.


Author(s):  
Harshkumar Patel ◽  
Yogesh Patel

Now-a-days energy planners are aiming to increase the use of renewable energy sources and nuclear to meet the electricity generation. But till now coal-based power plants are the major source of electricity generation. Disadvantages of coal-based thermal power plants is disposal problem of fly ash and pond ash. It was earlier considered as a total waste and environmental hazard thus its use was limited, but now its useful properties have been known as raw material for various application in construction field. Fly ash from the thermal plants is available in large quantities in fine and coarse form. Fine fly ash is used in construction industry in some amount and coarse fly ash is subsequently disposed over land in slurry forms. In India around 180 MT fly is produced and only around 45% of that is being utilized in different sectors. Balance fly ash is being disposed over land. It needs one acre of land for ash disposal to produce 1MW electricity from coal. Fly ash and pond ash utilization helps to reduce the consumption of natural resources. The fly ash became available in coal based thermal power station in the year 1930 in USA. For its gainful utilization, scientist started research activities and in the year 1937, R.E. Davis and his associates at university of California published research details on use of fly ash in cement concrete. This research had laid foundation for its specification, testing & usages. This study reports the potential use of pond-ash and fly-ash as cement in concrete mixes. In this present study of concrete produced using fly ash, pond ash and OPC 53 grade will be carried. An attempt will be made to investigate characteristics of OPC concrete with combined fly ash and pond ash mixed concrete for Compressive Strength test, Split Tensile Strength test, Flexural Strength test and Durability tests. This paper deals with the review of literature for fly-ash and pond-ash as partial replacement of cement in concrete.


1999 ◽  
Vol 09 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 417-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. VIJAYAN ◽  
S. N. BEHERA

Fly ash is a major component of solid material generated by the coal-fired thermal power plants. In India the total amount of fly ash produced per annum is around 100 million tonnes. Fly ash has a great potential for utilization in making industrial products such as cement, bricks as well as building materials, besides being used as a soil conditioner and a provider of micro nutrients in agriculture. However, given the large amount of fly ash that accumulate at thermal power plants, their possible reuse and dispersion and mobilization into the environment of the various elements depend on climate, soils, indigenous vegetation and agriculture practices. Fly ash use in agriculture improved various physico-chemical properties of soil, particularly the water holding capacity, porosity and available plant nutrients. However it is generally apprehended that the application of large quantity of fly ash in fields may affect the plant growth and soil texture. Hence there is a need to characterize trace elements of fly ash. The results of trace element analysis of fly ash and pond ash samples collected from major thermal power plants of India by Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) have been discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usman Haider ◽  
Zdenek Bittnar ◽  
Lubomír Kopecky ◽  
Vít Šmilauer ◽  
Jaroslav Pokorny ◽  
...  

The properties of fly ashes vary because of the differences in the properties of their individual particles, and the determination of variation in these properties is of interest to the industries which use pulverized raw fly ash in applications, such as in cementitious materials and in the recovery of certain rare elements from raw fly ash. To investigate the differences in individual particles, four pulverized raw fly ashes from thermal power plants of the Czech Republic were used in this research. It was observed from FE-SEM that all four fly ashes consist of glassy hollow spherical, solid spherical, porous spherical, bright spherical, porous slaggy and compact slaggy particles. Box and whisker diagrams were plotted from the data of EDX individual particle analyses, which showed that the data of percentages for the Si, Al, and Fe elements is more scattered as compared to other elements. It was further observed from ternary phase diagrams and pseudo coloured images, that nature of fly ash particles changes from alumino silicate glassy to alumino silicate calcite metallic to pure ferro-metallic,where glassy particles showed high percentages and pure calcite particles were absent in fly ashes. Furthermore, a comparison between the XRF, the EDX total area analyses, showed that the EDX individual particle analysis gives more realistic and reliable data with median, mean, and the standard deviation for percentages of each element present in the fly ashes.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 657
Author(s):  
Gordana Gajić ◽  
Lola Djurdjević ◽  
Olga Kostić ◽  
Snežana Jarić ◽  
Branka Stevanović ◽  
...  

Arsenic (As) from coal fly ash can be released into soil/groundwater, presenting a global threat to the environment and human health. To overcome this environmental problem, phytoremediation represents an urgent need, providing ‘green’ cleanup of contaminated lands. The present study focused on As concentrations in fly ash and plants, evaluation of phytoremediation potential of Dactylis glomerata sown on fly ash deposits together with its photosynthetic activity, and oxidative and antioxidative response to As stress. Field research was carried out on fly ash deposits at the thermal power plant “Nikola Tesla”, Obrenovac (TENT-A, Serbia) and the control site. Fly ash is characterized by alkaline pH reactions, small amounts of organic matter, a large amount of available phosphate, and total and available As concentrations. Results in this study indicate that phosphate application can ameliorate As toxicity, uptake and root-shoot transport. Furthermore, D. glomerata can be considered as good As phytostabilizator, because it retains more As in roots than in leaves. Excess As in leaves decreases photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) and concentrations of chlorophylls, carotenoids, and anthocyanins, whereas high content of malondialdehyde (MDA) can be a signal for biosynthesis phenolics and ascorbic acid, providing cellular redox homeostasis and recovery of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry. In the roots, low oxidative stress under high concentrations of As is related to intense antioxidant biosynthesis. Taken together, the results in this study indicate a high adaptive potential of D. glomerata to As stress. These findings may suggest that physiological and metabolic tools can be used as a way forward in the ‘real field’ scenario, phytomanagement of fly ash and ecosystem services providing sustainable phytoremediation of As-contaminated sites around the globe.


2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Sik Chu ◽  
Batmunkh Davaabal ◽  
Dae-Sung Kim ◽  
Sung-Kwan Seo ◽  
Yoo Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract The effect of two different milling devices, namely attrition mill versus vibration mill, on the reactivity of fly ash was studied. High calcium fly ash from 4th Thermal power station of Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) was used for the experiments. The raw and processed samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, Particle size distribution, BET, Blaine surface area and density measurements. The efficiency of 1 hour milling was evaluated with the Blaine surface area set to be more than 5000 cm2/g. The physical and chemical properties of the attrition milled fly ash changed not much compared to the vibration milled samples. For example the d50 particle size became reduced from 29 µm to 6 µm by attrition milling and in vibration milled fly ash it was reduced to 7 µm. The density increased from 2.44 g/cm3 of raw fly ash to 2.84 g/cm3 and 2.79 g/cm3 in attrition and vibration milled samples, respectively. Mechanical milling revealed not only a particle size reduction but also the formation of a denser microstructure. As a result the vibration milled fly ash showed a weaker interaction with the alkaline solution (8 M NaOH used here) compared to the attrition milled fly ash. Consequently, compressive strength of the binder prepared using the attrition milled fly ash was higher, 61 MPa, while for vibration milled fly ash it was 49 MPa. For comparison unmilled fly ash, it was 21 MPa.


Transport ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjana Vukićević ◽  
Zdenka Popović ◽  
Jovan Despotović ◽  
Luka Lazarević

Approximately 7 million tons of fly ash and slag are produced in thermal power plants in Serbia every year, only 3% of which is used in the cement industry. About 300 million tons of the ash-slag mixture are disposed in landfills, occupying an area of approximately 1600 hectares and generating environmental issues. Fly ash from Serbian power plants has pozzolanic properties and due to low concentration of calcium compounds (less than 10% CaO), they do not have self-cementing properties. According to the ASTM C618-15, this ash is from class F. According to the European Standard EN 197-1:2011, this ash is siliceous (type V) ash. From April 2014 to May 2015, an investigation of engineering properties of fly ash and mixtures of fly ash and slag from landfill (without or with binders of cement/lime) was conducted at the Laboratory of Soil Mechanics at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Belgrade (Serbia) and at the Institute for Testing of Materials – IMS Institute in Belgrade. The laboratory test results were showed in the study ‘Utilization of fly ash and slag produced in the TPP JP EPS thermal power plants for construction of railways’. Four kinds of waste materials from Serbian power plants were laboratory tested: (a) an ash-slag mixture from landfills at the ‘Nikola Tesla A’ thermal power plant; (b) fly ash from silos in the ‘Nikola Tesla B’ thermal power plant; (c) an ash-slag mixture from landfills at the ‘Kostolac A’ and ‘Kostolac B’ thermal power plants and ‘Srednje kostolačko ostrvo’ landfill; (d) fly ash from the ‘Kostolac’ thermal power plant. The following physical and mechanical properties of ash and mixtures were investigated: grain size distribution, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, moisture-density relationship, shear strength parameters in terms of effective stresses, California Bearing Ratio (CBR), and deformation parameters. The paper presents the results of laboratory tests of the materials with and without binders, and based on the laboratory results and previous research, the paper presents possibilities of using fly ash and slag for the construction of railway substructure in the planned construction and reconstruction of railway network in Serbia. The obtained results indicate that tested fly ash and ash-slag mixture have met the technical requirements and that they have the potential to be used in railway substructure.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-57

A main problem related to coal ash disposal is the heavy metal content of the residue. In this regard, experimental results of numerous studies have indicated that toxic trace metals may leach when fly ash and bottom ash contacts with water. In this study, fly ash and bottom ash samples obtained from Kemerköy thermal power plant, located on the south-western coast of Turkey, were subjected to toxicity tests such as the extraction procedures (EP) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedures (TCLP) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the so-called Method A extraction procedure of the American Society of Testing and Material (ASTM). When Pb and Cd concentrations, analysed according to EP and TCLP, were considered, Kemerköy fly and bottom ash can be classified as a hazardous waste under the principles of the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Based on the geochemical analyses carried out, it was also determined that several toxic trace elements, such as Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu and Co were enriched at the fly and bottom ash of Kemerköy thermal power plant.


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