Investigation of Geochemical and Leaching Characteristics of Solid Wastes from Yeniköy (Muğla-Turkey) Power Plant

Authors: ALPER BABA, AYŞE TÜRKMAN

Abstract: The use of lignite in power generation has led to increasing environmental problems associated not only with gaseous emissions but also with the disposal of ash residues. In particular, the use of low quality coals with high ash content results in huge quantities of both fly and bottom ash to be disposed of. An important problem related to coal ash disposal is the heavy metal content of the residue. In this regard, experimental results of numerous studies indicate that toxic trace metals may leach when fly ash and bottom ash come into contact with water. In this study, fly ash and bottom ash samples obtained from Yeniköy thermal power plant, located on the south-western coast of Turkey, were subjected to toxicity tests, namely, the extraction (EP) and toxicity characteristic leaching (TCLP) procedures of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the Method A extraction procedure of the American Society of Testing and Material (ASTM).

Keywords: Bottom ash; fly ash; leachate; solid waste; thermal power plants.

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