THERMAL POWER PLANTS SLAG AND FLY ASH - WASTES WITH HIGH REUSE POTENTIAL.

By burning coal in thermal power plants in Romania, results large waste quantities which can be grouped into fly ash, powdery material, collected from the flue gases through electrostatic precipitators, mainly used as additive in the cement industry and bottom ash, a mixture of slag and heavy ash which collects at the bottom of the boiler and is discharged through the transport system to the ash and slag deposits. Slag and ash develop soil deposits which generate large environmental problems, being a source of groundwater and surface pollution of soil, due to large surfaces occupied and also a source of air pollution due to the ash particles entrained by the wind. Moreover, slag and ash deposits affect biodiversity because of pollutants contained in these wastes (especially heavy metals). For these reasons, and also for natural resources preservation, through different research technologies were analyzed diverse possibilities for reusing of such thermal power plants wastes, given the physical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]