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Review on Current Research Status on Bottom Ash: An Indian Prospective

Article  in  Journal of the Institution of Engineers (India): Agricultural Engineering Division · December 2014
DOI: 10.1007/s40030-014-0100-0

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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
DOI 10.1007/s40030-014-0100-0
REVIEW PAPER
Review on Current Research Status on Bottom Ash: An Indian
Prospective
A. K. Mandal • O. P. Sinha
Received: 30 April 2014 / Accepted: 8 December 2014 / Published online: 18 December 2014
 The Institution of Engineers (India) 2014
Abstract India focuses on attention towards ‘‘greener
and cleaner’’ environment surrounding us. For that, the
engineers and scientists have joined hands together to
accept the challenges for recycling wastes from industries.
The generation of Bottom Ash (BA) from thermal power
plants which are being increased day by day and facing
disposal and environmental problems. In spite of that, it is
being used as landfills which has no commercial value, but
now needs to think on its utilization as useable supple-
mentary materials. But from the literature survey, it was
found that a little amount of research have been carried out
on BA in the area based on its adsorption capability of
dyes; pelletization efficiency of cold bonded aggregate;
compressive strength, durability, water absorption charac-
teristics and density variation in concrete and mortar; in
order to ensure its usage as adsorption as well as con-
struction material. The present paper deals with a critical
review on BA as an adsorbent, light weight aggregate as
well as partial replacement of fine aggregate in concrete. In
addition, physical and chemical properties, transportation
and disposal mechanism and environmental effects are also
discussed.
Keywords Bottom ash  Adsorption 
Self compacting concrete  Pozzolanic activity 
Rheological behavior  Light weight aggregate
A. K. Mandal (&)  O. P. Sinha
Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology, (BHU), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
e-mail: arup9180@yahoo.co.in
Introduction
Today energy consumption is a very important factor for
controlling the economy of whole world. In 21st century, it
has been determined the level for development of nation by
energy consumption per person including environmental
problems, such as global warming, air pollution etc. [1, 2].
Coal has the largest share of available fossil fuel reserves in
the world and thus they are expected to play an important role
in energy production at present as well as will remain in
future [3, 4]. It has one of the most abundant natural
resources in some countries like India and it is being used
significantly for energy production. However, its effective
utilization, except fuel for power generation, has not yet
being developed. For that reasons, coal is used dominantly
for burning in Thermal Power Stations (TPS) worldwide [5].
In India about 80 % of the total electricity generation
capacity is based on thermal route, which is evidenced
from ‘Central Electricity Authority annual report’ as
shown in Fig. 1 [6]. In order to achieve economic growth
of 8–9 % in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
country’s total coal demand, has been projected to increase
at present *730 million tons in 2010–2011 to *2,000
million tons by 2031–2032. Approximately 75–80 %
(*1,650–1,700 million tons) of coal would be utilized by
power plants as shown by Fig. 2 [7].
Indian coal is used in power plants generally has high ash
yield and of low quality [8, 9]. The average ash content in
Indian coal is around 35–38 % while imported coal ash con-
tent has only 10–15 %. A large number of Coal/Lignite based
thermal power plants are setting up for providing electric
power generation to rapidly growing industrial as well as
agriculture sectors [10]. In terms of energy, the rate of annual
increase in power generation in India is *5 % and at this rate
the annual power generation is expected to be 180,000 MW by
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278
Fig. 1 Electricity generation in India [6]
Fig. 2 Coal demand in India for different sector [7]
the year 2020, which may release about 190 MT of Coal
Combustion Residue (CCR) per annum. Keeping in view, the
formidable future problems due to huge collection of CCR for
maintaining sound environment, it is very crucial time for
CCR utilization and increase its acceptability for CCR based
products among the end users [11].
This paper has aimed to keep all the data available of
bottom ash (BA) in one place based on the literature survey
with respect to generation, utilization, environmental
impacts, characterization (different properties) and critical
applications for those who are interested to work in this area.
Formation and Collection Mechanism of Bottom Ash
Formation mechanisms of coal ash under pulverized-fuel
firing conditions have been described extensively in the
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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
literature. In the burning process of coal, minerals undergo
thermal decomposition, fusion, dissolution, and agglom-
eration. Many elements present in a volatile form may
vaporize and non combustible material present in it results
in production of coal ash. The finer and lighter particles of
coal ash escape with the flue gases and are extracted in the
Electro Static Precipitators (ESP) before reaching the
atmosphere. The coal ash collected from the ESP is named
as fly ash (FA). Some melted ash accumulates on the boiler
walls and against steam tubes and solidifies to form masses
called clinkers. The clinkers build up and fall to the bottom
of boiler/furnace and are cooled in the water sump before
passing through clinker grinder. The coal ash collected at
bottom of furnace is called bottom ash [12]. When pul-
verized coal is burned in a dry bottom boiler, major amount
of the unburned material or ash is entrained in the flue gas
and is captured and recovered as FA. The remaining of the
ash is dry BA, a dark grey, granular, porous, mostly sand
size material that is collected in water-filled hoppers at the
bottom of the furnace. In general, coal ash in a power plant
consists of up to 25 % BA and 75 % FA [13] or 20 % BA
and 80 % FA [9].
In wet bottom boilers BA is kept in molten state and
collected when it flows into the ash hopper below. The
water in the hopper immediately fractures the molten
material into crystallized pellets. In this case, the BA is
referred to as Boiler Slag (also known as Black Beauty)
which is a hard, black, glassy material. The typical Power
Generation System picture diagram is showing in Fig. 3
[14]. The data for BA generation is not available in Indian
condition. But considering 20–25 % of 190 MT coal
combustion residues, hence BA generation in 2020 may be
increased up to 40–50 MT per annum [11].
Transportation, Disposal and Environmental Problems
In India, generally wet disposal of BA is extremely used in
which BA is made slurry by mixing water, and pumped
into field sites called ‘Ash Ponds’. The conventional mode
of transportation of BA is being practiced in major Indian
plants in the form of dilute slurry/lean slurry (10–20 %
solids by weight) phase through pipelines. It consumes a lot
of water as well as energy for pumping along with facing
serious environmental problem at disposal site [15]. It was
estimated that in conventional lean phase slurry pipeline
systems presently adopted by the thermal power plants
consume more than 630 million m3 of water per annum
and acquire more than 25,000 ha of land for the disposal of
these wastes [16]. Hence, the deposition and transportation
characteristics at higher concentrations ([60 % solids by
weight) are very significant. A large number of researches
are going on in India for adopting an economical and
environmental friendly method for High Concentration
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
Fig. 3 FA and BA generation
process [15]
Slurry Disposal System (HCSD) through pipeline [9, 13,
15, 17, 18]. Slurry made mixture of fine and coarse has the
ability to support the coarser particles even under static
conditions and hence such slurries could be pumped with
reduced pumping cost under flow in laminar conditions. It
has been shown that the addition of a small fraction of
coarser BA to finer FA slurry as high solid concentration
results in substantial reduction in pressure drop under
laminar flow conditions [9, 18].
The generated coal ash (FA ? BA) is being deposited
either in a dry landfill over a vast area of land or mine
backfilling as in slurry form. The deposition is not possible
in urban areas or in ash pond which has being also short
falling [19]. The disposal of BA in ponds poses risk to
human health and the environment. The hazardous con-
stituents present in BA migrate and can contaminate the
ground water or surface water, and hence affect living
organisms. The high concentrations of sulfates and other
ionic species, in many of the water wells which is used for
drinking purposes originated from the interaction between
circulating water and the coal ash slurry, disposed in wide
ponds created in the surroundings of the large thermal
power plants [20].
Environmental concerns are increasing day by day and
land fill space is declining, hence, therefore it becomes
essential to initiate the effort to utilize the BA. As
appearances and particle size distribution of BA has similar
to that of natural fine aggregate i.e. river sand, because of
these properties it attracted to be used as sand replacement
in concrete. Recently research works have been focused on
usage of BA as partial sand replacement in concrete. The
279
published research data indicate that BA is a viable
material as sand replacement in concrete, beneficially uti-
lized in a variety of manufacturing and construction
applications. At present in America, Coal BA is predomi-
nantly used for the following applications. i.e. road base
and sub-base, structural fill, backfill, drainage media,
aggregate for concrete, asphalt and masonry, abrasives/
traction, manufactured soil products etc. [3].
Initiative from Govt. of India for Ash Utilization
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (through its
notification published in the Gazette of India, Part II,
‘‘Potential Uses’’ section, ‘‘Production of Light Weight
Aggregate’’ section , vide S.O. 763(E) dated 14th Sep-
tember, 1999) issued directives for proper utilization of
coal ash discharged from coal or lignite-based thermal
power plants [21]. The importance for restricting the
excavation of top soil for manufacture of bricks and pro-
moting the utilization of ash in the manufacture of building
materials and in construction activity was recognized. It
was notified as (i) within a radius of 100 km from a coal or
lignite-based thermal power plant, all brick making units
must compulsorily utilize 25 % of ash (by weight). (ii)
Every thermal power plant shall make available ash, for at
least ten years without any payment or any other consid-
eration for the purpose of manufacturing ash-based pro-
ducts. (iii) Every construction agency engaged in the
construction of buildings within a radius of 100 km from
thermal power plants shall use ash bricks in construction
projects.
123
280
From the above said notification of the Govt. of India,
now more people are paying their attention towards the
effective utilization of CCR. A large no. of bodies has been
worked on the effective utilization of FA [22–31].
The most of the Indian publications are based on the
characterization of BA and its utilization as an adsorbent
for removal of hazards dye from waste water, character-
istics, rheological behavior in its slurry form during dis-
posal etc. Utilization of BA in other fields is also limited
[32–54].
Characterization
Shape, Size and Texture
BA is a grayish black dust, granule spherical, irregular and
porous and has rough surface [37]. Sometimes it is
observed that the BA has largely angular shaped particles
with a small fraction of spherical particles. The particles
having complicated shape and surface texture were also
observed in the BA. The pop corn type particles of BA can
easily degrade under compaction (Fig. 4) [50].
BA, having porous and spherical shape generally
observed in case of pulverized coal combustion. This is due
to melting of ash which moves through a high temperature
and pressure zone, resulting ejected ash to convert into
spherical shape. The volatile material converts into gases
and entrapped inside the sphere which makes it hollow
(Fig. 4b); otherwise BA was produced of irregular shape
(Fig. 4c). Particle size ranges from fine gravel to fine sand
(*10–0.75 mm). BA particles have interlocking charac-
teristics. It is lighter and more brittle as compared to nat-
ural sand. BA derived from high sulfur coal and low rank
coal is not very porous and is quite dense. BA is usually a
well-graded material although variations in particle size
Fig. 4 BA of different shape obtained from different power plant a Lehra Mohabat, Punjab, b UPRVUNL, Anpara and c DPL, Durgapur
(a reproduced by taking permission from [50] and b, c are taken from writer’s file)
123
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
distribution may be encountered from the same power plant
[3].
Specific Gravity
The specific gravity of typical Indian BA varies in a wide
range (from 1.60 to 2.39) depending upon its chemical
composition. Table 1 shows the specific gravities of BA of
different sources are investigated. Iron content inside the
BA increased the bulk density. It is believed that for iron
content greater than 10 %, the specific gravity value is
directly proportional to iron content but for lime content
greater than 15 %, the specific gravity value is more irre-
spective of iron content. BA with low specific gravity has a
porous texture and degrades during loading [3, 11]. In
addition, it has been found that the specific gravity of BA is
a function of their grain size [55–57].
Bulk Density
The bulk density varies from 630 to 776 kg/m3 for different
types of BA as given in Table 1. It is mainly due to the
presence of hollow spherical particles. In case of non pul-
verized coal use the BA having no spherical hollow particles
(irregular shape) resulting more values (1,116 kg/m3) of
bulk density in case of Usha Martin BA as evident by the
Fig. 4c.
Particle Size
The most important properties of BA (i.e. Size, shape of
the particles and the porosity) are dependent on the burning
efficiency, methods by which BA is obtained and the type
of combustion. Sieve analysis of BA reveals the presence
of wide range of particle size which depends upon capac-
ities of boiler, types and size of coal used etc. For efficient
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297 281

Table 1 Physical properties of BA of different sources

Sources of BA Local power plant, Panipath, BHEL, UPRVNL, DPL, Usha Martin,
Chennai Hariyana Bhopal Anpara Durgapur Jamshedpur

Specific gravity 1.6 2.13 – 2.39 1.65 2.34

2
Surface area, m /kg 212 – 87.05 228 165 65
Bulk density, kg/m 691 776 630 620 612 1,116
Reference [44, 45] [46] [37] [Writer’s file]

Table 2 Particle size analysis of BA of different TPS

Sources Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu Panipath, Hariyana DPL, Durgapur Usha Martin, Jamshedpur

Sieve size, mm Wt% retained

10 2 0.00 0.00 0.00
4.75 8 1.70 0.00 1.93
2.36 6 8.76 0.03 14.68
1.18 21 16.03 0.88 43.62
0.6 32 14.21 2.88 67.53
0.3 20 31.84 34.61 96.54
0.15 12 27.46 52.11 98.34
Residue 9 0 9.49 1.66
Total 314 252 134 323
Fineness modulus 3.14 2.52 1.34 3.23
Reference [58] [39] [Writer’s file]

burning of coal in boiler, the particle size should be less
than 75 micron. But larger particles are responsible for
insufficient combustion, resulting presence of more
unburnt carbon. For larger coal particles after devolatiza-
tion and char burning, substantial amount of mineral matter
left in BA. Due to large variation in particle size, the %
fraction obtained by sieving could not be correlated with
the particle size distribution profiles obtain from the par-
ticle size analyzer.
Table 2 shows the particle size analysis of some Indian
BA. Major grain size of BA lies in the range of sand (i.e.
0.075–4.75 mm). Clay as well as Silt content almost absent
inside it. According to the study on Tuticorin BA of Ta-
milnadu and reported that the percentage passing (68 %)
from 600 lm sieves, therefore is considered as fine sand
[58]. The calculated fineness modulus of BA was 3.14
which are considered to be very coarse. It was reported
when they performed sieve analysis of Panipath BA in
Hariyana (India), that the percentage passing (98.3 %)
from No. 4 (4.75 mm) ASTM sieve size ranges from which
is in accordance with BS EN 12620:2013 [39, 59], that
specifies the properties of aggregates obtained by pro-
cessing natural, manufactured or recycled materials and
mixtures of these aggregates for use in concrete, roads and
other pavements and for use in precast concrete products.
The calculated fineness modulus of BA was 2.52 which are
relatively finer. Figure 5 shows a plot of grading analysis
of BA particle obtained from different power plants in
India [39, 58] along with data from writer’s file. Result
shows the distribution from coarse-medium sand to fine
sand, and majority of the sizes ranges between 4.75 and
0.15 mm. Due to the absence of clay in BA, it could not be
used for making bricks without suitable binding agent.
Distribution of Trace Element or Relative Enrichment
(RE) Factor
The physical and chemical properties of the BA, in general,
are quite variable, as they are influenced by coal source,
moisture, particle size, type of coal-burning process, effi-
ciency of emission control devices and the techniques
applied for handling and storage etc. [51, 60]. Selective
partitioning of trace elements between the various exit
streams classifies the elements into three groups: (I) ele-
ments which are condensed equally between BA and FA
but not in the fugitive FA; (II) elements which are more
concentrated in the FA collected on ESP and the fugitive
FA than in the BA; and (III) elements which are mainly
present in gas phase and in minor concentration in FA and
BA’s [61]. There is a considerable overlap among these
groups due to the wide variations in operating conditions
(especially temperature) that control element volatility, and

123
282
Fig. 5 Comparative grading analysis of different BA in India. Data
of Panipath TPS and Tuticorin TPS were reproduced by taking
permission from [39, 58] respectively. Rests are taken from Writer’s
file
form of trace elements in coal (salts and oxides of high
vapor pressures, organically bound elements, etc.) that may
also suppress or enhance vaporization. The researchers
described the relative enrichment of different element
present in the ash by the Relative Enrichment factors of the
elements [62, 63]. Class 1 elements are those that do not
volatilize during combustion (major and rare earth ele-
ments, as well as Cs, Hf, and Sc). Their concentrations in
all types of ash are almost the same and the Relative
Enrichment Factors (RE), for these elements are around 1
with a range of (±) 0.3. Class 2 elements are those redis-
tributed in both bottom and fly ashes because they vola-
tilize during combustion in the boiler, and then condense in
route to the stack (temperature drop of 1,300–120 C).
These elements have RE factors of less than 0.7. Class 3
elements consist of volatile elements with very low RE
factors, such as Br, Cl, F, Hg, and Se, which are almost
entirely emitted from the power plant.
BA has low concentrations of volatile elements,
including Hg, Se, and others, as compared to FA. Except
Hg, rest all volatile elements in BA and FA are below
detection limit. Hg content in BA varies from
0.41–1.58 mg/kg, which is lower than the content in FA
which is between 0.51–2.13 mg/kg [64]. It may also con-
tain some unburnt coal and/or char fragments. In contrast,
FA captures most elements and is considered to be the most
important by-product of coal combustion [63, 65]. Only
five elements as environmental concern (As, Cd, Hg, Ni
and Pb) are designated as toxic substance according to US
EPA, (1976) classification [66]. FA and BA are significant
sources of exposure to toxic elements that affect especially
the population in the vicinity of industrial areas. The
chemical characteristics of coal ash depend largely on
geological factors related to the coal formation and on the
operating practices employed at the power plant. Thus,
each individual coal-fired plant has its own chemical ash
123
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
characteristics. A large portion of coal ash consists of
relatively inert material, such as silica and other com-
pounds of trace elements, some of them being toxic, [67,
68]. Toxic elements released during coal combustion have
influenced normal growth of animals and vegetation, and
human health in some countries and areas [68, 69]. The
concentrations of toxic elements such as As, Hg, Pb and Cd
in BA were 0.10–0.30, 0.41–1.58, 8.8–28.28,
0.49–0.79 mg/kg respectively [64]. Arsenic (As) and
Mercury (Hg) were found in relatively higher concentra-
tions in the BA of high boiler capacity power plant than in
the BA of other plants.
The mean concentrations (mg/kg dry weight) of toxic
elements Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, As and Hg were reported 17.5,
27.2, 38.7, 1.9, 1.5 and 0.0001 mg/kg in BA respectively
[70]. Among the trace elements, it was found that
Fe [ Mn [ Al [ Zn [ B [ Ni [ Cr [ Cu are present
substantially higher proportion than Pb [ Mo [ Cd
[ Se [ As [ Hg in BA. The presence of four toxic ele-
ments in BA (Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd) were in the order of
Pb [ Ni [ Cr [ Cd [71].
The experiment was done taking three different sources
of FA and BA samples produced by different capacities of
power plant using different origin of coal for power gen-
eration for example: source 1 (750 MW), source 2
(840 MW), source 3 (2,100 MW) [72]. They were
observed that the presence of heavy metals is highest in FA
than BA. Maximum concentration of heavy metals presents
in source-1 FA. But Mn showed the highest concentration
in BA then FA. Maximum concentration of heavy metal
also observed in BA of low capacity boiler (i.e. Plant 1). In
FA samples of lower capacity boiler (from source 1 and 2),
Cr and Zn were the most abundant elements while in all
BA samples, Mn was the most abundant element. Co was
the least abundant in all the samples, present within the
range of 8–18 mg/kg. Considerable variation was found in
the heavy metal concentration both between the three
power plant samples and between the FA and BA samples.
Difference between the power stations can mainly be
attributed to the use of different types of coal. The differ-
ence between the FA and BA samples from the same power
plant may be due to the difference in the mass of the ele-
ments. Elements having lower mass can be carried and
precipitated with the FA (Cu, Zn) while elements having
higher mass may settle rapidly after combustion and be
enriched in BA (Co). Some elements, like Ni, however
show no such preference [73]. Relative enrichments of BA
are showing in Table 3. In all sample, the relative enrich-
ment in BA of the material is in the order of
Mn [ Cr [ Cu [ Zn [ Ni [ Pb [ Co. Similar experi-
ment was conducted on BA from the different capacity of
power plants of different origin of coal used observed
distribution pattern of elements in BA is different [64].
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297 283

Table 3 Comparison of the ranges of metal contents (mg/kg) in, bottom ash, reported
Elements NCR, Delhi Tamnar, C.G. Talcher, Oissa Simhadri, A. P. Vindhyachal, M.P. Manguru, A.P. Jhansi, U.P

Mg – 67.1 7.7 4.25 15.00 27.56 19.5

Fe – 16,590 10,705 12,436 34,786 17,798 512.6
Mn 84–182 112.06 97.04 139.7 328.2 173.33 173
Zn 29–44 16.24 48.15 32.1 26.25 35.91 140.2
Al – – – – – – 185.3
Cu 40–50 32.99 36.16 37.25 30.75 41.44 41.3
Pb 10–16 14.24 28.28 10.5 8.8 19.74 17.5
Ni 26–31 38.33 19.46 33.23 35.65 39.43 27.2
Co 9–11 16.02 7.2 11.38 12.18 13.36 9.82
Mo – – – – – – 1.75
Cr 52–74 16.6 26.67 33.5 40 43.74 38.7
Cd – 0.49 0.62 0.63 0.65 0.79 1.88
As – 0.11 0.1 0.21 0.3 0.15 1.5
B – – – – – – 69.5
Se – – – – – – 8.5
Hg – 0.41 0.8 1.32 1.58 0.99 0.0001
Li – 30.26 5 4.13 5.33 21.47 –
Reference [72] [64] [70]

Previous studies have shown that similar experiment
was done by taking samples of eight different BA of dif-
ferent capacity’s power plants in India. They have shown
that the order of relative elemental concentration in BA
was found to be Si [ Al [ Fe [ Ca [ Mg [ K [ Na [
Mn [ Sr [ V [ Zn [ Ni [ Cr [ Cu [ Pb [ Co [ Cd [
As. Silicon was found most abundant among measured
elements with 26.8 % BA samples whereas lowest con-
centration is Cd which was 0.40 mg/kg [51].
Chemical Constituents
The chemical analysis of BA either using X-ray Energy
Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) or X-ray fluorescence
(XRF) reveals the main chemical compounds including
Silicates (SiO2), Aluminates (Al2O3) and Iron oxide
(Fe2O3) with other compounds in smaller percentages.
Results of chemical composition conducted on BA samples
of different TPS in India are compiled in Table 4.
Around 95 % of mass could be accounted for using the
concentration of elements in FA and BA. Silica (SiO2) was
found most abundant in BA with mean value of 57.43 % of
total mass. Alumina (Al2O3) was found the second most
abundant constituent of BA, followed by iron oxide
(Fe2O3). Concentration of alumina is found to be higher in
BA compared to FA due to difference in melting points i.e.
1,685 C (SiO2) and 1,775 C (Al2O3). The un-accounted
mass (5 %) of BA may include organic compounds, sulfur
compounds, P2O5, TiO2 and other trace elements and their
compounds. The elements are presented as their oxides
form, such as SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO and CaO in the
samples [51]. According to BS 3892-1(1997) the compo-
sition of ash falls under following range i.e. % of
(SiO2 ? Al2O3 ? Fe2O3) C70 % and loss of ignition
(LOI) B10 %, confirmed class F type ash, which will be
having pozzolanic activities after appropriate grinding [69].
That’s why, the BA can be used as a raw material for
making bricks, tiles etc. Depending upon the composition
of coal used, the BA produced having high and low % in
calcium. In class C BA, the % of (SiO2 ? Al2O3 ? Fe2O3)
is more than 50 % and CaO content is more than that of
class F. This class of BA, in addition to having pozzolanic
properties, also has some cementitious properties. Class F
BA is typically produced from burning anthracite or bitu-
minous coal, but may also be produced from sub bitumi-
nous coal and from lignite. Class C BA is typically
produced from burning lignite or sub bituminous coal, and
may also be produced from anthracite or bituminous coal.
The BA studied by group of researchers was a class C
type because the sum of (SiO2 ? Al2O3 ? Fe2O3) is less
than 70 % but greater than 50 % [37]. Class C is generated
from the combustion of Lignite or Sub-bituminous coal
with a high calcium content (15.3 %). Smaller percentages
of magnesium and sodium are also present in Indian power
plant BA. The BA used by some other researchers was a
class F type because the sum of (SiO2 ? Al2O3 ? Fe2O3)
exceeds 70 % [45, 46, 58]. The SO3 content in Class F BA
were in the range of 0.02–0.69 % which are less than 2.5 %
specified [74].The alkali Na2O content is high for class C
type BA with respect to class F [37]. When BA is collected

123
284 J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297

Table 4 Chemical analysis of different bottom ash investigated in India

Sources BHEL, Local power plant, Panipath, Lehra Mohabat, Tuticorin, UPRVNL, DPL, Usha Martin,
Bhopal Chennai Hariyana Punjab, Tamil Nadu Anpara Durgapur Jamshedpur

SiO2 45.4 53.68 57.76 47.53 56.76 65.77 70.04 67.32

Al2O3 10.3 18.91 21.58 20.69 21.34 30.6 22.05 25.71
Fe2O3 9.7 7.7 8.57 5.99 5.98 1.71 2.49 3.71
CaO 15.3 1.24 1.58 4.17 2.88 0.045 0.76 0.325
MgO 3.1 0.48 1.19 0.82 – – 1.18 0.451
Na2O 1.0 0.7 0.14 0.33 – – – –
K2O – – 1.08 0.76 – 0.0624 0.103 0.0909
SO3 – 0.19 0.02 1.0 0.72 0.176 0.156 0.185
LOI 1.14 8.35 5.8 0.89 –
MnO – – – – – 0.018 0.0318 0.0276
TiO2 – – – – – 0.336 0.343 0.283
Reference [37] [45] [46] [50] [76] [Writer’s file]

in the form of slurry shows relatively high content of Na2O Table 5 Lime reactivity values of typical Indian coal ashes [57]
[58]. Alkali K2O present in BA is very less. Maximum % Sl no. Sources of coal ash Lime reactivity (kPa)
of K2O in BA was reported in Panipath TPS is 1.08 % [46].
FA BA
The alkali K2O and Na2O which are insoluble residue were
reported as 1.08 and 0.14–0.7 % respectively, less than the 1 Vijayawada 2,186 34
1.5 % as per ASTM C 618-12a [75] except the value of 2 Ramagundam 4,026 200
Arumugam et al. [58] who reported the value of 2.12 %. It 3 Farakka 1,211 55
i reported that in bituminous coal, three major components
SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3 are accounted altogether about 90 %
and also high LOI around 12.8 %, whereas lignite or sub variation of coal ashes is more when compared with that of
bituminous coal ashes had as low as around 50 % of total soils, in spite of identical chemical composition and grain
component but also relatively lower % of LOI. Research size distribution [78]. For the above reason it would not be
conducted on Tuticorin BA also shown that CaO, MgO as appropriate to compare the compaction characteristics of
well alkali % of all ashes was within the narrow range coal ashes with those of soils obtained through conven-
(Table 4) [71, 76]. tional compaction curves and that such a comparison
would not be realistic. It is suggested that 2.65 could be
taken as the standard value (Gstd) as it represented most of
Pozzolanic Activities
the soils. If (cdm ) and (wm) are the dry unit weight and
corresponding compaction water content of a coal ash of
The pozzolanic reactivity or lime reactivity is normally
specific gravity Gm obtained from the compaction test, then
expressed as the compressive strength of standard mortar
the corresponding normalized dry unit weight and nor-
cubes prepared using coal ashes and tested under specified
malized water content can be calculated using Eqs. (1) and
conditions [77]. The lime reactivity of some typical Indian
(2) as
coal ashes are presented in Table 5. FA exhibits greater  
lime reactivity than the BA due to their high reactive silica Gstd
cdn ¼ cdm ð1Þ
content. The pozzolanic reactivity of BA can be improved Gm
by making appreciable fineness. This property is respon-  
Gm
sible for them to exert lower lateral pressure on retaining wn ¼ wm ð2Þ
Gstd
structures, lower under burden pressures on foundation
soils. Table 6 shows the compaction characteristics of typical
Indian coal ashes from the literature. The studies suggest
Compaction Characteristics that compacted dry unit weights are insensitive to the water
content variation during compaction. This facilitates the
Compaction is an important process at which soil is sub- coal ashes to be effectively used in the construction of
jected in the field to achieve the required dry unit weight at pavements and embankments. If the BA is of pozzolanic
specified water content. The range of specific gravity type i.e., class C, then care should be taken to avoid delay

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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297 285

Table 6 Compaction characteristics of typical Indian bottom ash [57, 78]

Sources Sp. Gr. (G) Dry unit wt. Standard Proctor’s compaction effort
of BA (cd), kN/m3
Air-dried compacted Lowest compacted Optimum state Compacted and saturated
state state state
Water cd, kN/m3 Water cd, kN/m3 Water cd, kN/m3 Water cd, kN/m3
content, % content, % content, % content, %

Rihand 2.19 9.5 2.9 10.2 15.3 9.7 32.0 10.4 36.8 10.7
Kahalgaon 2.17 10.3 0.1 12.4 20.7 10.8 26.0 11.2 29.3 11.6

Table 7 Typical values of shear strength parameters of Indian coal ashes at different states [57, 80]
Source of bottom ash eloose Loose state Compacted state Compacted, saturated state
U0dry ;  U0res ;  U0sat ;  e at 95 % cd max
0
c , kPa 0
U,  c0 , kPa U0 , 

Raebareli 2.60 32 31 31 1.51 17 32 0 31

Vijayawada 1.98 34 32 32 1.12 10 34 0 33
Badarpur 2.09 34 33 33 1.38 19 31 0 30

between mixing and compacting of the BA in the field, as
the delayed compaction results in lower dry unit weights
and higher Optimum Moisture Content (OMC) [57, 79].
Shear Strength
Shear strength parameters of typical Indian coal ashes have
been tested in shear box apparatus in loose as well as in
compact states and results are shown in Table 7 [80].
Being cohesionless, nonplastic materials, BA exhibits all
their shear strength to frictional component except in the
compacted unsaturated state where apparent cohesion is
also presents which reduces to zero upon saturation. BA
also exhibits higher angle of shearing resistance, at both
peak and residual stress levels, even in the soaked condi-
tions. Shearing resistance varies in the range 25–34, even
under loose condition. Although the BA has lower unit
weight, but it exhibits high shear strength compare to nat-
ural soil. Some typical results obtained from triaxial shear
tests on Indian coal ashes are summarized as [80-83]:
• Variation of effective frictional angle is negligibly
small, irrespective of whether it is observed in consol-
idated undrained or drained tests respectively.
• Variation of effective frictional angle of coal ash with
initial dry density is not appreciable.
• Peak and residual shear strength parameters are
comparable.
High to very high shear strength parameters of BA at
peak and residual stress levels, both in the loose condition
and compacted/compacted-saturated condition favor their
use in the field where bearing capacity, slope stability of
embankments, design of pavements and retaining struc-
tures are dependent on shear strength characteristics.
California Bearing Ratio (CBR)
Both class F and C type BA exhibit higher CBR in the
unsoaked condition. The higher CBR values are due to
capillary forces, which exist in the partly saturated state.
The CBR of class F BA tends to reduce drastically upon
soaking as the capillary forces reduce to zero. However,
class C types BA retains very high CBR values even when
tested after soaking, which can be attributed to pozzolanic
reaction [57, 84]. Normally the design practice is to prefer
soaked CBR values. However, it is justifiable to use soaked
CBR values in low-lying areas with poor drainage facilities
where the submergence of roads is very frequent. For areas
that have good drainage facilities such that the roads will
not get submerged even in the worst rains, it is justifiable to
use the unsoaked CBR in the design of pavements. The
CBR of soils belonging in Compacted at 0.95 % cd max,
on the dry side condition was observed is shown in Table 8
[57].
It was observed that the CBR of coal ashes are much
more than those of many fine-grained soils. This charac-
teristic makes them suitable for use as sub-base materials in
the construction of pavements.
Compressibility, Consolidation Characteristics
and Permeability
Compressibility characteristics express namely as com-
pression index (cc) and coefficient of volume change (mv)

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Table 8 Values of CBR of compacted bottom ashes and soils [57]
Source of material Type of material Testing condition
Vijayawada Bottom ash Compacted at 0.95 % cd
Badarpur
Kahalgoan
Davanagere Black cotton soil
– Heavy clay Compacted at OMC
Table 9 Coefficient of consolidation and permeability of Indian coal
ash samples [57]
Testing parameter Coefficient of Coefficient of
consolidation (cv), permeability (k),
cm2/s cm/s
Test condition Compacted at OMC Compacted at cd max
saturated
-6
FA 0.14–3.25 8 9 10 –1.87 9 10
BA 1.43–10.15 9.9 9 10-5–7.07 9 10-4
of BA which depends upon their initial dry unit weight,
degree of saturation, self hardening characteristic, pozzo-
lanic reactivity and mixing time [57].
The coefficient of consolidation (cv) of BA is so high
that it is extremely difficult to record time-compression
readings in the laboratory consolidation testing to deter-
mine cv using curve fitting procedures. In addition, it is
observed that the values of cv calculated from the curve
fitting procedures from the laboratory very much under-
estimate the actual field behavior. Hence, it is preferable to
calculate the value of cv from the measured value of
coefficient of permeability (k) and coefficient of volume
change from equation i.e. cv = k/(mvcv). Table 9 shows the
typical cv and k values of Indian coal ashes [57].
BA exhibits much higher cv values due to their coarser
size. The higher values of cv of coal ashes signify an
important fact that the primary consolidation of structures
will be found practically over during the period of con-
struction itself. This feature makes the coal ashes superior
for use as foundation base materials, as reclamation fills
and as materials of construction for embankments and
dams. Table 10 shows the different coefficient of perme-
ability values of Indian BA which suggests that the per-
meability of BA remains almost constant over a wide range
under burden pressure. These observations indicate that the
coal ashes are normally freely draining materials, and are
best suited for use as backfill materials behind the retaining
structures, as sub-base materials in pavements and as
embankment shell materials. The self cementing and poz-
zolanic behavior of BA (i.e., class C type) exhibit lower
permeability than class F BA and their permeability tend to
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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
CBR (%)
Unsoaked condition Soaked condition
max, on the dry side 6.8 N.A.
11.3 8.5
9.7 5.9
4.15 1.83
7.8 N.A.
reduce appreciably. Such BA can be more effectively used
as liner materials in waste containment structures and as
additives in the construction of effective seepage cutoffs
like impervious blankets and cores in water retaining earth
structures [57].
and
Swell and Shrink Potential
-4
Coal ashes exhibit high to very high volume stability (i.e.,
lower swelling and shrinkage potential), which can be
attributed to their nonplastic nature and uniform gradation.
In the field of geotechnical engineering, the degree of
expansivity of soils can be judged based on Free Swell
Ratio (FSR) [85].
It is defined as FSR ¼ VVdk ; where vd is the equilibrium
sediment volume of 10 g of oven dried soil passing 425 lm
sieve placed in a 100 ml jar containing distilled water with
an initial volume of soil–water mixture equal to 100 ml
after 24 h of equilibration, and vk is the equilibrium sedi-
ment volume of an identical soil sample in carbon tetra
chloride or kerosene. Fine-grained soils can be classified as
per the criteria given in Table 11. The Indian BA has been
observed to have FSRs in the ranges 0.8–1.16, indicating
negligible degree of expansivity or swelling potential [57,
85]. The shrink ability of soils is normally judged by their
shrinkage limit. The nonplastic nature of coal ashes does
not allow their shrinkage limit to be determined in the
laboratory. However, it can be inferred that they exhibit
high shrinkage limit owing to their uniform gradation [86].
Low to very low swelling and shrinkage potential of coal
ashes can be taken the best advantage in the construction of
pavements, embankments, dams, and as foundation base
materials.
Liquid Limit
Previous studies on coal ashes of different Indian thermal
power plants (i.e. Raichur, Raebareli, Kobra, Vijaywada,
Badarpur, Ghaziabad, Ramagumdam, Neyveli, Farakka,
Vindyanagar, BSES, Kahalgaon, and Rihand reported that
specific gravities of coal ashes (including FA) varies from
1.96–2.66 [78]. Coal ashes are silty in nature so they
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297 287

Table 10 Variation of k of typical Indian bottom ashes with effective consolidation pressure [57]
Source of BA Coefficient of permeability (- 9 10-4), mm/s
Effective consolidation pressure, kPa
0 6.25 12.5 25 50 100 200 400

Korba 3.20 2.87 2.78 2.56 2.51 2.28 1.84 1.58

Ramagundam 4.40 4.29 3.94 3.63 3.51 3.51 2.98 2.86
Farakka 7.07 6.74 6.16 6.16 5.68 5.06 4.55 4.10

Table 11 Soil classification based on FSR [85] Table 12 Liquid limit and normalized liquid limit of different coal
bottom ashes in India [78]
Free swell ratio (FSR) Clay type Soil expansivity
Material Liquid limit, % Normalized liquid limit, %
B1.0 Non swelling Negligible
1.0–1.5 Mixture of swelling and Low Fly ash 25.5–60.4 21.0–58.1
non swelling Bottom ash 47.4–104.1 48.3–81.7
1.5–2.0 Swelling Moderate
2.0–4.0 Swelling High
[4 Swelling Very High relatively shorter time at high temperature. For that reason,
BA produced from pulvurised coal used boiler is exposed
relatively longer time at high temperature, resulting more
mullite phase present which is evident by result of UP-
determine the liquid limit by cone penetration method as RVUNL-Anpara BA. Phase present in different BA sam-
per IS: 2720, Part V–1985; BS 1377-2:1990) and also ples are shown in Fig. 6.
described [87–89] wide variation was observed for liquid
limit of BA in the range of 47.4–104.1 %. As the variation
Radio-nuclides Properties
of specific gravity of BA is very wide, normalized liquid
limit is used for BA. The normalized liquid limit is defined
The level of naturally occurring radio nuclides in coal, FA
as the liquid limit multiplied by the corresponding specific
and BA [90] was studied. It was observed that radio
gravities of coal ash and divided by the specific gravity
nuclides are concentrated more in the ashes due to
close to soil (i.e. 2.65). The coal ashes are non plastic
enrichment after coal burn up. Th232 activity was found to
materials. It is a known fact that, only soil which is plastic
be much higher than other radio nuclides while Pb210
exhibits a liquid limit where as sand do not since they are
showed the minimum activity in FA. Only K40 showed
non plastic. Liquid limit as well as normalized liquid limit
lower concentration in the BA than coal due to its pre-
of BA is higher than FA sample. Table 12 shows the liquid
sence in the coal in the form of volatile minerals. The
limit and normalized liquid limit of different coal BA in
results show that in ash produced by the combustion of
India.
coal, the concentration of Ra226 is less than that of Th232
(Fig. 7).
Phase Analysis
As most of the carbonaceous matter in coal oxidizes out
during combustion, radio-nuclides get concentrated in the
Phase analysis results of BA was analyzed in which it was
remaining mass. FA was observed to be having more
reported that the presence of different phases mainly alu-
enrichment of all the radio-nuclides than BA. All the val-
mina (Al2O3), gypsum (CaSO42H2O), beverite [Pb (Cu,
ues for enrichment factor were above unity for FA indi-
Fe, Al)3 (SO4)2 (OH)6], borax (Na2B4O710H2O), and
cating a net enrichment of the radio-nuclides (Fig. 8).
kaolinite [2(Al2Si2O5(OH)4)] [37]. Most of the common
phases observed predominantly in BA are Silica (SiO2),
Alumina (Al2O3), Hematite (Fe2O3), calcite (CaCO3) or Rheological Behavior
any other form of these phases such as quartz (SiO2),
corundum (Ai2O3), burnt ochre(Fe2O3) etc. In case of high For transportation of BA slurry through pipeline econom-
calcium BA, Fledsper is also observed. Mullite is a typical ically, optimization of various parameters like water and
phase in BA formed during coal combustion in power the energy consumption should be required. For the same
plant. The source of mullite is mainly kaolinite in raw coal. Rheological behavior of slurry should be known. Average
The lower mullite content in BA indicates that it exposed FA transport capacity through the pipe is less than of BA

123
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Fig. 6 XRD analysis of BA (Taken from writer’s file)
Fig. 7 Activity of various radio-active elements in coal, FA and BA
(reproduced by permission [90])
Fig. 8 Enrichment of various radio-active elements in FA and BA
(Reproduced by permission [90])
due to BA having coarser in size and for the same reason
erosion of pipe in case of BA is more than FA transport
[91].
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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
Important findings on rheological studies conducted on
Coal Combustion Products (CCPs) such as FA and
FA ? BA mixture samples collected from Indian thermal
power plant exhibited non-Newtonian pseudo-plastic
behavior at high concentrations in the range of 60–70 % by
weight. It was observed that the presence of larger particle
sizes BA affects the slurry rheology and the head loss in
pipeline flow. At a given solids concentration, the head loss
decreased with the addition of BA fractions in the mixture,
thus leading to reduction in head requirement [18].
Similar studies reported that addition of FA in BA slurry
decreases the relative viscosity of the mixture. The head
and efficiency ratios not only depend on the solid con-
centration of slurry but are also affected by the properties
of the slurry. The addition of FA to BA improves the
centrifugal slurry pump performance in terms of head ratio
and efficiency. The increases in head are 0.09, 0.22, and
0.24 m for mixture of BA and FA in the ratio of 9:1, 8:2,
and 7:3, respectively. The decreases in input power are
1.72, 3.38, and 3.41 % for the mixture of BA and FA in the
ratio of 9:1, 8:2, and 7:3, respectively [92].
The addition of sodium silicate in small proportion
(0.2–0.6 % of total solids) helped in reducing both the
plastic viscosity and the yield stress of the ash slurry in the
50–60 % concentration of slurries [15].
Potential Uses
As Adsorbents
Experiments were conducted by several researchers and
their coworkers and proved that BA can effectively use as
an adsorbent for removal of dyes like malachite green,
amaranth, brilliant blue FCF, tartrazine, basic fuchsin,
metanil yellow, brilliant green, carmoisine respectively
from waste water. This adsorbent is quite economical than
commercially available adsorbents [32, 33, 36, 37, 40–43,
47, 48].
Each temperature, the adsorption increases with increase
in concentration and then becomes almost constant in the
higher concentration range. However, with rise in tem-
perature adsorption remains almost constant at lower con-
centrations but at higher concentrations it systematically
increases (Fig. 9) [32]. The adsorption behavior of the dye
over a wide pH range shows the maximum uptake takes
place at a lower pH and beyond that pH it attains the same
maximum value (Fig. 10) [37]. The rate of uptake of dye is
rapid during the initial phase of the adsorption and became
equilibrium at after certain time for every temperature
(Fig. 11) [32]. Increasing fineness, BA adsorbs more
amount of dye (Fig. 12) [37]. At lower concentrations
almost BA adsorbs 100 % of the dye. However, at higher
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
Fig. 9 Adsorption isotherm of malachite green on BA at different
temperatures (BA added 0.1 g of sieve size 0.08–0.15 mm having
pH = 5) (Reproduce by permission [32])
Fig. 10 Effect of pH on dye adsorbed by BA (BA added 0.1 g of
sieve size 0.08–0.15 mm having Malachite green dye concentration
3 9 10-5 M) (Reproduced by permission [37])
concentrations the adsorption takes place via particle dif-
fusion process and the thermodynamic parameters reveal
feasibility of the process. Experiments indicate that quan-
titative recovery of the dye can be achieved and adsorbent
can be regenerated by using eluting acetone through the
column [32, 33]. They also observed in batch type
adsorption studies which indicate that almost 100 % of the
adsorption could be achieved at lower concentrations of the
dye, but at higher concentrations it is slightly lower.
Kinetics of the processes clearly exhibit that the adsorption
takes place via film diffusion process at lower
289
Fig. 11 Dependence of uptake of dye at different temperatures (BA
added 0.1 g of sieve size 0.08–0.16 mm having initial concentration
of Malachite green dye 3 9 10-5 M and pH of 5 (Reproduced by
permission) [32])
Fig. 12 Effect of particle size on dye adsorbed by BA (BA added
0.1 g of malachite green dye concentration 3 9 10-5 M and pH 5)
(Reproduced by permission [37])
concentrations and particle diffusion process at higher
concentrations in BA [27].
The adsorption of ‘alizarin yellow’ and ‘fast green’ by
BA has been found to be exothermic, whereas it is endo-
thermic in the case of ‘methyl violet’ [34]. The removal
percentages were achieved for these dyes are 73–98 % by
the batch type method. The batch type adsorption experi-
ments shows that the adsorption characteristics by BA is
dependent on pH, particle size, amount of adsorbent,
concentration, contact time, and temperature [35, 38].
Almost 78 % adsorption could be accomplished at low
123
290
concentrations, whereas at higher concentrations, the
adsorption was slightly decreased to 68 % for BA at all
temperatures. After a certain pH value, the % of removal
becomes constant. Furthermore, in the batch type adsorp-
tion test of three different particle sizes, 36, 100, and 170
BSS mesh, (0.425, 0.15, 0.08 mm) was observed that, the
uptake of the dye capacity increases with increasing mesh
size [35]. Hazardous water-soluble dye also can be suc-
cessfully eradicated from the aqueous solutions by
adsorption over BA [38].
Experiments were conducted by several researchers
and their coworkers and proved that BA can effectively
use as an adsorbent for removal of dyes like brilliant blue
FCF, tartrazine, basic fuchsin, metanil yellow, brilliant
green, carmoisine respectively from waste water [36, 37,
40–43].
Production of Light Weight Aggregate
Due to coarser size, BA could not use as a replacement of
cement. Appropriate grinding requires for the same which
adds cost of the product. For that reason, utilization of BA
by converting into a value-added product, its potential use
as light weight aggregates (LWA) in construction deserves
attention. Production of LWA from byproducts carried out
in two steps, i.e. (i) pelletization or extrusion technique and
(ii) further hardening by sintering, cold bonding or auto-
claving [44]. The results of several experiments were
conducted and showed that binder content, moisture
requirements and their interaction effect are the significant
factors for achieving maximum pelletization efficiency.
Addition of Ca(OH)2 has improved the (i) pelletization
efficiency, (ii) reduces the duration of pelletization process
from an average of 14–7 min, and (iii) reduced the binder
dosage for a given pelletization efficiency. For achieving
maximum pelletization efficiency, lower dosage level
(14 %) of high swelling bentonite and cementitious binders
can attributed to the presence of expansive montmorillonite
structure in bentonite and self-cementing property in
cementitious binders. Instead of using commercially
available clays like bentonite and metakaolin, normal clay
with plasticity index greater than 75 can be used as a binder
for the production of low-calcium BA aggregate (Fig. 13)
[44, 45, 93].
The liquid alkaline (NaOH and Na2SiO3) can also use
to activate the polymerization process acted as a binder in
facilitating the pelletization process. The bulk density of
the aggregate is mainly influenced by the molarity of
NaOH and curing temperature. An increase in both these
factors resulted in enhanced bulk density. An increase in
NaOH molarity and curing temperature resulted in reduc-
ing the open porosity from 25 to 18 % and thereby the
water absorption was reduced from 13 to 10 % [93].
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J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
Replacement of Fine Aggregate
The strength of concrete is influenced by the volume of
voids present in it and considering the fact that BA is a very
porous material which decrease in strength properties and
unit weight of the resulting concrete. BA has a larger par-
ticle size and having porous structure, resulting in higher
water requirement and lower compressive strength [44, 46,
56, 57]. The water retention capacity of BA due to its
porous structure has also been highlighted in various stud-
ies. The addition of BA increases the capacity of aerated
block to retain water, thereby improving the moisture
transport behavior within the block during fire. This implies
that the water retention property of BA is an advantageous
during fire functioning as a reservoir [57, 79].
The strength properties like compressive and split ten-
sile strength at the ages of 28, 90 and 365 days for the
various mixtures, incorporating BA as partial replacement
of fine aggregates in varying percentages of 10, 20 and
30 % as a replacement of cement with the effect of water/
powder ratio on the strengths was conducted by Siddique
et al. [46]. It was observed that it is possible to design a
Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) incorporating FA and BA
in various percentages. The SCC having FA and BA
showed all properties within the ranges specified for SCC
mix. They achieved the strength gain 60 and 40 MPa for
the mixes of 15 and 35 % FA, respectively at 90 days.
However, it was possible to produce SCC with a com-
pressive strength of 40–50 MPa with 15–35 % FA
replacement with BA. It was shown that BA could be used
up to 20 % keeping in view the decrease of strength of
about 15–20 %. Thus, the optimum FA percentage was
25–35 % and BA percentage was up to 20 % to achieve
reasonable strength (Fig. 14). Similar trends also observed
for split tensile strength as shown in Fig. 15 also that the
maximum replacement of BA is 20 %, at which the max-
imum compressive as well as split tensile strength was
observed [58].
BA has more number of particles having 75 lm as
compared to the natural river sand. Therefore on use of BA
in place of natural sand in concrete, due to the presence of
fines and irregular shaped, rough and porous structure
particles, increases the inter particles friction. The
increased inter particle friction hinders the flow charac-
teristics of the concrete. Secondly the BA has higher water
absorption capability as compared to the natural sand, part
of the water is absorbed internally by the porous BA par-
ticles. Due to quantity of water available for lubrication of
particles to achieve desired workability is reduced. Hence
for the fixed water cement ratio, the workability of concrete
reduces with the use of BA as sand replacement [3].
Investigation was carried out on the effect for use of BA
as a replacement of fine aggregates by making the different
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297 291

Fig. 13 Effect of different

binders on properties of light
weight aggregates of BA
(Reproduce by taking
permission [44, 45])

Fig. 14 Variation of compressive strength at different BA and curing time (Reproduced by permission [46])

123
292 J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297

Fig. 15 Variation of split tensile strength at different BA and curing time (Reproduce by permission [46])

Table 13 Mix proportion of concrete [39]

Mixture no M1 M2 M3 M4 M5
3
Cement, kg/m 426.7 426.7 426.7 426.7 426.7
Bottom ash, % 0 20 30 40 50
Bottom ash, kg/m3 0 106 160 213 266.35
Water, l 185 185 185 185 185
Sand, kg/m3 532.7 426.7 372.7 319.7 266.3
Coarse aggregate, kg/m3 1,225 1,225 1,225 1,225 1,225
Super plasticizer, l/m3 2 2.7 2.8 2.95 3.2
Air temperature, C 32 33 32 34 33
Concrete density, kg/m3 2,480 2,467 2,437 2,408 2,400

mixed proportion by replacing sand with BA as shown in fine aggregates with the BA as given in Fig. 16. This is due
Table 13 [39]. They observed that the compaction factor, to the extra fineness of BA as the replacement level of fine
decreases with the increase of the replacement level of the aggregates is increased. Thus, increase in the specific

123
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
Fig. 16 Variation of compaction factor at different BA content [39]
Fig. 17 Variation in compressive strength of concrete having differ-
ent BA [39]
surface area due to increased in fineness and a greater
amount of water needed for the mix ingredients to get
closer packing, results in decrease in workability of mix.
Compressive strength of concrete mixes was measured for
with and without BA for several days of ageing. The test
results are given in Fig. 17. The gain of compressive
strength of the concrete mix in which sand replaced by
adding different percent of BA (i.e. 20, 30, 40, and 50 %)
showed compressive strength at the age of 90 days varies
from 56–65 % at 7 days, 75–85 % at 28 days and 86–90 %
at 56 days of total strength achieved. The results of split-
ting tensile strength of concrete mixes with and without BA
measured at 7, 28, 56, 90 days are given in Fig. 18.
The possibility of substituting natural fine aggregate
with industrial by-products such as waste foundry sand and
293
Fig. 18 Variation in split tensile strength of concrete having different
BA [39]
BA was investigated by the researchers [53]. The effect of
waste foundry sand and BA in equal quantities as partial
replacement of fine aggregates in various percentages
(0–60 %), on concrete properties was studied. The results
showed that the water content increased gradually from
175 kg/m3 in Control Mix (CM) to 238.63 kg/m3 in FB60
(i.e. 30 % Foundry Sand ? 30 % BA mix) mix to maintain
the workability and the mechanical behavior of the con-
crete with fine aggregate replacements was comparable to
that of conventional concrete except for FB60 mix. The
compressive strength was observed to be in the range of
29–32 MPa, splitting tensile strength in the range of
1.8–2.46 MPa, and flexural strength in the range of
3.95–4.10 MPa on the replacement of fine aggregates from
10 to 50 % at the interval of 10 %. Furthermore, it was
observed that the greatest increase in compressive, splitting
tensile strength, and flexural strength compared to that of
the conventional concrete was achieved by substituting
30 % of the natural fine aggregates with industrial by-
product aggregates.
The inclusion of waste foundry sand and bottom ash as
fine aggregate does not affect the strength properties neg-
atively as the strength remains within limits except for
60 % replacement.
The fine aggregate (sand) was replaced by BA up to
100 wt%. The properties such as unit weight, compressive
strength, and splitting tensile strength, modulus of elastic-
ity and microstructure of concrete incorporating BA in
partial or full replacement of river sand were examined and
compared with those of conventional concrete. Water loss
by bleeding and workability of fresh concrete after
replacing river sand with coal bottom ash were also
examined. The test results of this research work indicate
that at fixed water cement ratio, workability and loss of
123
294
water from bleeding decreased with the use of BA as a
replacement of river sand in concrete. Compressive
strength of BA concrete at the curing age of 28 days was
not strongly affected. However, after 90 days of curing
age, compressive strength of BA concrete surpassed that of
conventional concrete. Splitting tensile strength of concrete
improved at all the curing ages. The modulus of elasticity
decreased with the use of BA at all the curing ages. SEM
and XRD studies indicated that the C–S–H gel structure
was slightly less monolithic than that of control concrete
and total intensity of ettringite was not changed with the
addition of BA in concrete [50].
Conclusions
Following conclusions may be drawn based on the data
available from literature survey:
The common understanding among the people is that the
BA, by-products of thermal power generation plant, are
waste materials which are harmful to the environment and to
the people of the region as well. However, based on the
above studies from physical, chemical, and engineering
properties of coal ashes show that the coal ashes are
potential materials in view of the geotechnical engineering
applications. The present paper has discussed many prop-
erties of coal ashes which can be used with advantage in
various geotechnical engineering applications. They have
low specific gravity, lower compressibility, higher rate of
consolidation, higher frictional strength, higher CBR, neg-
ligible swell-shrink potential, water insensitiveness of
compaction characteristics and pozzolanic reactivity. The
ever increasing demand of lands for constructional activities
is responsible for the initiation of many land reclamation
projects. This requires the development of low-lying areas
and stabilization of lands containing soils with unfavorable
properties from the constructional activities point of view.
The beneficial properties of coal ashes encourage their use
as fill materials for low-lying areas as well as construction
fill materials on weak compressible soils.
The ever increasing scarcity of good materials in various
geotechnical engineering projects can also be overcome by
the large scale use of BA as backfill materials in retaining
structures; foundation base materials; sub base materials
for pavements; construction of earth embankments; and
mechanical admixtures in stabilizing expansive and cohe-
sive fine-grained soils.
It is hoped that the bulk use of BA in various geotechnical
engineering applications becomes a part of good and
effective solid waste management projects under taken by
both public and private sector. It can also reduce the trans-
portation cost as well as reduce environmental problems.
123
J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A (October–December 2014) 95(4):277–297
Rheological behavior of BA in slurry form indicates
that, due to the coarser in size, addition of BA in slurry
increases the transportation efficiency.
BA has been fruitfully employed for the removal of
hazardous dye. At lower concentrations BA adsorbs almost
100 % of the dye. However, at higher concentrations the
adsorption takes place via particle diffusion process and the
thermodynamic parameters reveal feasibility of the pro-
cess. Quantitative recovery of the dye can be achieved
through the column and adsorbent can be regenerated. It is
quite economical than commercially available adsorbent.
BA has been fruitfully employed for making the light-
weight aggregate. The bulk density and 10 % fines value of
BA aggregate was increased with an increasing in binder
dosage, sintering temperature and time. The enhancement
in mechanical properties of aggregate mainly dependent on
the phases formed during sintering at high temperature,
binding ability of binders and the internal pore structure of
the material.
It is possible to design SCC incorporating FA and BA on
various percentages. The SCCs having FA and BA showed
all fresh properties within the ranges specified for the mix
to be SCC mix. Increase in BA content resulted in decrease
in compressive strength and split tensile strength. The
economical SCC could be achieved with sufficient strength
as the conventional concrete. Based on the materials used,
it is technically feasible to utilize BA as a part of fine
aggregate in the production of SCC. Besides environmental
benefits, utilization of BA helps in reduction in extraction
of natural aggregates. In addition to above, there could be
some technical and financial advantages as well as it can be
used as a low-cost replacement material for more expen-
sive sand in SCC.
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