Use of fluidized bed combustion by-products for liners and alkali substitutes. Technical report, March 1--May 31, 1995

Fluidized Bed Combustion of coal eliminates most emissions of S and N oxides but produces sizable volumes of a solid residue that EPA may require to be placed in capped and lined landfills. Fluidized Bed Combustors are one of the most promising growth markets for Illinois coal and imposing cap and liner requirements may make the technology uneconomic. Fluidized Bed residues are cementlike and when mixed with soil, produce a material as impermeable as the clay liners used at landfills. This project will demonstrate that the residues can be mixed with soils by regular construction equipment and used in place of clays as liner material. The demonstration cap will cover an area of 7 acres and will prevent water infiltration into acid producing material. Baseline studies of Briar Creek indicate that the water is now highly degraded by acid drainage. Construction delays have enhanced the data collected on Briar Creek by allowing monitoring to continue through major seasonal changes without any effects attributable to the FBC ash. Materials needed to place the wells and lysimeters have been obtained. A contractor will build and deliver a mobile foam generator and spray to the field to demonstrate fugitive dust control from FBC fly ash (dust problem is one key barrier to more widespread use of FBC ash)