COAL ASH RESOURCES RESEARCH CONSORTIUM

The Coal Ash Resources Research Consortium (CARRC, pronounced cars) is the core coal combustion by-product (CCB) research group at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). CARRC focuses on performing fundamental and applied scientific and engineering research emphasizing the environmentally safe, economical use of CCBs. CARRC member organizations, which include utilities and marketers, are key to developing industry-driven research in the area of CCB utilization and ensuring its successful application. CARRC continued the partnership of industry partners, university researchers, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) addressing needs in the CCB industry through technical research and development projects. Technology transfer also continued through distribution and presentation of the results of research activities to appropriate audiences, with emphasis on reaching government agency representatives and end users of CCBs. CARRC partners have evolved technically and have jointly developed an understanding of the layers of social, regulatory, legal, and competition issues that impact the success of CCB utilization as applies to the CCB industry in general and to individual companies. Many CARRC tasks are designed to provide information on CCB performance including environmental performance, engineering performance, favorable economics, and improved life cycle of products and projects. CARRC activities from 19931998 included a variety of research tasks, with primary work performed in laboratory tasks developed to answer specific questions or evaluate important fundamental properties of CCBs. The tasks summarized in this report are 1) The Demonstration of CCB Use in Small Construction Projects, 2) Application of CCSEM (computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy) for Coal Combustion By-Product Characterization, 3) Development of a Procedure to Determine Heat of Hydration for Coal Combustion By-Products, 4) Investigation of the Behavior of High-Calcium Coal Combustion By-Products, 5) Development of an Environmentally Appropriate Leaching Procedure for Coal Combustion By-Products, 6) Set Time of Fly Ash Concrete, 7) Coal Ash Properties Database (CAPD), 8) Development of a Method for Determination of Radon Hazard in CCBs, 9) Development of Standards and Specifications, 10) Assessment of Fly Ash Variability, and 11) Development of a CCB Utilization Workshop. The primary goal of CARRC is to work with industry to solve CCB-related problems and promote the environmentally safe, technically sound, and economical utilization and disposal of these highly complex materials. CARRC 19931998 accomplishments included: C Updating the CAPD to a user-friendly database management system, and distributing it to CARRC members. C ASTM standard preparation for a guide to using CCBs as waste stabilization agents. C Preliminary identification of specific mineral transformations resulting from fly ash hydration. C Limited determination of the effects of fly ash on the set time of concrete. C Statistical evaluation of a select set of fly ashes from several regional coal-fired power plants. C Development and presentation of a workshop on CCB utilization focused on government agency representatives and interested parties with limited CCB utilization experience. C Participation in a variety of local, national, and international technical meetings, symposia, and conferences by presenting and publishing CCB-related papers