Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

As one east Tennessee community struggles to recover from the devastating spillage of coal ash from a nearby Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal-burning plant on to its land and waterways, one man is working to find better uses for the waste leftover from coal burning. Mulalo Doyoyo, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has developed a new structural material from coal ash and bottom ash that is strong and lightweight enough to serve as an alternative to cement in concrete.

The new coal ash byproduct, called Cenocell, has good insulating properties and is fire resistant, making it an ideal replacement for concrete, wood and other materials used in various applications in construction, transportation and aerospace.

Coal ash contains dangerous toxins such as arsenic and lead which can, as in the case of the TVA spill, damage property and may lead to serious health complications. The new product, however, is not considered harmful and in fact, is being touted as a “green” product because unlike cement, Cenocell does not generate carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

“This material could help develop communities by allowing people living near coal-burning facilities to create a new industry and new jobs,” Doyoyo said. “This could be an engine of development for people who have been struggling. It really is a material with a social conscience.”

This may not be exciting news to those living in communities in close proximity to coal-burning facilities. The alternative uses for coal ash do not stop the coal-burning fumes from polluting the air nor does it eliminate the threat of another devastating coal ash spill, like that caused when a TVA coal ash pond failed last December and dumped more than a billion gallons of toxic material on to a neighboring community. Rather than alternative uses for coal ash, many are asking for greener alternatives to coal-burning all together.

Doyoyo will present Cenocell and his findings at the World of Coal Ash meeting May 4-7, 2009.

Source:
Reliable Plant

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