What are the Eco Friendly Properties of Fly Ash?

What is Fly Ash?

Fly Ash is a by-product of coal combustion in electric power generation plants.
During this process mineral impurities in the coal fuse in suspension, as the fused
material rises; it cools down and solidifies into spherical glassy particles called fly ash. It
is collected from the exhaust gases by electrostatic precipitators or bag filters.
Ever wondered why there is a huge demand to Fly Ash Machineries in India today?
It's rich in alumina and silicate, which causes it to react with alkaline solutions to
produce a binding, resulting product, is an excellent substitute for the traditional ordinary
Portland cement. The use of Fly Ash as substitute to normal cement is increasing and
the number of Manufacturers of Fly Ash Machines are also increasing as they are
aware of the fact that Fly Ash Market is going to expand tremendously in India.

What are the Eco Friendly Properties of Fly Ash?

The increasing demand of power consumption in our nation in every sector prominently in industrial and agricultural processing sectors has increased the amount of coal combustion and aggravated the problem of fly ash generation/disposal.

One of the most common doubt arises relating to the fly ash is how this material is eco-friendly because it is produced from burning coal ,one of the major reason for air pollution and carbon dioxide emission?

It is considered as eco-friendly green material because it is recycled material. Industrial waste is one of the foremost problems faced by many industries. Fly Ash is one of them. If power companies are going to burn coal there is huge amount of waste material i.e. Fly Ash is going to be produced every day. It makes sense if you can reuse this material for a good use. This can save money and energy both in the construction industry.

Making ordinary cement from scratch is energy consuming process; concrete production contributes to 6 to 7 percent of greenhouse gas emission and it is going to increase day by day. Scientists were in search of alternative material to Portland cement.

Here comes Fly Ash!

● The use of Fly Ash in concrete can consecutively control global carbon emissions while developing Eco friendly and sustainable infrastructure. Use of fly ash bricks can also reduce the amount of energy used in making regular concrete bricks.

● Substituting ordinary Portland cement with fly ash concrete can decrease carbon emissions by almost 90 percent. That’s largely because fly ash is a recycled material, and because it’s long lasting it doesn’t need to be replaced frequently.

● Fly Ash has proved to be an economical substitute for concrete material as well as a suitable raw material for brick manufacturing, zeolite synthesis, etc. Targeting effective application of Fly Ash has also gained force.

Read : Autoclaved Aerated Concrete AAC Blocks

Eco friendly Benefits of fly ash in Agriculture

• Fly Ash is a pool of essential minerals but it is poor in nitrogen and phosphorus.
  By amending Fly Ash with soil and various organic materials (bioprocess
  materials) it results in enhanced plant growth.
•  Use of Fly-Ash in grimy soil could permanently alter soil texture, increase micro
  porosity and improve the water-holding capacity. This improvement in water-
  holding capacity is beneficial for the growth of plants especially under rain fed
  agriculture.According to study modification of soil with Fly-Ash up to 40% also increased soil porosity from 43 to 53% and water-holding capacity from 39 to 55%
•  Most of the Fly-Ash produced in India is alkaline in nature so its application to
  agricultural soils could increase the soil pH and thereby neutralize acidic factors.
•  The use of Fly Ash as lime factor to acid soils improves soil qualities; Fly Ash
  addition generally increases plant growth and nutrient uptake.
• Use of Fly-Ash with chemical fertilizers and organic materials, it can increase the
  fertilizer’s efficiency.

Advantages of using Eco friendly Fly Ash

• The most important thing about Fly Ash concrete is its performance, adding it to
  the mix has the ability to improve concrete, because changing the composition of
  concrete can add strength and durability.
• In order to reduce hazardous effect of cement and other sources in construction
  on the environment it is necessary to find and increase the use of alternative to
  this problem.
• Fly Ash is ideal alternative and can be utilized in many ways in the field of
  construction, agriculture, roads, dam embankments and many more.

There are many other beneficial characteristics of Fly Ash like Thermal Insulation,
Durability, High Construction Strength, Less Consumption of Water, Better Workability
and most important Cost efficient. Increasing number of Manufacturers of Fly Ash
Machineries also suggest the preference of Civil Engineers. High volume Fly Ash
Concrete is a great solution to the problem of the enhancing demand of concrete in
future also Fly Ash is more sustainable than normal concrete.