Color Removal from Pulp Mill Effluent Using Immobilized Coal Fly Ash

Location

Room 2911

Session Format

Paper Presentation

Research Area Topic:

Engineering and Material Sciences - Civil

Abstract

Pulp mills across the US produce 58 million tons of pulp every year. Each ton of pulp produced requires 17,000 gallons of water. This pulp mill effluent (PME) is released into rivers and streams after a conventional treatment. However, color in PME is typically not effectively removed. PME discolors surface water and could be harming aquatic life. Georgia Power Company has ten coal combustion power plants across the state. These plants generate about a million tons of coal fly ash (CFA) each year with roughly 40% used beneficially and the remaining 60% disposed into ash ponds. These ponds have been known to leak and become major environmental issues. CFA and PME are two of the largest environmental concerns that Georgia is facing. Our project has been funded by Georgia Power to investigate the possibility of using the CFA to remove the color from the PME before it is released into the environment. Coal fly ash is similar to activated carbon (a common adsorbent). Therefore, it could possibly be used as a low cost option to remove color and improve the general quality of PME. Batch studies are currently being performed to determine the removal efficiency using different combinations of CFAs and PMEs. Our goal is to be able to feasibly remove 80% of the color from the PME. An adsorption capacity of CFA as high as 12.3 mg/g has been achieved which is promising. One problem we encountered was that the CFA has a very small particle size making it difficult for water to pass through during the filtration process. Therefore, our project team is also working on pelletizing the ash to ease the filtration process. If our project is a success, we could create a beneficial use of CFA while also lowering the environmental impact from PME.

Presentation Type and Release Option

Presentation (Open Access)

Start Date

4-16-2016 9:30 AM

End Date

4-16-2016 10:30 AM

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Apr 16th, 9:30 AM Apr 16th, 10:30 AM

Color Removal from Pulp Mill Effluent Using Immobilized Coal Fly Ash

Room 2911

Pulp mills across the US produce 58 million tons of pulp every year. Each ton of pulp produced requires 17,000 gallons of water. This pulp mill effluent (PME) is released into rivers and streams after a conventional treatment. However, color in PME is typically not effectively removed. PME discolors surface water and could be harming aquatic life. Georgia Power Company has ten coal combustion power plants across the state. These plants generate about a million tons of coal fly ash (CFA) each year with roughly 40% used beneficially and the remaining 60% disposed into ash ponds. These ponds have been known to leak and become major environmental issues. CFA and PME are two of the largest environmental concerns that Georgia is facing. Our project has been funded by Georgia Power to investigate the possibility of using the CFA to remove the color from the PME before it is released into the environment. Coal fly ash is similar to activated carbon (a common adsorbent). Therefore, it could possibly be used as a low cost option to remove color and improve the general quality of PME. Batch studies are currently being performed to determine the removal efficiency using different combinations of CFAs and PMEs. Our goal is to be able to feasibly remove 80% of the color from the PME. An adsorption capacity of CFA as high as 12.3 mg/g has been achieved which is promising. One problem we encountered was that the CFA has a very small particle size making it difficult for water to pass through during the filtration process. Therefore, our project team is also working on pelletizing the ash to ease the filtration process. If our project is a success, we could create a beneficial use of CFA while also lowering the environmental impact from PME.