Revised Technology and Methodology Manual FOR Reclamation of Low Lying Areas/ Abandoned Quarries/ Laterite Mines Etc. With Pulverized Fuel Ash
Revised Technology and Methodology Manual FOR Reclamation of Low Lying Areas/ Abandoned Quarries/ Laterite Mines Etc. With Pulverized Fuel Ash
Revised Technology and Methodology Manual FOR Reclamation of Low Lying Areas/ Abandoned Quarries/ Laterite Mines Etc. With Pulverized Fuel Ash
PREPARED BY
C-FARM
Fly Ash Solutions
JULY, 2010
FOREWORD
Land is a precious and non stretchable asset of a country and its society. In todays
world of global brotherhood the idea of extending one countrys land ownership
into anothers is practically not conceivable. However, a viable and sustainable
mode to enhance the productive land asset of a nation is to reclaim and put to use
the low lying areas/ abandoned quarries with fly ash. The use of fly ash for this
purpose would circumvent the necessity of borrowing the good earth from another
location and creation of new low lying areas.
Fly ash, by virtue of its properties is a good substitute of soil for this purpose. This
aspect has been proved and demonstrated successfully across the globe including
good amount of work done by Fly Ash Mission (FAM), Government of India,
along with other stakeholder agencies. Centre for Fly Ash Research and
Management (C-FARM), has also taken major initiative in this area over last 3
years and has been instrumental for acceptance of this concept and its
implementation in the field at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Area, Jajpur, Orissa.
State Pollution Control Board, Odisha has also taken major initiatives to guide and
facilitate use of fly ash for reclamation of low lying areas / abandoned mines.
The document is intended to facilitate and guide large scale utilization of fly ash
for reclamation of low lying areas/ abandoned quarries/ laterite mines etc. in the
country and especially in the state of Odisha, which would put in productive use,
the unutilized two national assets: low lying barren lands and the fly ash.
Chairman
nd
Date: 22 July 2010 C-FARM
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
12 Quality control 11
13 Usage of reclaimed areas 12
14 General instructions 13
Appendix- I 14
Tables :
Table 1: Physical and Geotechnical Properties of Indian Fly Ash Vs Soil 3
Table 2: Chemical Properties of Indian Fly Ash Vs Soil 4
Table 3: Characteristics of Ash Pond effluent and well water collected from 6
Ash bund Area of Chandrapur STPP and Bhusawal TPS
Figures :
Figure I : Typical Proctor Test on Pond Ash 4
Figure II : Typical Proctor Test on Soil 5
Figure III: Cross-section of water body protection embankment 8
Figure IV: Schematic arrangement of reclamation of low lying area 9
Figure V : Overlapping layers 10
Figure VI: Exposed boundary configuration 10
iii
TECHNOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY
MANUAL
FOR
RECLAMATION OF LOW LYING AREAS/ ABANDONED
QUARRIES/ LATERITE MINES ETC. WITH
PULVERIZED FUEL ASH
1.0 Preamble:
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) notification No. S.O. 763 (E) dated
14th September 1999 duly amended vide notification No. S.O. 979 (E) dated 27th
August 2003 and notification No. S.O. 2804 (E) dated 3rd November 2009
mandates that No agency, person or organization shall within a radius of hundred
kilometers of a coal or lignite based thermal power plant undertake or approve or
allow reclamation and compaction of low-lying areas with soil; only fly ash shall
be used for compaction and reclamation.
However, there are no specific guidelines available for use of fly ash for
reclamation of low lying areas. The loose fly ash fill or the un-engineered fills can
jeopardize the activity. The guidelines now have been prepared by C-FARM
based on the in-depth study of the subject including behavior and properties of fly
ash and the field experience of reclaiming a number of low lying sites over last 3
years with fly ash. Appendix 1 provides details of low lying areas reclaimed
during last 3 years with fly ash under technical advice and guidance of C-FARM.
Orissa Pollution Control Board (OPCB) also mandates/ has decided as per the
decisions of its meeting held on 17th July 2008, under the chairmanship of
1
Shri S. P. Nanda, Chairman, OPCB, that only fly ash shall be used to reclaim low
lying areas.
Thus, these guidelines are prepared to guide and facilitate engineered reclamation
of low lying areas/ abandoned quarries/ laterite mines with fly ash.
2.0 Definitions:
i) Pulverized fuel ash (PFA) and fly ash (FA), the both terms refer to and
include all group/ types/ kind of ash generated at coal/ lignite fired thermal
power plants. These include ESP dry fly ash, economizer ash, pre-heater ash,
bottom ash, pond ash, mound ash.
ii) ESP dry fly ash (ESP DFA): The ash that is collected from the flue gases by
means of electrostatic precipitator (ESP) or bag filters or other means and is in
a dry condition.
iii) Economizer ash (EA): The ash collected in the economizer at ESP area of a
Thermal Power Station.
iv) Pre-heater ash (PHA): The ash collected in the pre-heater at ESP area of a
Thermal Power Station.
v) Bottom ash (BA): The ash that is collected at the bottom of the boiler of a
Thermal Power Station.
vi) Pond ash (PA): The PFA (or FA) i.e. ESP-DFA, EA, PHA, BA etc. mixed
together, transported to ash pond area through water slurry or otherwise and
deposited in ash pond in the mix condition is known as pond ash (PA).
vii) Mound ash (MA): The PFA (or FA) i.e. ESP-DFA, EA, PHA, BA etc. mixed
together, transported to ash deposition area in dry or moist condition through
conveyer belt or other means and deposited together in the mixed condition in
the form of a mound is known as mound ash.
ESP-DFA is the finest by its particle size and the BA is the coarsest among seven
categories of PFA (FA) listed above. EA and PHA are generally not available
separately at a Thermal Power Plant. Being coarser these (EA and PHA) are
mixed with bottom ash for disposal. Particle size of ESP-DFA ranges from a few
micron to about 150 micron. The percentage of +100 micron size particles is
generally around 5 and that of particles finer than 25 micron is around 15. BA
generally consists of particles of 200 to 2000 micron size. A small proportion of
+2000 micron and some percentage of -200 micron size particles are also present.
BA is a granular material like coarse sand/ muhuram. EA and PHA are finer than
BA and coarser than ESP-DFA. PA and MA, both are mixer of ESP-DFA, BA,
2
EA and PHA. PA is transported to ash pond area in water-slurry form and MA is
transported and deposited in moist condition.
Coarser material with good particle size distribution is generally the best material
for geotechnical applications but ESP-DFA is also a good material for this
purpose and gives very good compaction by virtue of excellent packaging due to
good range of particle size distribution. The compaction is to be done with proper
moisture content and as detailed in this document.
3
Table 2: Chemical Properties of Indian Fly Ash Vs Soil
per cent
Constituents Fly Ash Natural Soil
SiO2 35 70 40 65
Al2O3 10 35 10 30
TiO2 0.2 2.0 0.2 2.0
Fe2O3 2.0 7.0 1 14
MnO 0.1 0.5 0 0.1
MgO 0.01 4.5 0.2 3.0
CaO 0.2 20 0 7.0
K2 O 0.05 0.9 0.4 - 0.2
Na2 O 0.05 2.0 0.2 2.5
LOI 0.1 8.0 5 15
Proctor compaction test curve for PFA is flatter than that for soil (see figure I &
II). Thus, desired compaction can be achieved on fly ash over a wide range of
moisture. Further, fly ash being a free draining material, work can be restarted
much faster than on soils in rainy season. In case of fly ash compaction is
complete in the initial stages itself and subsequent settlement is practically nil.
1.1
Dry Density(gm/cc)
1.05
0.95
0.9
32 34 36 38 38.8 40 42 44 46
% Water Content
4
1.9
1.5
1.3
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
% Water Content
Chemically, Indian fly ashes are quite safe from leaching point of view for use as
a fill material. Chemical analyses of water filtrate from fly ash dump and near by
surface water resources given in table 3 makes the point more clear. However,
leaching test be conducted on the fly ash to be used for reclaiming the low lying
area and it should meet the criteria of water disposal in inland surface water as per
the Pollution Control Board norms.
4.1 The fly ashes for which leaching test results are found to be within the Pollution
Control Board norms for discharging in inland surface water as given in table 3
and amended by PCB from time to time, such fly ashes can be used for
reclamation of low lying areas without any protection measures for leaching.
4.2 The fly ashes whose leaching test results show higher concentration than PCB
norms referred under para 4.1, the following shall prevail:
(i) If the underneath strata of the low lying area is like impervious / clayey
and there is no water body / aquifer nearby, the tested fly ash can be used
for reclamation of the low lying area under consideration without any
protection measure for leachettes.
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Table 3: Characteristics of Ash Pond effluent and well water collected from Ash bund Area of Chandrapur STPP and Bhusawal TPS
Pollution Control
Board norms *
Parameters A B C D E F G H (for discharge in
inland surface water)
pH 8.28 8.14 8.19 8.11 8.23 8.30 8.10 8.35 5.5-9.0
TSS (mg/1) 218.00 362.00 219.10 348.40 349.0 360.00 140.00 75.00 100.00
TDS 610.00 467.30 587.90 451.70 531.0 535.00 519.00 458.00 2100
Ca 65.40 54.20 62.80 51.50 33.50 32.50 37.60 32.50 75.00
Mg 31.00 18.90 29.70 15.30 31.20 29.20 32.80 28.60 30.00
N-NO3 3.43 2.21 3.39 2.12 3.70 3.69 2.20 2.39 50.00
F 0.89 1.45 0.97 1.52 0.82 0.81 1.09 1.21 2.00
I 0.029 0.032 0.026 0.043 0.017 0.020 0.048 0.029 -
Fe 0.15 0.09 0.11 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.03 0.02 1.00
Pb 0.02 0.05 0.01 0.03 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.10
Cd 0.003 0.001 0.004 0.001 0.004 0.004 0.002 0.002 2.00
Ni BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL 3.00
Cr(As Cr +6) BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL 0.10
Total Cr as (Cr) BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL 2.00
Co BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL -
As BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL 0.20
Hg BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL BDL 0.01
Radioactivity
(Bq/kg)
- emitters <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 -
- emitters <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 <0.8 -
A : Water sample from Farmer's well Village- Chargaon collected on 15.02.97, Chandrapur BDL Below detection limit
B : Drain water (Ash Effluent), well no. 5 discharge point collected on 15.02.97, Chandrapur
C : Water from Farmer's well near ash bund area collected on 19.08.97, Chandrapur
D : Water from ash pond effluent outlet, lagoon no. 1 collected on 19.08.97, Chandrapur
E : Velhala Ash pond percolation well No. 3 collected on 10.12.98, Bhusawal
F : Velhala Ash pond percolation well No. 4 collected on 10.12.98, Bhusawal
G : Farmer's (Mr. Prahlad Patil) well water Village-Pimpalgaon Khurd collected on 08.02.99, Bhusawal
H : Farmer's (Mr. V.M. Rane) well water Village: Pimpalgaon Khurd collected on 08.02.99, Bhusawal
* http://www.dpcc.delhigovt.in/waterstdhtm
6
(ii) If the underneath strata is pervious and there is no water body nearby, the
tested fly ash can be used for reclamation of the low lying area under
consideration without any protection measure for leachettes.
(iii) If the underneath strata is not impervious and there is a water body nearby
the tested fly ash can be used for reclamation of low lying area, only if the
amount of fly ash to be deposited is not more than 100 tonne per pit and
the total number of pits around that area / water body should not exceed 5.
If the pit / pits are larger in size or number than stated above, a protective
liner of HDPE / clay bentonite / fly ash clay / fly ash bentonite or any
other suitable material is to be provided.
(iv) When the underneath strata is impervious and even if there is a water body
/ aquifer near by, the tested fly ash can be used for reclamation of low
lying area.
Transportation of PFA to the site of low lying area/ abandoned quarry/ laterite
mine for reclamation is to be done in an environmentally friendly manner. It
should not pollute the environment en-route. The trucks/ trolleys/ dumpers be
closed as far as possible or be properly covered with tarpaulin which is tied
properly. The PFA be filled/ loaded in the truck/ trolley/ dumper etc. only to the
extent that it does not spill over en-route. The ash to be carried shall be adequately
moistened with water, so, that minimum 15% moisture is maintained at the
destination.
At the worksite PFA is to be managed in such a manner that it does not get
airborne even in dry season and should not get inundate with water during rainy
season. It should be placed/ stockpiled in well-drained area during rainy season
and be kept wet or covered with tarpaulin or two inch layer of soil during summer
season, as may be possible.
The surface of the ash pond be stripped to a depth of at least 20 cm at the area
from where pond ash is to be excavated for use, to remove the foreign materials
and biomass. Deeper roots, if any, of plants/ bushes may also be removed.
The pond ash be excavated in layers 1.5 to 2.0 meters and not by scrapping. This
is to ensure removal of PFA as it was deposited in layers and with proper particle
size distribution. The area from which ash will be excavated, loaded and unloaded
shall be conditioned by water sprinkling. The agency shall ensure installation of
adequate numbers of water sprinklers for this purpose to avoid any fugitive dust
emission.
7
The industry shall develop the haulage road and shall provide adequate water
spraying arrangements in the haul roads when ash is taken from ash pond to
suppress any fugitive dust generated during working period.
The source point of fly ash i.e. ash pond or the silo area as the case may be,
should also be managed in environment friendly manner.
The ash pond area from where the PFA is being excavated be kept moist to avoid
air pollution. The silo area, if the PFA is being taken from silo area, may be
maintained in dust free condition with proper working of humidifier and PFA
dispensing system.
The vehicle body and especially the wheels be washed with pressure water using
hose-pipe before rolling out to the main carriage.
If the site is covered with vegetation, the entire area be stripped to a minimum
of 20 cm depth to remove all vegetation including deep seated roots, rubbish
and other organic matter. Grading be done if small size but deep ditches/ areas
are present, wherein, otherwise compaction of fly ash would be difficult.
iii) Protection of a pond or water body adjoining or within the working site:
8
The soil used for the embankment should neither be granular nor black cotton
soil. It should be a good soil for geo-technical applications. Soil should be
compacted to 95% proctor by vibratory roller of 15T min capacity, in the
layers of 25-30 cm in optimum moisture condition. After reaching the desired
filling height, the disposal area should be thoroughly compacted, graded
followed by soil cover at least 15 cm for proper reclamation of the land and
appropriate plantation (choosing the local species with at least 80% survival
rate) will be carried out.
9.0 Spreading and Compaction of PFA in the Low Lying Area/ Abandoned
Quarry/ Laterite Mine etc.
Filling to progress in
Leveled plain area this direction
Spreading and compaction to move from strip (1) to (2) to (3) and so on and from
level land to the boundary marking as indicated by the arrow in Figure IV.
ii) Two or three layers be laid on strip (1) and then one or two layers can be laid
on strip no (2) and progressively subsequent strips can be taken up while
9
raising the height of preceding strips. Over lap of 2m be maintained from strip
to strip in different layers as shown below in Figure V.
Strip 2
Strip 3
Strip 1
iv) At the boundary limits, where the fill material would be exposed to air and
water, needs to be protected / confined with soil and pitching / turfing on the
soil layer as for soil embankments.
Soil cover of one meter be provided and be compacted along with fly ash in
each layer as shown below.
1: 2.5 to 1: 3 Slope
Soil
1m
Figure VI: Exposed boundary configuration
For the exposed boundary conditions of filled material (figure VI), spreading,
rolling and compaction of soil layer be done for 1 meter extra length (total 2
10
meters) and the extra last 1 meter which is not properly compacted be
removed by cutting and scrapping. Thereafter, the slope surface be compacted
with hand compactor or other means.
The area reclaimed with PFA should be provided with soil cover of 400 to 500
mm to protect exposure of fly ash to air or water.
The soil required for the cover, be either excavated from the low lying area to be
reclaimed, if good earth is available there and be stored aside for this purpose.
Otherwise, the required quantity of soil can be excavated from a borrow pit and
the borrow pit is also to be filled up/ reclaimed with PFA as per the procedure and
system laid in this document and be provided with a soil cover of 400- 500 mm.
Air and water quality tests be done at the proposed site before start of work and
data as on start of work be recorded. Thereafter, the environmental quality
monitoring (of air and surface water) shall be carried out regularly in the disposal
area and reported to the Board on quarterly basis. Water quality monitoring is to
be done from start of the work to six months after completion of work. Air
monitoring is to be done upto the completion of the work including putting of the
soil cover.
Further, the surface slope of the completed site should be such maintained that
water should neither accumulate around the site nor at the site. The exposed sides
of the site, if any, shall be covered with soil with gentle gradient to prevent fly ash
getting air borne during dry windy days or contamination of natural nalah or
stream during rainy season.
11
ii) Fly ash filling, spreading and compaction be done in layers of not more
than 30 cm and compaction be done at optimum moisture content with
vibratory roller of at least 15 tonne to 95% proctor.
iii) Filling be done strip by strip and with recommended overlap side by side
as well as length wise.
v) Two numbers of core should be cut of the compacted material, one in the
forenoon and another in the afternoon at regular intervals to check the
quality of compaction and immediate corrective action be taken, as may
be required, in terms of maintaining optimum moisture content or number
of passes of roller to get the required proctor compaction.
vi) The PFA surface at the reclaimed/ filled area be either kept moist or be
covered with soil to avoid fly ash getting airbase.
vii) Constant vigil be kept at the PFA loading point, vehicles carrying the
PFA and en-route to ensure that no spilling of PFA and pollution takes
place during handling and transportation of PFA.
viii) During summer month extra care shall be taken to control fugitive dust.
ix) The quarry pits have to be filled up only by following the progressive
land filling methods from bottom to top with proper compaction and
water sprinkling instead of haphazard dumping in the proposed disposal
site. In no case industry shall dump ash out side the quarry pit areas.
The low lying areas/ abandoned quarries/ laterite mines reclaimed with PFA in a
manner described in this document can be safely used for habitat construction,
parking lots, play-grounds and other purposes including agriculture, floriculture,
horticulture, forestry etc. Wherever plantation is done, preferably local species be
selected and 80 percent survival rate achieved.
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14.0 General Instructions:
(i) All the tippers and trucks responsible for carrying ash shall
obtain Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate and certificate
from appropriate authority. All the vehicle drivers shall have
required valid driving license issued by appropriate authority.
(ii) Incase of any accidental spillage on the way while transporting
the ash; the agency shall ensure that the spilled ash is collected
and transported to the disposal / usage site.
(iii) Speed limits shall be strictly enforced. In no case the same shall
exceed 40 km/h.
(iv) Appropriate measures be taken to prevent any entry of
cattle/livestock inside the disposal area during working period.
(v) Attempt shall be made to avoid any kind of nuisance to the
public due to proposed activities.
(vi) After completely reclaiming the site, signboards shall be put up
showing that the land was reclaimed by filling fly ash in a low
lying area. That will help sending the message of fly ash
utilization in reclaiming low lying areas.
13
Appendix 1
Low lying areas/ abandoned quarries/ laterite mines etc. reclaimed with fly
ash under technical advice, guidance and support of C-FARM from July,
2007 to March, 2010
Completed Sites:
Ongoing Sites:
14