Fly Ash Characteristics and Carbon Sequestration Potential
Concerns for the effects of global warming have lead to an interest in the potential for inexpensive methods to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2). One of the proposed methods is the sequestration of carbon in soil though the growth of crops or forests.4,6 If there is an economic value placed on sequestration of carbon dioxide in soil there may be an an opportunity and funding to utilize fly ash in the reclamation of mine soils and other degraded lands. However, concerns associated with the use of fly ash must be addressed before this practice can be widely adopted. There is a vast extent of degraded lands across the world that has some degree of potential for use in carbon sequestration. Degraded lands comprise nearly 2 X 109 ha of land throughout the world.7 Although the potential is obviously smaller in the United States, there are still approximately 4 X 106 ha of degraded lands that previously resulted from mining operations14 and an additional 1.4 X 108 ha of poorly managed lands. Thus, according to Lal and others the potential is to sequester approximately 11 Pg of carbon over the next 50 years.1,10 The realization of this potential will likely be dependent on economic incentives and the use of soil amendments such as fly ash. There are many potential benefits documented for the use of fly ash as a soil amendment. For example, fly ash has been shown to increase porosity, water-holding capacity, pH, conductivity, and dissolved SO42-, CO32-, HCO3-, Cl- and basic cations, although some effects are notably decreased in high-clay soils.8,13,9 The potential is that these effects will promote increased growth of plants (either trees or grasses) and result in greater carbon accumulation in the soil than in untreated degraded soils. This paper addresses the potential for carbon sequestration in soils amended with fly ash and examines some of the issues that should be considered in planning this option. We describe retrospective studies of soil carbon accumulation on reclaimed mine lands, leaching studies of fly ash and carbon sorption studies of fly ash.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 981603
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-54741; 4298; AA3010000
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: World of Coal Ash - Science, Applications and Sustainability: World of Coal Ash Conference Proceedings, 115-183
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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