Stabilized coal-fired power plant wastes as a fouling substrate in estuarine waters. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:5059445

Humphries, E

Two potential resource management strategies for disposal of combustion by-products originating from coal-fired power plants involve the manufacture of stabilized coal-fired power plant waste (SCPW) blocks and their disposal in estuaries either (1) as artificial reefs to enhance finfish abundance in local areas or (2) as the foundation material for artificial oyster bars to be used in oyster farming. To determine the acceptability of the material in an estuary, coal waste blocks containing fly ash and sludge in the ratio of 2.9:1 (dry wt) and stabilized with lime were placed in the Choptank River, a subestuary of Chesapeake Bay. Larval recruitment and epibenthic community development were monitored for two years on the lower horizontal surface of SCPW block sections positioned 60cm off the river bottom. Species richness of the epifaunal community did not vary significantly by block type (SCPW vs. concrete or asbestos plates vs. cut-SCPW vs. outer-SCPW sections). In both programs, seasonality was several times as important as the block type effects on the epibenthic community structure: temporal effects were significant at P < 0.003 for all taxa analyzed.

• Research Organization: Maryland Univ., Cambridge (USA). Horn Point Environmental Labs.
• OSTI ID: 5059445
• Report Number(s): PB-85-233534/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010800 -- Coal
Lignite
&amp; Peat-- Waste Management
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200202* -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Waste Management-- Noxious Gas &amp; Particulate Emissions
ABUNDANCE
AEROSOL WASTES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ANIMALS
AQUACULTURE
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ASHES
CALCIUM CARBONATES
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CARBONATES
COAL
ENERGY SOURCES
ESTUARIES
FLY ASH
FOSSIL FUELS
FOSSIL-FUEL POWER PLANTS
FOULING
FOUNDATIONS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
INVERTEBRATES
LARVAE
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL STRUCTURES
MOLLUSCS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OYSTERS
POWER PLANTS
REEFS
RESIDUES
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SUPPORTS
SURFACE WATERS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
VARIATIONS
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION
WASTES