Utilization of Lightweight Materials Made from Coal Gasificaiton Slags

The integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) coal conversion process has been demonstrated to be a clean, efficient, and environmentally acceptable method of generating power; however, it generates solid waste materials in relatively large quantities. For example, a 400-MW power plant using 4000 tons of 10% ash coal per day may generate over 440 tons/day of solid waste of slag, consisting of vitrified mineral matter and unburned carbon. The disposal of the wastes represents significant costs. Regulatory trends with respect to solid wastes disposal, landfill development costs and public concern make utilization of solid wastes a high-priority issue. As coal gasification technologies find increasing commercial applications for power generation or production of chemical feed stocks, it becomes imperative that slag utilization methods be developed, tested and commercialized in order to offset disposal costs. Praxis is working on a DOE/METC funded project to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of making lightweight and ultra-lightweight aggregates from slags left as solid by-products from the coal gasification process. The project objectives are to develop and demonstrate the technology for producing slag-based lightweight aggregates (SLA), to produce 10 tons of SLA products with different unit weights from two slags, to collect operational and emissions data from pilot-scale operations, and to conduct laboratory and commercial scale evaluations of SLA with conventional lightweight and ultra-lightweight aggregates.