Fly ash is a fine grey heterogenous powder consisting mostly of spherical, glassy particles that are produced as a by-product in coal-fired power stations. During combustion, mineral impurities in the coal (clay, feldspar, quartz, and shale) fuse in suspension and exhausted out from boiler's combustion chambers along with flue gases, after hardening of these molten particulates - heavier ones settled at the bottom of chamber known as bottom ash conveyed in slurry form through pipeline to collect in hydrobins and lighter ones captured or separated from flue gases by electrostatic precipitators or fabric filter bags and finally conveyed by compressed air to the storage silos known as fly ash.
Depending upon the source and composition of the coal being burned, the components of fly ash vary considerably, but all fly ash includes substantial amounts of Silicon dioxide(SiO 2d)(both amorphous and crystalline), Aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), Calcium oxide (CaO) etc. which inculcate engineering properties like pozzolanic which is a key factor for use of fly ash in manufacturing of pozzolana cement, fly ash based products like bricks, concrete blocks, pavers, interlocking tiles, concrete etc.
Anuppur Thermal Power Plant (2 X 600 MW) produces ash 6,000 MT (avg.) as a result of combustion of about 15,000 MT (avg.) coal for electricity generation on daily basis i.e. about 2.1 Million MT of ash is generated on annual basis out which is about 1.7 Million MT is fly ash and about 0.4 Million MT is bottom ash. MB power is bestowing all its endeavours on daily basis to accomplish its obligation towards environment protection by utilizing fly ash in environment friendly manner since commissioning of its Anuppur TPP. Towards this accomplishment, MB Power has invariable tie-ups with cement manufacturing companies like UltraTech, Birla, Prism, ACC, Ambuja, KJS, Heidelberg etc. to offtake dry fly ash (DFA) from Anuppur TPP for manufacturing of Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC) through bulkers via road and during November 2021.
MB Power has laid another milestone by developing a dedicated railway siding along with ash loading platform for transportation of Conditioned Fly Ash (CFA) through BOXNHL Rakes via rail. And cementompanies like UltraTech, Birla, Prism, ACC, Ambuja, Wonder Cement, Star Cement etc. are offtaking CFA through BOXNHL Rakes. MB Power is utilizing fly ash & bottom ash in backfilling of an abandoned mine void allotted by South Eastern Coalfield Limited (SECL) vide MoU dated 29.11.2021. MB Power is also utilizing fly ash & bottom ash in land reclamation of wasteland within nearby vicinity of Anuppur TPP to develop playgrounds, haat grounds, fields for cultivation, construction sites etc.
MB Power ensures 100% utilization of fly ash as well as bottom ash on daily basis in the avenues astabled below as per Notification of Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) dated 31.12.2021.
| SL No | Avenues | Utilization | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly Ash(FA) | Bottom Ash(BA) | ||
| 1 | Cement Industry | 70% | - |
| 2 | Fly Ash Bricks | 5% | - |
| 3 | Land Reclamation | 12.5% | 50% |
| 4 | Back Filling of Coal Mine | 12.5% | 50% |
| Total Utilization | 100% | 100% | |