pH-Dependent Leaching of Dump Coal Ash-Retrospective Environmental Analysis

Abstract

Trace and major elements in coal ash particles from dump of "Nikola Tesla A" power plant in Obrenovac near Belgrade (Serbia) can cause pollution, due to leaching by atmospheric and surface waters. In order to assess this leaching potential, dump ash samples were subjected to extraction with solutions of decreasing pH values (8.50, 7.00, 5.50, and 4.00), imitating the reactions of the alkaline ash particles with the possible alkaline, neutral, and acidic (e.g., acid rain) waters. The most recently deposited ash represents the greatest environmental threat, while "aged" ash, because of permanent leaching on the dump, was shown to have already lost this pollution potential. On the basis of the determined leachability, it was possible to perform an estimation of the acidity of the regional rainfalls in the last decades.