Research Highlight: Northeastern University School of Metallurgy

Shenyang City, China

Northeastern University is a public university in Shenyang, Liaoning Province with strengths in engineering and architecture. It is known for its prominent role in the information technology industry. Professor Shi Peiyang and the team from Northwestern University’s School of Metallurgy joined over 700 industry leaders at last year’s Coal Ash Asia conference and exhibition. Asian Coal Ash Association and the Institute for Technical Information for the Building Materials Industry hosted the annual event in Shuozhou City, China, last September. Below is an abstract from Prof. Shi Peiyang focusing on reducing air pollution from coal-fired power stations. Click below the abstract to discover more of his research.

The Key Technologies for Cleaning and Recycling Utilization of Desulfurized Flue Gas By-products

Abstract: Desulfurization ash is one of the by-products of dry lime flue gas desulphurization of sintering process in steel company. The utilization of the desulfurization ash is a challenge since it contains calcium sulfite, chloride-bearing phases and carbon. With rapid development of steel industry and more stringent requirement of environment supervision, reasonable treatment of desulphurized ash has become a key problem for the sustainable development of dry lime flue gas desulfurization. Therefore, realizing the comprehensive utilization of desulphurization ash plays an important role in promoting the dry flue gas desulphurization technology, and has important practical significance for the governance of haze problem. In this work, the desulfurization ash was used as a raw material for the preparation of calcium sulfate whisker via hydrothermal method. The effects of process parameters on the growth behavior of calcium sulfate whiskers were experimentally investigated, and the dissolution behavior of calcium sulfate in aqueous solution was studied. The molecular dynamics method was applied to simulate the growth habit of calcium sulfate crystal. Based on this, the modification mechanism of calcium sulfate whisker was deeply analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of the calcium sulfate whiskers before and after modification on the performance of rubber, asphalt and ceramic for centrifugal pump was characterized.

Shuozhou City: China's developing circular economy

- Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, China

The Asian Coal Ash Association, partnering with the Institute for Technical Information for the Building Materials Industry will host the 8th annual Coal Ash Asia conference this September 12-15. Coal Ash Asia consists of three days of oral presentations, trade and services exhibition, poster exhibition, scenic and industrial tours as well as multiple networking opportunities.

Shuozhou City produces approximately 8 million tons of fly ash and 1.8 million tons of gypsum each year, and disposes of nearly 5 million tons each year into landfill.  Spreading over 145, 000 acres, China’s premier coal ash industrial park is located next to a large coal ash reservoir and is key in the country’s development of circular economy.

There are almost one hundred of coal ash based products in the park, including:

·      Ultrafine Fly Ash,

·      Fly Ash Based Flooring

·      Fly Ash Based Furniture

·      Ceramic Fiber Cotton

·      Fly Ash Based Calcium Silicate Board

·      Aluminum oxide and Hydrated silica

·      Thistle board

·      Autoclaved Fly Ash Brick,

·      Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Blocks,

·      Gypsum Based Dry Mix Mortar,

·      Lightweight Wallboard

·      Cement

·      Concrete

·      And more!

Want to download a copy of the Shuozhou Industrial Park? Enter your email below and we will email it to you (file size: 91MB)

Included in the guide is an overview of operations including the park’s R&D center, a collaborative effort of Peking University and the local Shuozhou government. With a combination of advanced technology, excellent equipment and innovative talents, the R&D center focuses on the development of new technologies and new products for enterprises within the industrial park. The Center has developed many new technologies and products including: Ceramic tiles and fiber cotton, foam ceramics, catalyst carriers, high strength fibers, wall materials, refractory and heat insulating materials.

This September, all attendees will have the chance to go on an in depth tour of the Shuozhou Industrial Park, and speak with park researchers, operators and managers. The delegates will be accompanied by a team of translators to assist with this exchange.

Want to learn more about participation at Coal Ash Asia 2018?

Research Highlight: Acid Extraction of Valuable Resources in Fly Ash and Various Utilizations of Acid Slag

- Beijing, China

Aluminium and rare earth mineral extraction was a well-explored topic at AsianCAA’s latest Coal Ash Asia event, in Beijing, last July.   Vice Professor Li Fang Fei, from JiLin University, shared her research pertaining to acid leaching in order to extract precious rare earth minerals. Jilin University is a key collaborator with the China Building Materials Academy (CBMA), and the Institute for Technical Information for the Building Materials Industry, our co-hosts of Coal Ash Asia. The university's chemistry department contributes essential research to the topic of waste utilization and management.  Below is Professor Li Fang Fei’s abstract, discussing her latest research.

Abstract: Fly ash is the main solid waste of power plants. After combustion, the aluminum, rare earth and other valuable resources in the raw coal are further enriched in the fly ash. That makes the high Al2O3 content in the fly ash of Inner Mongolia region (up to 50 wt % ). Aluminum, iron, gallium, and other rare earth resources in fly ash could be extracted by acid leaching process. And followed by resin separation, enrichment leaching, and crystallized purification process, various valuable resources could be successfully separated and purified to an ideal level. Such leaching method is not only applicable to the high-active CFB fly ash, but also suitable for the OF fly ash whose amount is much larger than the former. In addition, the amount of acid leaching slag of fly ash is very small, which is composed of porous SiO2 with ideal purity and highly reactivity. Such "white mud" could be produced as building materials, artificial zeolites, inorganic fibers, catalyst carriers, and other useful products, which promotes the governance and comprehensive utilization of fly ash.

Jilin University will be returning contributors to Coal Ash Asia 2018. For more information, or to register, please follow the links below. If you would like to be sent an information package regarding our event, please input your email below.

For more information on other papers from Professor Li Fang Fei, click below: