Michel Beck, Smyth Hall, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech, Department of Crop & Soil Env. Sciences, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0404, Walter Lee Daniels, 244 Smyth Hall - 0404, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech, CSES Department, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0404, and Matthew Eick, 236 Smyth Hall, Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech, Dept. of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0404.
Research on the beneficial utilization of CCPs in mining environments has focused upon bulk acid-base balances and heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Fe, Al, Mn, etc.) mobility to local ground-water. Currently, the public and the regulatory community are placing greater focus on the potential of As, B and Se mobility from CCP utilization, along with a strong emphasis on defining Hg levels and mobility in coal combustion products in general. Five CCPs were selected from a set of 28 CCPs following complete chemical characterization for a leaching column trial. Acid forming coal refuse was amended at 0, 10, and 20% (v:v) with the CCPs. A set of control columns were limed at the rate equivalent to 34.5 Mg CCE per 1000Mg refuse. Columns were leached twice per week with the equivalent to 2.5 cm rainfall per event. The analyses of the leachates during 4 months of leaching document the importance of acid-base accounting. Leachates from the limed control columns equilibrated at pH 7.2 versus 2.1 for the non-limed columns. Amending coal refuse with CCPs with adequate CCE was very effective in preventing high concentrations and leaching losses of As, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr, S, Se, and Fe. However, the solubility of metallic elements like Cr, Zn, Pb, and Cu, increase with pH >9. Amending acid forming coal refuse generally reduced also the EC. Se and Cr from refuse is strongly pH dependent and increase significantly only if the pH level drops to < 3.5 for Cr, and < 3.0 for Se.