Environ. Sci. Technol.
2004, 38, 6710-6715
Characterizing the Metal Adsorption
Capability of a Class F Coal Fly Ash
J I A N M I N W A N G , * ,† X I N J U N T E N G , ‡
HAO WANG,‡ AND HENG BAN‡
Department of Civil, Architectural & Environmental
Engineering, University of MissourisRolla,
Rolla, Missouri 65409, and School of Engineering, University
of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294
The surface physical-chemical characteristics of a class
F coal fly ash were studied in an effort to establish a
quantitative understanding of metal adsorption. The ash
surface acidity (acid site density and acidity constant), surface
electrical characteristics, and adsorption constants for
selected heavy metal ions were determined using a batch
titration method, an electrophoretic method, and a batch
equilibrium metal adsorption method, respectively. Results
showed that the fly ash has a pHzpc value of 6.2. Its
surface contains three types of acid sites. The densities
of these acid sites are 2.1 × 10-4, 1.8 × 10-5, and 5.3 × 10-5
mol/g, with acidity constants (pKH) of 2.7, 7.8, and 11.0,
respectively. Metal adsorption results indicated that, of the
three types of acid sites on surface, only the acid site
with 7.8 pKH is responsible for metal adsorption. The adsorption
constants (log KS) of Cd(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), and
Pb(II) are 4.8, 7.0, 6.4, 4.9, and 8.6, respectively. Adsorption
results indicated that the metal adsorption is in the
linear range of the Langmuir isotherm if the total metal in
the system is less than 10% of the total metal binding
site. Results also showed that the presence of anionic metal
ions does not affect the adsorption of cationic metal
ions by the fly ash.
Introduction
According to a survey conducted by the American Coal Ash
Association (ACAA), U.S. electric utilities generated 128.7
million tons of coal combustion byproducts (CCBs) in 2002.
Fly ash was the largest individual category with 2002
production estimated at 76.5 million tons (1). Approximately
one-third of the fly ash was reused in cement and concrete,
structural fill, waste stabilization, road base stabilization, etc.,
while the rest was disposed in landfills or impoundments.
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C618
specifies two types of fly ash, class F ash and class C ash, for
use as a pozzolan or mineral admixture in concrete. Class
F ash is normally produced from burning anthracite or
bituminous coal. Class C ash is normally produced from
burning lignite or subbituminous coal. Class F fly ash contains
more silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, and iron oxide (SiO2
+ Al2O3 + Fe2O3) and less calcium than class C fly ash.
Leaching of heavy metals from fly ash is a potential
concern during ash disposal and beneficial use. Previous
* Corresponding author phone: (573)341-7503; fax: (573)341-4729;
e-mail: wangjia@umr.edu.
† Department of Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering,
University of Missouri-Rolla.
‡ School of Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
6710 9 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / VOL. 38, NO. 24, 2004
studies showed that trace elements and metals such as Sb,
As, Ba, B, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Mg, Hg, Ni, Se, Ag, and Zn could
be leached out from fly ash, resulting in potential surface
water, groundwater, and soil contamination (2-5). It was
also reported that As, Mn, and Mo concentrations in the
leachate from an India subbituminous coal fly ash were higher
than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended
value for drinking water; the concentrations of Fe, Mn, and
As exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations pre-
scribed by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (U.S. EPA) (6). However, the leaching of Cd, Co, Cr,
Ni, Cu, and Pb from the same ash was insignificant (6). The
pH significantly affects the leaching of heavy metals. Low
pH favors the leaching of metal cations, including Ag, Cd, Cr,
Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn, from fly ashes (4, 7-11). For many coal
fly ashes, cationic metal ions are released in very low
quantities due to the alkaline nature of the ashes (12). At
high pH, precipitation occurs resulting in complete removal
of Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II), and Pb(II) (13). Under certain
conditions, fly ash can be used as adsorbent to remove heavy
metals, including Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, and Ag, from wastewater
(9, 14). Previous research also indicated that the effectiveness
of fly ash as an adsorbent improved with an increase of
calcium content (9, 15). Cr, As, and Hg can also be effectively
adsorbed by some fly ashes under certain conditions (10, 16,
17).
Carbon content in fly ash also plays a very important role
on metal adsorption. Previous studies indicated that the
carbon has significantly higher specific surface area and Cu-
(II) adsorption capacity than the mineral fraction (8). Research
has also indicated that the mercury content in unburned
carbon is significantly higher than the mineral fractions, and
the unburned carbons have equal or better adsorption
capacity for elemental mercury as compared with some
general purpose commercial activated carbons at low gas-
phase mercury concentration (18). It is speculated that the
oxygen-containing functional groups may have an important
role on mercury adsorption (19).
The leaching (or extraction) of heavy metals from fly ash
is mostly governed by adsorption/desorption and/or dis-
solution. Our previous leaching studies for raw ash indicated
that the equilibrium concentrations of heavy metals including
Cd(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) in solution are far
below the saturation concentration (20). Therefore, the
leaching of these metal ions is mostly governed by the
adsorption-desorption mechanism. The surface physical-
chemical characteristics of fly ash (such as surface site
densities, acidity constants, surface electrical characteristics,
specific surface area, metal binding capacities, and metal
binding strengths), in conjunction with pH condition, govern
the metal partitioning in the fly ash. However, the metal
adsorption-desorption fundamentals have not been studied
sufficiently in the past for coal fly ash. Commonly the specific
surface area (BET area) of fly ash is characterized, which
ranges from less than 1 m2/g to dozens of m2/g, depending
on the carbon content (8). Other surface characteristics
relevant to metal adsorption, such as metal binding site
densities and acidity constants, have not been quantified.
The overall goal of this research was to establish a
quantitative description of cationic metal ion adsorption by
fly ash based on the surface characterization and metal
adsorption studies. The specific objectives of this study were
to determine the relevant surface properties and metal
adsorption constants of a class F fly ash, and to examine and
demonstrate the relationship between the surface charac-
teristics and metal adsorption. Laboratory experiments and
10.1021/es049544h CCC: $27.50  2004 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 11/16/2004
theoretical modeling were performed. The result of this study
can be used for the fundamental understanding and quan-
titative description of metal partitioning in fly ash.
Theoretical Aspects
Ash Surface Acidity. Ash surface sites can be treated as weak
monoprotonic acids. A batch equilibrium acidimetric-
alkalimetric titration method developed by Wang et al. (21)
was used to determine the ash surface acidity, namely, acid
site densities and acidity constants.
If the surface only contains one type of acid site, the
following equation can be used to express the relationship
between the net acid/base consumption and the resulting
solution pH (21):
{ }
V0STKH
1 1
∆VSS ) - (1)
C [H+] + KH [H+]0 + KH
where ∆VSS is the net volume of stock acid/base (negative
value for acid) solution consumed by surface sites (mL); V0
is the total volume of the ash solution (mL); ST is the total
surface site concentration (M); KH is the acidity constant
(M); C is the concentration of the acid/base stock solution
(M); and [H+]0 is the hydrogen ion concentration of the control
unit (without acid or base addition) (M). Note that the total
surface site concentration ST ) Γm × SS, where Γm is the
surface site density (mol/g-SS), and SS is the solids con-
centration (g/L).
If the surface contains multiple (n) types of acid sites, the
relationship between acid/base consumption and the solu-
tion pH can be expressed as:
{ }
V0STiKHi 1 1
∆VSS ) ∑ -
i)1-n C +
[H ] + KHi +
[H ]0 + KHi
where STi is the total acid site concentration of species i (M)
and KHi is the acidity constant (M).
For a clean ash sample washed with distilled water five
times, it is assumed that there are no carbon dioxide or other
soluble acid- or base-consuming agents in the system. The
net volume of stock acid/base solution consumed by surface
sites under a certain pH condition, ∆VSS, can be calculated
using the following equation:
∆VSS ) ∆Voverall - ∆Vwater
where ∆Voverall is the total volume of acid or base added during
titration (mL) and ∆Vwater is the volume of acid or base used
for changing the pH of water for the same initial pH condition
(mL). ∆Vwater for a certain pH is determined based on the
∆Vwater-pH curve, and the ∆Vwater-pH curve is determined
by a titration experiment using a water sample that has the
same ionic strength as that in ash leachate samples.
Metal Partitioning. Assuming that only free metal ions
are present in the system and that only one type of acid site
is responsible for the metal adsorption, the modified Lang-
muir model that considers the pH effect on metal adsorption
can be expressed as (22):
RHKSST[M2+]
{SOM+} )
1 + RHKS[M2+]
where {SOM+} is the adsorbed metal concentration (M); KS
is the adsorption constant (M-1); RH is the ratio of free surface
site concentration to the total nonmetal-complexed surface
site concentration, RH ) KH/{[H+] + KH}; and [M2+] is the
free metal ion concentration (M).
The metal partitioning or the ratio of metal concentration
in the solid phase to the total metal concentration in the
system (R) can be expressed as:
{SOM+} {SOM+}
R) ) (5)
MT {SOM+} + [M2+]
Integrating eqs 4 and 5, one gets:
RHKSST
R) (6)
1 + RHKSST + RHKS[M2+]
Equation 6 is a general model that can be used to describe
metal partitioning under different metal loading and different
pH conditions.
Under low metal loading conditions, the metal adsorption
is in the linear range of the Langmuir isotherm. The metal
partitioning equation can be simplified to
RHKSST
R) (7)
1 + RHKSST
or
KHKSΓmSS
R) (8)
KHKSΓmSS + [H+] + KH
Equation 8 shows that, under low metal loading conditions,
metal partitioning is independent of the initial metal
concentration or the total metal loading of the system.
From eq 7, it is easy to derive the metal partitioning
equation for a system that contains multiple surface sites
provided that the metal adsorption is in the linear range of
the Langmuir isotherm:
(2)
∑R
i)1-n
HiKSiSTi
R) (9)
1+ ∑
i)1-n
RHiKSiSTi
where RHi, KSi, and STi are respectively the ratio of the free
surface sites to total sites, metal adsorption constant, and
total site concentration for type i surface site.
Materials and Methods
(3) Ash Sample and Preparation. A class F fly ash generated
from a full-scale power-generating unit burning medium
sulfur eastern bituminous coal was used in the experiment.
The ash was collected at the electrostatic precipitator (ESP).
This plant injects ammonia as a flue gas conditioner to
improve ESP performance, which resulted in an ash with an
ammonia concentration of approximately 150 ppm (by
weight). The ash has the BET surface area of 2.6 m2/g, carbon
content of 3.6%, and loss on ignition (LOI) of 4.3%.
Before performing adsorption experiments, soluble ma-
terials including metals were removed from the ash through
a washing process using distilled and deionized water (DD
water). The solids/liquid (S/L) ratio used for washing was
1:5. Air was used to mix the sample during the washing
process. After 10 h of aeration, the air supply was stopped,
(4) and the sample was settled. After 2 h of settling, the
supernatant was decanted. The procedure was repeated a
total of five times. The sample was then heated at 105 °C in
an oven until completely dried (usually 24 h). The dried
sample was sieved with a 200-mesh sieve (75 µm openings),
then mixed, and stored in an airtight container. Through
this washing process a relatively clean solids surface was
obtained.
Batch Titration. Surface site densities and acidity con-
stants of the fly ash were determined through a batch
VOL. 38, NO. 24, 2004 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 9 6711
acidimetric-alkalimetric titration method. Three S/L ratioss
1/20, 1/10, and 1/5swere used. The procedure was similar
to that described in Wang et al. (21), except that the ash mass
was weighed individually for each 125-mL polyethylene
bottle. For example, for the set of experiments with S/L ratio
of 1:10, 10.00 g of ash and 100.0 mL of water solution
containing 0.01 M NaNO3 were added to each of the bottles.
Different amounts of 1 M (or 10 M) standard acid or base
stock solution were added to different bottles to obtain a
desired pH distribution in the pH range from 2 to 12. One
bottle was used as a control unit, and its pH was not adjusted.
After 24 h of shaking under closed conditions, the final pH
values of the mixtures were measured, and the relationship
between the pH and the volume of acid/base addition was
plotted. By subtracting the acid/base consumed by water
solution with the same ionic strength for the same pH
condition, the net titration curve (the relationship between FIGURE 1. Net titration results for the fly ash under three S/L ratios.
the equilibrium pH and the net acid/base consumed by ash) Experimental conditions: ionic strength ) 0.01 M (NaNO3),
was plotted. Equation 2 was fit to the net titration curve by temperature ) 20-25 °C; equilibration time ) 24 h.
assuming that the surface contains one or more types of acid
sites. For the best fit scenario, the acid site concentrations
and their corresponding acidity constants were recorded.
Equilibrium Metal Adsorption Experiments. The metal
adsorption behavior of the fly ash was investigated using
batch equilibrium experiments. The experiment was con-
ducted in both single- and multi-metal systems. The pro-
cedure was as follows: First, 10.00 g fly ash samples were
added to each of several 125-mL bottles. There were five
groups of bottles corresponding to the five initial metal
concentrations to be tested. Each group had 14 sample bottles
and one blank (no fly ash added). Then, 100.0 mL of water
that contained 0.01 M of NaNO3 and a desired concentration
of heavy metals were added to all bottles, including the blank
(NaNO3 was used to adjust the ion strength). All bottles in
the same group had the same initial metal concentration.
The pH value in each group of bottles was adjusted with FIGURE 2. Relationship of total surface site concentration and solids
nitric acid (HNO3) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to a desired concentration for the fly ash.
pH distribution in the pH range from 2 to 12. No acid or base
was added to the blank. The bottles were tightly sealed and slopes of the plots are densities of acid sites. For acid sites
placed on a mechanical shaker for 24 h at 230 rpm. After R, β, and γ, their densities are respectively 2.1 × 10-4, 1.8 ×
being shaken, 20 mL of the solution was filtered through a 10-5, and 5.3 × 10-5 mol/g. The average acidity constants
0.45-µm membrane syringe filter, and acidified. Dissolved (pKH) for these acid sites are respectively 2.7, 7.8, and 11.0.
metal concentrations were measured. The final pH values
were measured on the samples left in the bottles. Commonly, the acidity constants (pKH) of metal oxides
Chemical Analyses. An atomic absorption spectrometer range from 6 to 10 (23). Since the class F ash is mainly
(AAnalyst 800, Perkin-Elmer Corp., Norwalk, CT) was used composed of SiO2 and Al2O3, site β, which has the acidity
to determine heavy metal concentrations in the solutions. constant (pKH) of 7.8, is likely to be the main metal adsorption
An Orion Ross pH electrode was used to measure pH. A site on ash surface. Since site γ has a very high acidity constant
Zetasizer 3000 (Malvern Instruments, Worcestershire, UK) (pKH ) 11.0), it would not normally participate in the metal
was used to determine the surface electric characteristics. adsorption reaction since most cationic heavy metal ions
Data Analyses. Kaleidagraph (Synergy Software, Reading, form negatively charged metal-hydroxide complexes when
PA), a software that has the ability to perform nonlinear pH is close to or greater than 11. The metal-hydroxide
regression, was used to fit ash titration curves to determine complexes are not adsorbable by negatively charged free
ash surface acidity and to fit the metal adsorption data to surface sites.
determine metal adsorption constants. Surface Site Speciation. Figure 3 plots the ζ-potential as
a function of pH for the fly ash. ζ-potential is the potential
Results and Discussion difference between the plane of shear (the layer in which
Surface Acidity. Figure 1 shows the net titration results for ions move with the particle) and the bulk phase. It reflects
the fly ash under three S/L ratioss1/20, 1/10, and 1/5. By the surface electrical characteristics of the fly ash. The pHzpc
fitting the titration curves using eq 2, the total site densities is the pH at which the surface charge, surface potential, and
and acidity constants of the fly ash were determined. The ζ-potential are zero. If the solution pH is less than pHzpc, the
best curve fitting results were based on the three-site ash surface is positively charged. Otherwise the surface is
assumption, as indicated by smooth curves in Figure 1. negatively charged. Figure 3 shows that the pHzpc value of
Therefore, we conclude that the ash surface contains three the fly ash sample is 6.2. When pH is greater than 6.2, the
types of acid sites, denoted as sites R, β, and γ. The surface is negatively charged.
concentrations of these acid sites and their acidity constants As indicated earlier, the pKH for the site β is 7.8. This
were also given by the model. Figure 2 plots the acid site means that when the solution pH is 7.8, 50% of site β is
concentration as a function of ash concentration for the three deprotonated. Therefore, the pHzpc of 6.2 is a result of the
types of acid sites. The figure shows that the surface site deprotonation of the site β, and the deprotonated form of
concentration is linearly related to ash concentration. The the site β is negatively charged.

6712 9 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / VOL. 38, NO. 24, 2004

FIGURE 3. ζ-potential of the fly ash. Ionic strength ) 0.01 M (NaCl).
FIGURE 4. Surface site speciation for a system containing 100 g/L
of fly ash.
FIGURE 5. Adsorption of Cd(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) onto
fly ash as a function of pH. Experimental conditions: initial metal
concentrations ) 5 mg/L; S/L ) 1:10; ionic strength ) 0.01 M (NaNO3);
temperature ) 20-25 °C; equilibration time ) 24 h.
Since the surface is already positively charged when pH
is less than 6.2, the site R, which has the pKH value of 2.7,
could be in the positively charged form if it is protonated.
The release of a proton results in a surface site that is neutrally
charged. Since the deprotonated form of this acid site is not
negatively charged, the R sites do not adsorb cationic metal
ions. Figure 4 shows the surface site speciation for a system
containing 100 g/L of the fly ash.
Metal Adsorption Characteristics. Figure 5 shows the
percentage of metal adsorption for Cu(II), Cd(II), Cr(III), Ni-
(II), and Pb(II) onto fly ash as a function of pH in single-
metal systems. The initial metal concentrations in this
experiment are in the range of 5 mg/L. Results indicate that
for all metal ions investigated, the metal adsorption increases
with the increase of pH. Results also show that Pb(II) is most
TABLE 1. Adsorption Constants of Cd(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and
Pb(II) for the Fly Ash
correlation
metal log KS coefficient
Cd(II) 4.8 0.998
Cr(III) 7.0 0.996
Cu(II) 6.1 0.996
Ni(II) 4.9 0.944
Pb(II) 8.6 0.983
easily adsorbed by fly ash. At pH 3, over 90% of Pb(II) is
adsorbed while less than 10% of Cu(II) is adsorbed, and Ni-
(II) and Cd(II) are not adsorbed at all. Cd(II) and Ni(II) are
adsorbed when pH is greater than 4 and are nearly completely
removed from the solution at pH greater than 8. Since the
removal of all metal ions is significantly dependent on the
pH, it is unlikely that ion exchange with calcium plays a
significant role in removing these metals.
Both eq 8 (for single type of surface site) and eq 9 (for
multiple types of surface sites) were used to fit the metal
adsorption data. In neutral and low pH range, adsorption of
the free metal ion is the only mechanism for metal adsorption
because the formation of metal-hydroxide complexes is not
significant. Site γ is not considered in modeling because it
does not participate in the metal adsorption reaction in the
experimental pH conditions due to its high pKH. Therefore,
only site R and site β are considered during curve fitting
using eq 9. Curve fitting results indicate that, for all metal
ions studied, the adsorption constants for site R are negligible
as compared to those for site β; the adsorption constants for
site β determined using both eqs 8 and 9 are essentially the
same. Based on this result and the surface site speciation
information, it can be concluded that site β is the only type
of surface site that contributes to metal adsorption for this
fly ash. Table 1 shows the metal adsorption constants of
these metal ions and the correlation coefficient for the curve
fittings using eq 8. It shows that adsorption constants of
these metals decreases in the following order: Pb(II) > Cr-
(III) > Cu(II) > Cd(II) ≈ Ni(II). It is apparent that surface site
density and acidity constant are key parameters for metal
adsorption modeling. The information on site density and
acidity constant enables the determination of the type of
surface site responsible for metal adsorption and the metal
adsorption constants. In addition, the surface electrical
characteristic data provide supplemental information in
understanding the surface site speciation under certain pH
conditions and in determining which site could possibly be
involved in the metal adsorption reaction.
Effect of Metal Loading on Adsorption. Effect of metal
loading on adsorption was investigated using Ni(II). Batch
equilibrium metal uptake experiments under different pH
and metal loading conditions were conducted. Figure 6 shows
experimental data (points) and model predicted results
(smooth curves) for initial Ni(II) concentrations of 1.0, 5.0,
10, 50, and 100 mg/L. The model prediction was essentially
based on eq 6, which was modified to reflect the metal
partitioning as a function of total initial metal concentration
rather than the dissolved metal concentration. The modified
form of eq 6 can be written as:
x( )
MT 1 MT 1 2 4MT
1+ + - 1+ + -
ST RHKSST ST RHKSST ST
R)
2MT
ST
(10)
where MT is the total metal concentration (M).
VOL. 38, NO. 24, 2004 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 9 6713

FIGURE 6. Ni(II) adsorption by the fly ash under five metal loading
conditions. Experimental conditions: Ni concentrations ) 1, 5, 10,
50, and100 mg/L; ionic strength ) 0.05 M (NaClO4); temperature )
20-25 °C; equilibration time ) 24 h.
Previously determined parameters including ash metal
binding site density, acidity constant, and Ni(II) adsorption
constant were used in eq 10 for Ni(II) partitioning prediction.
It can be seen that experimental results and model predictions
are in good agreement with each other for all initial metal
concentrations. Results also indicate that when the initial
metal concentrations are less than 10 mg/L, the metal
adsorption curves overlap, which indicates that the Ni(II)
adsorption is in the linear range of Langmuir isotherm. It
can be calculated that if all 10 mg/L Ni(II) is adsorbed by site
β, the metal-surface complex occupies less than 10% of the
total site β. Results also show that for higher initial Ni(II)
concentrations (50 and 100 mg/L), the percentage of Ni(II)
adsorption under the same pH condition decreases signifi-
cantly with the increase of Ni(II) concentration; therefore,
the “linear range” assumption is no longer valid.
This research indicates that the metal adsorption constant
determined under low metal loading conditions using the
FIGURE 7. Metal adsorption as a function of pH in single- and multi-metal systems: (a) Cu(II), (b) Cd(II), (c) Ni(II).
6714 9 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / VOL. 38, NO. 24, 2004
simplified model (eq 8) is valid for the prediction of metal
adsorption under high metal loading conditions as long as
the general form of the metal partitioning equation (eq 10)
is used for metal partitioning prediction. Therefore, the efforts
needed to determine metal adsorption constant can be greatly
simplified if experiments are conducted under low metal
loading conditions. Using a similar approach, the pH-
independent metal adsorption constants for other metal ions
can be determined and used to predict the adsorption
behavior of these metals under broader metal loading
conditions.
Effects of Other Metals on Metal Adsorption. Metal
adsorption experiments were conducted under single-metal,
4-metal, and 7-metal systems to determine the impacts of
other metals on metal adsorption. The 4-metal system
contained 5 mg/L each of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II).
The 7-metal system contained the same amount of Cd(II),
Cu(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II) as the 4-metal system plus three
anionic metals: 5 mg/L of Cr(VI), 5 mg/L of Se(VI), and 10
mg/L of As(V). Figure 7 shows the metal adsorption behavior
for the fly ash in these systems.
Figure 7a indicates that the presence of other metals does
not affect Cu(II) adsorption. This is because other metals,
with the exception of Pb(II), have smaller adsorption
constants and could not compete with Cu(II) for adsorption
sites. Although Pb(II) can compete with Cu(II) for surface
sites, its concentration is so low (5 mg/L) that its adsorption
is not significant enough to affect the Cu(II) adsorption
capacity of surface sites. Therefore, the adsorption of Cu(II)
is in the linear range of the Langmuir isotherm even after all
Pb(II) is adsorbed. Figure 7b,c shows that the adsorption of
Cd(II) and Ni(II) is affected by the presence of other metals.
This is because the Pb(II) and Cu(II) in the metal mixtures
are more easily adsorbed by the ash surface site, which
reduces the adsorption capacity for Cd(II) and Ni(II).
Moreover, Cd(II) and Ni(II) have similar adsorption behavior
and compete with each other almost equally for surface sites.
Figure 7 also shows that the two kinds of adsorption curves
obtained under 4- and 7-metal systems for all cationic metals
are the same, indicating that the anionic metals do not affect
the adsorption of cationic metals.
Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by the Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI) (EPRI PID043352). Assistance from
Ken Ladwig, Project Manager at EPRI, was greatly appreciated.
The authors also thank Dr. C. P. Huang, Distinguished
Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of
Delaware, for his assistance in determining the electrical
characteristics of fly ashes. Conclusions and statements made
in this paper are those of the authors, and in no way reflect
the endorsement of the funding agency.
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Received for review March 25, 2004. Revised manuscript
received July 22, 2004. Accepted October 4, 2004.
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