REVIEW OF LITERATURE Electrostatic precipitation is a well established technique that employs

application of electric field to separate out the Electrostatic precipitation is a well established technique that employs application of electric field to separate out the ` suspended particles (fly ash or dust) from the flue 0- gas ,which comes out of thermal power stations by collecting it in hoppers(Navarrete et al.,1997;Kim and Lee, 1999;Bottner,2003;Ray,2004a;Hanne et al.,2006).Previous studies reveal that The collection efficiency of the ash can be enhanced by resorting to the flue gas conditioning ,FGC, which deals with addition of different types of chemical additives(viz., sulphur trioxide, ammonia, salts of sodium) and sprinkling of water to the flue gas, which alters the resistivity of the fly ash and hence results in increased collection efficiency(Cheremisinoff,1997 ;Brown et el.,1978;19787;

Harker and Pimparkar,1998;ACRL,1998;Alvarez et al.,2000;Ray,2004b) .With ever growing emphasis on the utilization of the fly ash , mainly in the cement and concrete, ceramic and electronic industries, researchers have conducted several studies on characterization of the fly ash from hoppers(Joshi and Lohtia,1997; Bayat 1998; Forner et al. 1999;Sear,2001; Kiattikomal et al. 2001;Singh and Kolay,2002;Pandian,2004;Moreno et al. 2005; Das and Yudhbir, 2006; Vassilev and Vassileva,2007).However ,how these characteristics of the fly ash get

influenced due to the flue gas conditioning, has not yet been investigated in details. With this in the view , an attempt has been made in this study tom chacteririze the fly ash collected at various locations in the electrostatic

precipitator (ESP) unit of a power plant in India.These locations correspond to hopper,bottom portion,collection plate and Induced Draft(ID) fan of the

ESP.Based on extensive investigations,it has been demonstrated that how FGC influences the overall chacteristics of the overall characteristics of the fly ash in the ESP.

Kruperports that the US congress has classified fly ash as the sixth most abundant resource in the United states of America. Israel could sell good quality fly ash, based on imported south African coal, at 20 per tone in 1999. Yet few chemists in south Africa see fly ash as a field of study. Fly ash is a predominantly inorganic residue obtained from the flue gases of furnaces at pulverized coal boilers, the minerals , entrained in the coal , are thermally transformed into chemical species that are reactive or could be chemically activated , for example by the addition of calcium hydroxide . the finely divided glass phase , the predominant phase in fly ash , reacts as a pozzolan , defended by manz as a siliceous and aluminous materials that in it self possesses little or no cementatious value but will , in finely divided from and in the

presence of moisture , chemically react with calcium hydroxide at ordinary temperatures to form compounds possessing cementitious properties. Eskom , a major power utility in the republic of south Africa , is a major producer of fly ash. South Africa fly ash for use as a cement extender is processed and marketed by Ash resources (pty)ltd. Worldwide , the cement industry has almost reached its maximum consumption level of fly ash from the lethabo(a tswana word, which means good living or happiness)power station in the northern free state of the republic of south Africa aims to extend the market for this by-product . The coal in the republic of south Africa is high in ash content, therefore the use of fly ash is an environmentally important issue . Eskom produced approximately 27 megatons of fly ash in 2001 of which only 1.2 megatons were sold much of the research into fly ash focuses on the measurement of trace constructions and the effects of leaching by X-ray fluorescence ,atomic absorption inductively coupled plasmas optical emission spectroscopy.

Another field of study is the surface adsorbed dioxins and other pollutant chemicals. These were no treated in this review. Fly ash can be classified as either cementations or possolanci. The cementations fly ash is labeled as class C, with SIO2+AL2O3+FE2O3 Making up at least 50 mass percent, In pozzolanic fly ash Class F,Sio2+Al2o3Fe2O3 makes more than 10 mass percent of the composition of the fly ash. There are two primary sources of fly ash, flu ash from a pulverized coal power plant and fly ash from a municipal waste incineration plant. This review focuses nonclass fly ash from a pulverized coal power plant.

APPLICATION OF FLY ASH IN AGRICULTURE FIELD Of late ,considerable effort is being expended for restoring ash sites (ash ponds) for two purposes: first, for making available the large areas of cultivable lands near the TPPs, which have been and still are being,useds otherwise for dumping the fly ash, for vegetation purpose; and second, for restoring the ash sites for agricultural use. Although such sites have been used mainly for grazing, focus has been diverted in recent years to grow some Arabic crops and to make use of fly ash in other agriculture related application ,so that the problem of disposal of fly ash is ameliorated on the hand bulk use of fly ash is made in ousting crop yield via improving upon the quality of soils on the other. In this section, an overview of such agriculture related applications of fly ash is presented. Fly ash does contain some essential nutrients which, may be useful for plant growth.fly ash is regarded as an n amorphous ferro-aluminium silicate mineral and it is reported that all the naturally occurring elements are present in it. Which are common to several elements present also in soil, except humous and nitrogen.

The concentrations of trace4 elements in fly bash sample vary from few ppm to 1000 ppm,depending upon the quality of coal and the method of its combustion;however their concentration in fly ash usually higher than in the soil.fly ash has a potentoial in agriculture and related appl;ications,physically fly ash occurs as very particle,hav8ing an average diameter of < 10mm,low to

medium bulk density,high surface area and very light texture.chemically the composition of fly ash varies depending on the quality of coal used and

operatioing conditions of the thermal power stations. Appromaximately on an ad of oxides of ASi,Fe & Ca and about 0.5 to 3.5 % consists of Na,P,K and S and the remain elements .in fact ,fly ash consists of practically all the elements present in soil except organ its was found that this material could be used as an additive/ amendment material in agricultural applications. Some amount of experience was been regarding the effect of fly ash utilization in agriculture & related application.

PROSPECTS OF BULK USE OF FLY ASH IN AGRICULTURE Approximately 260 million tone of coal is consumed per annum by 82 utility thermal power plants(TPPs) in India (2003-04).it constitutes nearly 70% of the total power generation,which in turn ,produced 108 million tone of fly ash per annum.the annual generation of fly ash is projected to exceed 175 million tone per annum by 2010(considering the plants to double the power generation over nest 10 years).this large volume of fly ash occupies large area of land and processes threat to environment. As such,there is an urgent and imperative need to adopt technologies for utilization and safe management of fly ashes on sustainable basis.

Agriculture and waste land management have emerged as prone bulk utilization areas for fly ash in the country. The field demonstration experiments carried out under varied agro-climate conditions and soil types across the country by various R & D Institutes /Universities on the cultivation of different field crops(cereals,pulses,oil

seeds,sugarcane ,vegetables etc.) and forestry species with different doses of fly and pond ash soil modifier/source of economical plant nutrients with and without organic manure bio-fertilizer and chemical fertilizers in respect to corp yield,soil health,quality of crop produce ,uptake of nutrients and toxic heavy metals,ground water quality etc. have revealed the following.

It improves permeability stratus of soil. Improves fertility statues of soil(soil health/crop yield) Improves soil texture Reduces bulk density of soil Improves water holding capacity/porosity Optimizes p H value. Improves soil aeration Reduces crust formation Provides micro nutrients like Fe, Zn,Cu,Mo,B,Mn, etc. Provides micro nutrients like K,P,Ca,Mg,S etc

 Works as a part substitute of gypsum for reclamation of saline alkali soil and time reclamation of Acidic soil. Surface cover of bio reclaimed vegetated ash pond get stabilized and can be used as recreational park. Ash ponds provides suitable conditions and essential nutrients for plant growth,helps improve the economic condition of local inhabitants. Work as a limiting agent. Helps in early maturity of crop Improves the nutritional quality of food crop. Reduces pest incidence Conserves plant nutrients/water Carry over of trace & heavy metal & radioactivity is insignificant.

Crops grown on fly ash amended soil are safe for human consumption & ground water quality is not affected. Keeping the above important finding in view.Pond ash at a dose of 30-50 tones per hectare on one tome basis along with recommended dose of fertilizers/manures is recommended for its use agriculture /forestry sector/wasteland management or cultivation of different

cereals/pulses/oil seeds/vegetables etc.,the repeat application of which can be made after 4-5 years as it would have significant effect on the yield of succeeding crops over a period of 4-5 years.

The abandoned ash ponds in the vicinity of TPPs could also be sahely reclaimed via suitable amendments for forestry/floriculture purposes.

USE OF FLY ASH LAND DEVELOPMENT FOR AGRICULTURE To explore the possibility of using coal ash as soil modifier and nutrients supplier for upgrading soil for its use in agriculture and to improve the productivity, regional research, Bhopal has carried out extensive lab scale and pilot scale experiments. These studies indicate that coal contains micro nutrients and also improves physical and morphological properties of the soil, water retention capacity of soil, together with release of nutrient elements such as Ca, Mg, S, K, P, Cu, and Zn have increased considerably by mixing appropriate quantity of coal ash with soil. The process has been successfully implemented on large scale in various parts of the country such as NTPC, Rihand Nagar (Uttar Pradesh),Nalco, Angul &

Daanjodi (orissa) and MOEB, sarni (Madhya Pradesh) with the financial support by the respective industry and Fly ash Mission, TIFAC,DST, New Delhi. Crops, such as wheat , paddy ,maize sunflower, sugar, sugar cane ,tomato, potato, cabbage, pea, carrot, onion, okara, berseem, aromatic and medicinal plants have been grown in wasteland soil and soil treated with coal ash. These crops were tested to check the consumer acceptability/toxic elements uptake and it was found heavy metal up take are with permissible limits and meet the food quality standards. Usage of coal ash for wasteland development improves the soil fertility, enhances the plant growth, increases the crop yield and saves irrigation water without affecting the food quality.

Suitable for agriculture ,is its texture and the fact that it contains almost all the essential plant nitrogen/although fly ash cannot substitute the need of chemical fertilizers or organic manure these(or in some cases may part substitute their requirement) to the to get additional benefit physical characteristics ,increased yields etc. As in the case with fertilizers and any other agricultural method of fly ash application would vary with the type of soil, the crop to the grown, and the prescribe the type of fly ash available. Although ,fly ash has many benefits as an input materials for agriculture applications, in view(regarding the levels of natural radioactivity in fly ash and/the characteristic presence of so elements in it)there may be some cautions which have to be taken for the time being while information available till now, there appears to be not much ground for concern on these acc etc; however further confirmatory studies at the ICAR centre would be helpful in bringing of

meanwhile there appears to be

sufficient ground now for the cautions and

judicious use of there being wasted underutilized.

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