Chemical Speciation and Leaching Behavior of Hazardous Trace Elements in Coal Combustion Products from Coal-Fired Power Stations in China

[Image: see text] This paper reports on the chemical speciation and leaching behavior of a selected group of hazardous trace pollutants in lignite and lignite-petcoke blend co-combustion products from three power stations in China. The evaluation of speciation results showed that, during combustion, oxidizable elements, mainly As and Mo, bound to organic matter and sulfides in coals were mostly transferred to easily water-soluble forms or to slightly acidic states in the ashes. This manner was the most readily bioavailable condition for such an environment. The evaluation of the leaching results shows that the use of petroleum coke as co-fuel has an impact on the ash composition and on the leaching behavior of some inorganic trace pollutants such as Mo and V. The leaching results compared to the European waste acceptance criteria for landfills reveal that the Mo and As’ leaching yield brand the coal combustion products as materials that necessitate preventative measures to reduce their potential leaching. Future work will be focused on the application of our novel chemical stabilization method to these coal ashes to reduce the mobility of elements such as Mo and As, and other potentially leachable elements, and on the use of the resulting ash with aggregate products as a substitute for concrete production.