SREL Reprint #1763
Leachability of Ni, Cd, Cr, and As from coal ash impoundments of different ages on the Savannah River Site
S. S. Sandhu1, G. L. Mills2, and K. S. Sajwan3
1Claflin College, Orangeburg, SC
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC
3Savannah State College, Savannah, GA
Abstract: This study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the leachability of Cd, Ni, Cr, and As in ash disposal basins of different ages located at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Savannah River Site. Intact ash cores were removed from the basins and leached in two successive pulses with solutions of varying pH and redox status. The leaching under all of the experimental conditions resulted in the slow release of metals from the ashes. Nickel was the most mobile and Cd was the least mobile. All of the metals examined were released in the highest amounts by leaching under reducing conditions in cores from both the new and old ash disposal sites. The amount of metal released was kinetically controlled under the leaching used. Although the amount of metal released from cores from the new basins was typically greater than those from the old, measurable amounts of metal continued to be released from the old basin-ash cores even after weathering for over 10 years.
SREL Reprint #1763
Sandhu, S. S., G. L. Mills, and K. S. Sajwan. 1993. Leachability of Ni, Cd, Cr, and As from coal ash impoundments of different ages on the Savannah River Site. pp. 165-182 In: R. F. Keefer and K. S. Sajwan. (Eds.). Trace Elements in Coal and Coal Combustion Residues. Lewis Publishers, Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).