SREL Reprint #2496

Beneficial uses of flue gas desulfurization by-products: examples and case studies of land application

Warren A. Dick1, Yueli Hao1, Richard C. Stehouwer2, Jerry M. Bigham3, William E. Wolfe3, Domy Adriano4,
Joel H. Beeghly5, and Ralph J. Haefner6

1Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio
2Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
3Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
4University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina
5Dravo Lime Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
6U.S. Geological Survey, Columbus, Ohio

Summary: Much larger amounts of coal combustion by-producls (CCBs) of the FGD type are created each year than used. Yet if their properties are properly exploited, CCBs can provide many economic benefits to both producers and end-users. The key to a successful beneficial use program is knowing the properties than can be utilized, understanding the regulatory restraints to their use, and then to work effectively within these restraints.
This chapter summarizes some of the properties that provide economic value to FGD and also some of the properties that must be carefully considered before land application uses can move forward. Case studies present examples of how FGD can be successfully used as a commercial product. Use ofCCBs (including FGD by-products) in agriculture, coal extraction and processing, as an engineering or construction material, and for other less developed uses, demonstrate the value of the these materials.
What is needed next is education of the general public of the benefits of using these by-products, an acceptance by regulatory agencies that CCBs are just as safe as other commonly used land application products (e.g., mineral fertilizers, limestone, various lypes of composts), and the creation of companies or commercial partnerships that focus on the development and marketing of products derived from CCBs.

SREL Reprint #2496

Dick, W. A., Y. Hao, R. C. Stehouwer, J. M. Bigham, W. E. Wolfe, D. C. Adriano, J. H. Beeghly, and R. J. Haefner. 2000. Beneficial uses of flue gas desulfurization by-products: examples and case studies of land application. pp. 505-535 In: Land Application of Agricultural, Industrial, and Municipal By-Products. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).