Review of Glass-Ceramics Containing Fly Ash
Open Access
- Author:
- Chop, Hannah
- Area of Honors:
- Environmental Systems Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Barbara J Arnold, Thesis Supervisor
Jeremy Michael Gernand, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Coal
- Abstract:
- The combustion of coal produces fly ash, a waste product that contains valuable amounts of silica, alumina, and other oxides. The disposal of fly ash poses economic and environmental challenges due to the toxicity and magnitude of ash produced. To reduce environmental hazards and minimize costs associated with disposal, the various applications of fly ash have been extensively studied. Alternatives to disposal are numerous and include the utilization of fly ash in road construction, cement production, agriculture, and wastewater treatment. Due to expanding coal markets in developing countries, global fly ash production is projected to increase from 400 million tons to 1 billion tons by 2030. This increase will require new utilization methods to mitigate environmental concerns associated with fly ash disposal. Fly ash use as a precursor material in glass ceramics is an under-utilized but promising technique. Glass ceramics are specialized materials with a wide range of possible applications, including armor, biomaterials, thermal shock-resistant bakeware, and tiling. The most common glass ceramics are made from aluminosilicates and transition metal oxide nucleating agents, which are the main components of fly ash. Using fly ash in the manufacture of glass ceramics instead of new materials creates less expensive glass ceramics with lower environmental impacts. This paper is a report on fly ash, glass ceramics, and fly ash-derived glass ceramics written with the purpose of understanding the potential for commercial fly ash glass ceramics.