Mineralogical and chemical composition of magnetic fly ash fraction

Magnetic fractions of coal fly ashes from three power plants were obtained by wet magnetic separation method. Quartz and mullite were the crystalline minerals dominating the nonmagnetic fractions. Magnetic fractions contained magnetite, hematite, and, to a lesser extent, quartz and mullite. Iron speciation by Mossbauer spectroscopy indicated the presence of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in aluminosilicate glass in magnetic fractions apart from magnetite and hematite. Chemical analyses revealed that magnetic fractions had about 2.5 times higher concentrations of Co and one to two times higher concentrations of Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, and Cd. The dominant magnetic minerals were ferrimagnetic, and multi domain and stable single domain grains contributed mainly to the magnetic enhancement of fly ash samples.