Physical, chemical, mineralogical, and thermal properties of cenospheres from an ash lagoon

A small percentage of the particles, present in the pulverized coal ash, consists of thin-walled hollow spheres or cenospheres. Their quantity depends on the carbon and iron contents present in the ash. The apparent density of these cenospheres is less than that of water and as such, they float on the ash slurry when it is impounded in the ash ponds or lagoons. Cenospheres are being used in different industrial applications, mainly due to their low density, high strength, and good thermal properties. However. it is important and mandatory to study and characterize these ash particles for a better and effective usage. As such, an effort. has been made in this paper to study physico-chemico-mineralogical and thermal properties of the cenospheres obtained from an ash lagoon. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.