Managing ash disposal through an innovative process.

Ash disposal from coal-fired power plants, is a critical environmental concern. The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MOEF) in India stipulates 100% ash utilization for all new coal fired power plants from fourth year after commissioning of the plant. MOEF also indicates one of the means of ash utilization is mine stowing. 100% utilization of ash is a tough compliance requirement particularly for a country like India that largely depend on high ash domestic coal for power generation. Tata Consulting Engineers addressed this problem of ash utilization by recommending a long distance ash slurry transportation system through which the slurry was used to fill a mine void. This system is a first of its kind in the ash slurry application for distance of 25 km away from the plant. With this system, the entire ash from the power station can be transported into the mine void in.

The solution manages the ash disposal as per environmental stipulations and additionally serves as an environmentally friendly alternative to using sand to fill the mine void apart from savings in capital and operating expenditures. This system brings a new business opportunity for TCE for managing waste in coal-fired thermal plants.