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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The leaching of fly ash from eastern U.S. coals with strong mineral acid is the initial step in a series of potential processes for producing useful and marketable materials from the ash. This initial leaching step removes most, or all, of the more soluble (generally amorphous) materials from the ash and leaves an inert residue, believed to be mostly mullite and silica. Chemical analyses of the leachate and the residual inert materials indicate the original distribution of the trace elements in the phases. Significant differences in crystallography, composition and leaching behavior have been noted in ash samples from coals from various regions, of various types, and sometimes even in ash samples from the same or similar coals. Trace element analyses of fly ash leachates provide a useful means of studying coal characteristics and of determining how the trace elements are incorporated in various types of fly ashes.