Issuu

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 12 Issue:10 | Oct 2025

p-ISSN: 2395-0072

www.irjet.net

Impact of Fly Ash Slurry on Water Quality of Rihand Dam N Janakiraman1 and Neelam Phougat2 1-2Central Soil and Materials Research Station,

Olof Palme Marg, Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 110016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract - In coal-fired power stations, substantial amounts

course of the river Ganga, Sone and Gandak before merging in the ocean.

of fly ash is produced, which is a significant anthropogenic source of heavy metals and arsenic. Living near ash ponds and drinking or inhaling these toxicants increases the risk of cancer and many other health problems. Excessive amounts of heavy metals and arsenic over permissible levels have also been reported in the soil and water near these sites. Arsenic and other toxic components of fly ash get leached from disposal sites to surface waterways such as rivers, streams, and wetlands and into underground water supplies or aquifers and adversely affect water quality. The Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rule was designed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect the groundwater from contamination and motivate researchers to keep learning safe ways to reuse fly ash. Rihand Dam is a concrete gravity dam constructed on the Rihand River located in Sonbhadra District in UP, India. Thermal power plants and chemical factories near the periphery of the reservoir discharge ash slurry and pollutants regularly into the reservoir. This study pertained to assessing the effect of fly ash slurry discharged by thermal power plants situated along the periphery of Rihand dam. Central Soil and Materials Research Station (CSMRS) monitors water quality and pollution studies at the Rihand reservoir.

Because of the continuing use of coal-fired power stations, coal ash disposal is a worldwide problem. On combustion of coal, coal ash is produced which consist of fly ash (fine powdery particles) and bottom ash (coarser materials). Coal ash contains arsenic and many metals including some toxic heavy metals such as, mercury, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, nickel [1-3]. The concentrations of As and other metals in fly ash tend to increase as particle size of fly ash decreases. Smaller particles of fly ash have greater impacts on biological systems because they escape emission-control devices and travel through air. Coal isn’t a toxic material but coal ash is dangerously toxic to human health. Coal ash is generally disposed in dry landfills, dumped in abandoned mines as fill, recycled in agricultural and engineering applications or mixed with water and disposed in ponds (wet ash ponds) [4]. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of USA has found that living near ash ponds or eating, drinking or inhaling these toxicants increases the risk of cancer, heart damage, lung disease, kidney disease, birth defects, cognitive deficits, developmental delays, reproductive problems, gastrointestinal illness, etc. Most dangerous pollutant from coal ash is Arsenic. If you are getting drinking water from a well near an unlined wet ash pond your chances of getting cancer from drinking arsenic-contaminated water is as high as 1 in 50 because excessive amounts of arsenic over permissible levels have been reported in the soil and water near these sites [5]. In Faridabad, due to fly ash dumped by thermal power plant, people in sector 49 and nearby areas are having breathing problem [6].

Testing of water from Rihand dam is undertaken periodically for pollution assessment. Elemental analysis of reservoir water samples shows the presence of heavy metals. Arsenic and mercury beyond permissible levels were observed at a few locations. Some samples show higher conductivity and Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) values, which indicated higher soluble salt content due to fly ash slurry and chemical effluents, respectively. The harmful effects of fly ash and safe ways of disposal of fly ash are suggested in this paper. Effluents from peripheral thermal power plants and chemical industries may be controlled as per the statutory regulations.

When coal ash comes into contact with water, its toxic constituent dissolve out of the ash and percolate. In coal ash, arsenic is highly leachable as it occurs as a surface precipitate. Arsenic and other toxic component of coal ash get leached from disposal sites to surface waterways such as rivers, streams and wetlands and into underground water supplies or aquifers and adversely affects water quality [7, 8]. Many factors such as pH, reducing or oxidizing conditions, leaching time, temperature etc. strongly influence leaching of arsenic from coal ash.

Key Words: Fly Ash Slurry, Rihand dam, Water Quality, Arsenic, Mercury, Coal Combustion, Environmental Protection Agency.

1. INTRODUCTION Rihand Dam is a concrete gravity dam, constructed on the Rihand River, a tributary of Son River, located at Pipri in Sonbhadra District in UP, India, during the period 1954-62. The catchment area of this dam is spread in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, whereas it supplies irrigation water to Bihar which is located in the downstream of the river. The water of this project passes through the

Impact Factor value: 8.315

Mercury is regarded as one of the most hazardous substances that can bio accumulate in food chain. Mercury is frequently found in the crustal rocks of the earth and in coal

ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal

Page 725