The use of fly ash in mine tailings and acid mine drainage management

The paper is concerned with the results of a laboratory investigation conducted for the purpose of assessing the possibility of immobilizing heavy metals using fly ash from coal-fired power stations. Experiments have been carried out in reactors on solutions containing heavy metals, singly or in combination, admixing as received fly ash or a pre-screened size fraction. Moreover a parallel investigation has been carried out in plexiglass columns, containing respectively a sample of flotation tailings and a mixture of the same material and fly-ash. Results obtained so far show the potential of fly ash for immobilisation of heavy metals.