Investigation on the use of value-added pond ash as a construction material

Campus Plus is celebrating another Australian Government Department of Education National Industry PhD Program PhD project that brings together University of Southern Queensland‘s School of Engineering’s Associate Professor Weena Lokuge, PhD candidate @Greg Van Rooyen and BG&E‘s Daksh Baweja to explore the use of value-added pond ash as a construction material.

Australia produced 265,232 GWh of electricity in 2020 of which 54% was produced using approximately 87 megatons of coal, leaving behind a by-product of 12 megatons of coal combustion products (CCPs). Only 19% of CCP was used leaving 10 megatons of this CCP in ash ponds. It is estimated that there is over 400 Mt of CCPs stored in ash repositories across Australia. These ash repositories are mostly unlined and have the potential to significantly impact environment and community health such as air-borne dust, groundwater contamination, community safety, and degradation of flora and fauna. This project will look for ways to use this ash in the construction sector as a material in concrete production to help reduce carbon emissions.