Fly ash from three coal-burning power plants in Bulgaria: 'Maritza 3', 'Republika' and 'Rousse East' were subjected to wet low-intensity magnetic separation. The tests were performed at different combinations of magnetic field intensity, flow velocity and diameter of matrix elements. It was found that all parameters investigated affected the separation efficiency, but their influence was interlinked and was determined by the properties of the material and the combination of other conditions. Among the fly ash characteristics, the most important parameters, determining the magnetic separation applicability, were mineralogical composition and distribution of minerals in particles. The main factors limiting the process were the presence of paramagnetic Fe-containing mineral and amorphous matter, and the existence of poly-mineral particles and aggregates of magnetic and non-magnetic particles. It was demonstrated that the negative effect of both factors could be considerably limited by the selection of a proper set of separation conditions. The dependences between concentration of ferromagnetic iron in the ash, their magnetic properties and magnetic fraction yields were studied. It was experimentally proved that, for a certain set of separation conditions, the yields of magnetic fractions were directly proportional to the saturation magnetization of the ferromagnetic components of the ash. The main properties of typical magnetic and non-magnetic fractions were studied.

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Worldwide disposal of multi-tonnage solid waste from coal-burning thermal power plants (TPPs) creates serious environmental and economic problems, which necessitate the recovery of industrial waste in large quantities and at commercial prices. Fly ashes (FAs) and slag from seven Bulgarian TPPs have been successfully converted into valuable zeolite-like composites with various applications, including as adsorbents for capturing CO2 from gases and for removal of contaminants from water. The starting materials generated from different types of coal are characterized by a wide range of SiO2/Al2O3 ratio, heterogeneous structure and a complex chemical composition. The applied synthesis procedure resembles the formation of natural zeolites, as the raw FAs undergo long-term self-crystallization in an alkaline aqueous solution at ambient temperature. The phase and chemical composition, morphology and N2 adsorption of the final zeolite products were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses. The growth of faujasite (FAU) crystals as the main zeolite phase was established in all samples after 7 and 14 months of alkaline treatment. Phillipsite (PHI) crystals were also observed in several samples as an accompanying phase. The final products possess specific surface area over 400 m2/g. The relationships between the surface properties of the investigated samples and the characteristics of the raw FAs were discussed. All of the obtained zeolite-like composites were able to remove the highly toxic dye (malachite green, MG) from water solutions with efficiency over 96%. The experimental data were fitted with high correlation to the second-order kinetics.

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A simple and cost-effective method was applied for the synthesis of zeolite composites utilising wet bottom boiler slag from the Bulgarian coal-fired thermal power plant "Sviloza", near the town of Svishtov. The method consisted of a prolonged alkali treatment at room temperature of this waste. Experimental techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction analyses, are employed to characterize the initial slag and the final products with respect to their morphology, and elemental and mineral compositions. The composites synthesized in this way contained two Na-type zeolite phases: zeolite X (type FAU) and zeolite Linde F (type EDI). The zeolited products and the starting slag were tested as adsorbents for a textile dye (Malachite Green) from aqueous solutions. In comparison with the initial slag, the zeolite composite possessed substantially better adsorption properties: it almost completely adsorbs the dye in much shorter times. The results of this investigations revealed a new, easy and low cost route for recycling boiler slag into a material with good adsorption characteristics, which could find different applications, e.g., for purifying polluted waters, including those from the textile industry.