This work reports on the separation of cenospheres from lignite fly ash through a wet separation process-the sink-float method. A better quality of cenospheres could be achieved through a physical–chemical approach using an acetone–water mixture as a medium. This work aimed to elucidate the correlation between the structure, morphology, and composition and medium fraction variables, with data for the freshly prepared and the reused mixtures presented for comparison. The work covers a study of the macrocomponent composition of an Fe2O3–SiO2–Al2O3 system, highlighting the pair dependences of SiO2–Al2O3, Al2O3–Fe2O3, and SiO2/Al2O3–Al2O3 and revealing an interesting result in terms of geochemical characteristics categorizing the collected cenosphere fractions separated from high-calcium class C fly ash produced from a lignite coal power plant in Thailand (as magnetic cenospheres). The CaO and SO3 contents increased monotonically with increased water content, particularly for the CaO composition profile, which was found to be similar to the increased carbonate concentration measured from the mixtures after use. The physicochemical properties in terms of the self-association ability of the acetone–water mixing phase is believed to have played an important role in determining the intermolecular interactions and reactivity of ions in the liquid phase, consequently affecting the separation efficiency, recovery yield, and quality of cenospheres.

The cenosphere is one becoming a focus of the power plant in terms of value addition and ash management. This study presents a systematic investigation and characterization of physical properties, morphological structures, and chemical composition of cenospheres separated from fly ash produced from the Mae Moh coal-fired power plant, Thailand. To our knowledge, this is the first report on cenospheres separation from Mae Moh class C fly ash, with high calcium content ~24 wt.%, by adopting the traditional wet separation method (using water as the medium) to separate the lightweight cenospheres. Various effects of process parameters (fly ash-to-water ratio, stirring method, ultrasonication, and size classification) were designed to examine the cenosphere recovery yield in comparison. The result has revealed the limit of physical stirring-settling effect associated with the cenospheres content by nature governing the percent recovery. The bulk cenospheres were subject to size sieving into different sized fractions, with the structure-chemical composition relationship established for more insight. The particle diameter/shell thickness ratio revealed its significant correlation with the aluminosilicate glass composition, with the relating cenosphere shell structures (single-ring and porous) mapped to compare for a better elucidation of their structure-property relationship. The phase composition was also studied.

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This work presents a study of cenosphere separation from lignite high-calcium (~24 wt.%) fly ash by centrifugal method; this is the first report for Mae Moh, Thailand, fly ash with this high calcium content using this technique. The effect of centrifugal parameters on cenosphere yield and properties were investigated. Those properties include physical properties, morphology, chemical composition, and mineral phases. The recovery yields are in the range of 0.34–0.64%, approximately one third of the yield obtained from the general gravity settling method. Density, particle size, and morphology of the collected cenospheres appeared to be independent of sequence of the applied speeds and times. Interrelation of chemical composition and mineral phases was established, with the focus on calcium carbonate formation on cenosphere surface and crystallite size study. The study has revealed the preferential formation of calcite–(104) peak is observed–by cenospheres, with stable growth behavior of crystallite sizes obtained from all the centrifugal conditions. The result was compared to that obtained from the sink-float method for a better insight. The influence and limitation of the centrifugal method, the varied parameters, and the relevant reaction pathways on crystal growth process in terms of important dissolving species (i.e., Ca2+ and CO32−) behavior in the ash suspension were discussed.

High-calcium fly ashes contain a large content of small particles including cenospheres of chemical constituents known to be similar to fly ash and the parent coal. Coal fly ash contains metal and trace elements that may leach out during disposal or utilization. This work aimed to understand an overview of cenosphere characteristics relating to fly ash and leaching study. To our knowledge, this is the first report on metal and trace element leaching of cenospheres separated from high-calcium (28.9 wt.%) class C fly ash produced from the Mae Moh coal-fired thermal power plant in Thailand. In this study, the cenospheres were separated from fly ash by a wet separation process (sink-float method) using water as medium. Physical properties, morphology, chemical composition, the mineral phases of cenospheres and fly ash have been characterized. Extraction was carried out by acid digestion; the selected metal and trace elements in this study are Mg, Al, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Cu; the obtained environmentally available concentrations of cenospheres were analyzed in comparison to those of fly ash. The concentrations of Cu, Cr, Pb, and Cd elements of interest in the leachates obtained from the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) showed the tendency to decrease in that order. All the elements were found below the permissible limit values regarding Thailand soil quality standards. Association of the heavy metal trace elements in cenospheres and fly ash was discussed in in terms of physico-chemical-geochemistry correlating with the leaching concentrations.