This study investigated the potential application of heavy oil burning fly ash as a precursor to prepare activated carbon. The raw fly ash obtained from a power plant is cleaned by nitric acid/hydrochloric acid and activated at 550-800°C with hold times of 30 and 60 min to obtain fly ash activated carbon. The phosphoric acid is used as a chemical agent to improve the surface characteristics of the cleaned fly ash. The effects of process variables such as amount of chemical reagents, activation time and temperature were investigated according to two-levels full factorial design. The resultant activated carbons were characterized in terms of Brunauer, Emmett and Teller surface area and total and pore volume. The maximum specific surface area was found of 148.30 m 2 /g at 800°C temperatures with 60 min holding time. The test showed that the surface area and pore volumes of the material are also significantly enhanced by the activation process.
Heavy oil fly ash (HOFA) is a byproduct generated by the burning of heavy fuel oil. Chemical analysis showed that HOFA is mainly composed of unburned carbon with a significant amount of heavy metals. Due to toxicity, management of this waste poses a challenge to the industry personal. The present study investigates the possible use of HOFA as a black pigment or admixture in cement mortar aiming to produce ornamental brick. In order to investigate the change of cement mortar strength when HOFA is added, the standard compressive strength test with 50 mm cubes was performed. The results showed that the addition of 2-5 % of HOFA in cement mortar does not affect its strength. The leaching behavior of trace elements within HOFA and HOFA mixed mortar were investigated through laboratory batch leaching experiments. The results confirmed that HOFA can be utilized as a black pigment in ornamental brick, which is environmentally safe and provides good balance between color and brick properties.
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