Morphology, phase composition and radiological properties of fly ash obtained from the Burshtyn thermal power plant

<p class="ArticleAuthersInfo">The physic-chemical properties of ash extracted from smoke during the combustion of coal at the Burshtyn thermal power plant were investigated. The particles formed in the flame are crystallized glass beads with a size of 0.8–600 μm. It was found that the ash particles are heterogeneous in their chemical composition. The mass content of the ferric oxides can vary from 2.1% to 96.4%, however, despite this, the Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratio in the glass balls remains constant at a value of 0.47±0.02. Phase analysis confirmed the presence of α-quartz particles (~ 62 wt%), mullite (~ 32 wt%) and α-FeOOH, α-Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄ mixtures (totaling 6 wt%). Radiological studies have revealed higher β- and γ-activity of fly ash, selected from the dump, compared with the fly ash from the electro-filter. This is due to the accumulation of ²¹⁴Pb and ²¹⁴Bi radionuclides particles formed on the surface of the particles due to due to decay of ²²²Rn.</p> <p><strong>Key words: </strong>fly ash, glass microspheres, mullite, quartz, radiology.</p>