Abstract:
Attheendofminingactivities,claymineswereabandonedduetothecost andnon-availabilityoffillingmaterials.Theseabandonedclayminescauseadverse environmentalandsocialimpacts.Inaddition,largequantitiesofbottomash(BA) aregeneratedasaby-productofcoalcombustionprocess.ThisBAisdisposedby opendumpinginthelands,whichcreatessevereenvironmentalpollution.Therefore, conductedresearchonutilizationofBAforminerehabilitationisbeneficial.The mainfocusofthisresearchisapplicabilityofBAgeneratedfromLakvijayapower plant,SriLankaasapotentialbackfillmaterialandasoilamendmentduringtheclay minerehabilitation.Initiallytestswereconductedtoinvestigatethebasicproperties ofBA.Next,chemicalcompositionofBAwasanalysedtoselectthesuitablecrops forvegetation.FurtherpH,electricalconductivityandwaterholdingcapacitywere checkedandmicrostructuralmorphologyofBAwasdeterminedthroughScanning ElectronMicroscope.TheresultsshowedthatBAhasgoodengineeringproperties andthepotentialtoimproveagronomiccharacteristicsofsoil.Ithasbetterwater holdingcapacityandpermeability.BAcanadjustsoilpHtoadesirableplantgrowth range.AsBAhasaveryporousstructure,therootsystemcaneasilydevelopand helpstouptakenutrientsbytheplant.However,aconsiderablepercentageoftrace metalsisaccumulatedinBAwhichwillincreasethebioavailabilityofsometrace metalstolevelsthatposesrisktohuman.Thus,investigationswerecarriedoutto identifytheheavymetalconcentrationinleachateofBAusingcolumnleachingtest. ResultsshowedthatleachabilitypotentialoftracemetalsinBAdoesnotexceedthe allowablelimits.
