Assessment on the Mechanical-Chemical Stabilities of Coal Ash Blocks in Sea Water

This study aims to evaluate the mechanical-chemical stability of used coal ash blocks, for improving fishing grounds. The surface of weathered ash blocks in seawater showed a decrease in the Ca and an increase in the Mg contents, compared to that of fresh blocks. This result reflects the substitution of Ca by Mg in seawater. The compressive strengths of ash blocks submerged into seawater during 12 months ranged from 235.23 to 447.43 kgf/cm(2); this is higher than the standard strength of wave-absorbing blocks(180 kgf/cm(2)) that are used for harbor construction. In addition, the compressive strength of ash blocks tends to increase with increasing installation time in seawater. The result of leaching experiments on coal ash blocks by Korean Standard Leaching Test(KSLT) method showed that leached concentrations of most metals except Cr(that leached up to 50 ppb, approaching standard concentration) do not exceed the seawater quality standards. A long-term(112 days) heavy metal leaching test to analyze seawater without mixing-dilution also showed that the concentrations of leached heavy metals, except for Cu, under anaerobic conditions do not exceed the seawater quality standards. Accordingly, the use of coal ash blocks in marine environments appears to be safe from chemical and mechanical factors that decrease the efficiency of concrete. Also, leaching concentration of Cu seems to be stable by decrease of leaching concentration due to dilution of seawater.