Fabrication of Fly Ash-Based Refractory Brick Through Powder Metallurgy Technique

Abstract

One of the major pollutants from thermal power plants is fly ash, which is a by-product of the combustion of pulverized coal. Fly ash consists of oxides of metals (primarily aluminum, silicon that constitute refractory compounds) heavy metals, sulfur, potassium, and sodium. It is generally dumped in the landfills, and hence, its leaching effect severely pollutes the environment. Hence, effective utilization of fly ash is the need of the hour. Also, the use of refractories is rapidly increasing in various applications because of their excellent properties and low-cost economic production. This work is on the development of technology to fabricate fly ash-based refractory bricks using 100% fly ash. The fabricated fly ash-based refractory bricks are characterized for their physical and mechanical properties. Also, the surface morphology, elemental composition, and phase composition are analyzed. The results demonstrate that the fabricated fly ash-based refractory bricks have desired physio-mechanical properties such as density of 1.7 cm³, compression strength of 10 MPa, and less than 1% water absorption.