Publications

Irek Faizullin, head of the Russian Ministry of Construction, at a meeting with the CEO of Siberian Generating Company Stepan Solzhenitsyn, considered new measures to promote the use of waste from thermal power plants in construction, the press service of the ministry reported on Monday.

"They discussed the challenges of intensifying the use of ash and slag materials, a product of thermal power plants run on solid fuel. In particular, they considered proposals for new measures to stimulate the involvement of ash and slag in economic activities," the statement says.

Such measures include reducing transport costs for large industrial consumers using ash and slag materials, incorporating such materials into large infrastructure facilities, along with updating regulations on ash and slag use in construction.

The use of TPP waste in construction is very efficient. According to the Ministry of Construction, fly ash, an example of ash and slag materials, can replace up to 20% of cement used in the production of building materials in Russia. At the initiative of the Ministry, Siberian Generating Company, together with Construction Research Centre, is conducting research into the use of fly ash in advanced concrete mixes.

In June, Russia's government approved a comprehensive plan for the disposal of waste from coal-fired power plants and boilers, which is generated when burning coal, peat and their blends. The plan is aimed at creating economic conditions and regulatory incentives to involve ash and slag in economic activities as secondary raw materials.

As reported by Rusatom Infrastructure Solutions (a Rosatom company), over 170 thermal power plants in Russia are run on coal, and the area of ash dumps exceeds 28,000 hectares. The amount of waste accumulated in the Urals is 540 million tonnes, in addition to 420 million tonnes in Siberia and 225 million tonnes in Zabaikalye and the Far East. With that said, most ash and slag materials are classified as hazard class 5, that is, they are almost harmless. They can be used in road construction, mine closures, as fertilisers, soil ameliorants and raw materials for building products.