ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Reclamation of fly ash dykes
Out of the ashes
This may literally read like a leaf from the Egyptian
mythology—Phoenix rising from the ashes, after being
completely consumed by fire. For this is an equally
enduring effort to sow seeds of life on heaps of dead,
dry, and toxic ashes—dykes of fly ashes resulting from
coal-fired power generation plants. Using mycorrhizal
technology, TERI researchers have found ways to reclaim
fly ash dumps. The lush green expanses surrounding the
power plants at Badarpur (Delhi), Korba (Chhattisgarh),
and Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh) stand testimony to this
technological marvel.
Fire beneath ash
When coal burns, it produces fly ash—fine solid particles
of ash, dust, and soot containing lead, arsenic,
cadmium, cobalt, silica, mercury, and other toxic
elements. It becomes a deadly source of health hazards
when carried into the atmosphere. So, when your lungs
start turning blue, your eyes red, or your skin purple, it
could be that coal is burning persistently in the nearby
power plant. However, at the emission point, fly ash is
captured using electrostatic
precipitators and dumped as
slurry in ash dykes. There again,
as the toxic metals seep into the
ground, or fly with wind, they
severely contaminates
groundwater, lower soil fertility,
Figure 1 A fly ash dyke at Korba Super Thermal Power Station, Chattisgarh, before the technology demonstration by TERI.
Inset: The same site after intervention
14 TERI’S technologies for sustainable development
harm aquatic plants, and disturb the food chain. With
about 70 thermal power plants in India – and there are
plenty more in the offing – fly ash dykes have claimed
nearly 30 000 hectares, turning them unfit for any use.
A new lease of life
While power stations are clueless about how to minimize
the fly ash hazards, researchers at T E R I come up with a
technological innovation, resurrecting hope. The
technology was first demonstrated at the Badarpur
Thermal Power Station and the Korba Super Thermal
Power Station by turning their fly ash dump yards into
stretches of green cover (Figure 1). The technology
gained multiplier effect at the Korba State Thermal
Power Station (another power-generating unit at Korba)
and the Vijayawada Thermal Power Station.
The process works with the help of naturally
occurring mycorrhizal fungi that, through their mycelial
network, accumulate heavy metals from fly ash and
retain them within their cells or carry them on the body
surface. These mycelial threads along with dense root
biomass assist in ash-particle
binding. Mycorrhizal fungi form a
reciprocating relationship with
the living roots of higher plants—
they provide nutrition to plants
and, in turn, receive carbon from
them. The mycorrhizal

Figure 2 A fly ash dyke in Korba showing both un-reclaimed
surroundings and technological solution
association, with small quantities of compost added,
benefits plants tremendously in terms of their growth
rate, tolerance to biological and environmental stresses,
and seedling survival (Figure 3).
A crusading act
Different strains of mycorrhizal fungi were collected from
diverse regions of India and abroad. These were then
isolated, selected, multiplied, and tested under
greenhouse/nursery conditions to find out their growth
pattern on fly ash dumps. Strains offering high
tolerance, assisting in survival, and providing nutritional
support to plants were selected for the purpose. With
additional doses of organic and mycorrhizal fertilizer to
optimize the impact, the mycorrhizal strains were then
applied to the plants on fly ash dumps. And, when put to
application, life sprouted on grey, degraded, toxic
wastelands in the form of green vegetation. Having
implemented the technology successfully, TERI
researchers are now heading for several multi-location
demonstrations.
Figure 3 Mycorrhized Jatropha produces early and high
yield on ash dykes
Fugitive dust
in un-reclaim
surroundings ed
l so lu tio ns
Tech no lo gi ca
Thoughtful intervention
Plants to be grown on fly ash dumps were carefully
selected. Bearing in mind that the toxicity and stressful
elements in plant species grown on fly ash are yet to be
established, only those species were chosen that are not
part of the food chain, but have commercial value—tree
species for timber (poplar, sheesham, eucalyptus,
meethi neem, and the like); floriculture and aromatic
species (marigold, sunflower, lemongrass, tuberose,
gladiolus, lily, and the like); and species for biofuels
(Jatropha and vetiver).
Applications/benefits
The reclamation technology based on mycorrhiza organo-
biofertilizer is promising enough to metamorphose the
30 000-odd hectares of fly ash dumps in India into a
huge commercial proposition (Box 1).
Bo
Boxx 1
Making sense of a choice
The reclamation technology based on mycorrhiza
organo-biofertilizer, developed by TERI researchers,
offers to play a value-adding, multifarious role. The
technology
P involves no good earth application;
P requires no chemical fertilizer;
P reduces fugitive dust emission in power plants;
P checks groundwater contamination;
P offers multiple ways for economic gains; and
P enables bio-diesel plants to grow on ashes, which,
that, apart from being commercially viable,
supplements energy inputs in power plants.
To reclaim one hectare of fly ash dump, using TERI
technology, costs 90 000 rupees. This includes the cost
of field preparation, nursery raising, mycorrhiza
inoculation, irrigation, plantation, grass bed preparation
(with Jatropha and vetiver for revenue generation), and
maintenance up to one year. Many entrepreneurs have
already shown great interests in setting up floriculture
and silviculture projects on fly ash.
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