New facility to recycle bottom ash
for concrete mix
AmerenUE’s Labadie Power Plant opened a concrete
packaging facility that will recycle more than 60,000 tons of fly
and bottom ash annually into two million bags of concrete mix.
The project results from a partnership between
AmerenUE, Charah, Inc. and The Home Depot. The concrete mix will
be prepared and packaged at the facility in fully recyclable two-handled
plastic bags from Charah and distributed to Home Depot stores in
St. Louis.
The 60,000 tons of ash being recycled represents
half of Labadie’s annual production. Ultimately, AmerenUE
officials hope to recycle all of the bottom ash.
Bottom ash and fly ash result from burning coal
to generate electricity. The bottom ash settles out of the gas stream
in the combustion process, while the fly ash is collected in precipitators.
Labadie’s precipitators collect virtually all of the plant’s
fly ash before it exits the plant’s stacks.
Ash is not classified as a hazardous waste by
the EPA, and Ameren companies have recycled it in various applications,
including blasting grit, roofing shingles, cement and concrete manufacturing,
structural fill, and snow and ice control.
Charah annually processes 250,000 tons of bottom
ash and markets it to the concrete block and concrete mix industries
in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. |
