Since we no longer heat our houses with coal
furnaces, most of us are probably unaware of how burning coal creates ash. The vast majority of electricity in the U.S.,
however, is still generated in coal-burning plants. These power plants capture and dispose of the fly ash, since it is
loaded with mercury, lead and other toxic chemicals. The fly ash is buried in specially designed ponds and landfills,
most likely a very costly process.
A retired civil engineering professor think he has a better way of
disposing of the fly ash: create eco-friendly, weather resistant bricks for building purposes. The idea came to him as
an offshoot of a research project investigating how to ship compact, highly pressurized cylinders of coal, propelled by
water, through pipelines. The compression techniques could be adapted to other substances, one being fly ash. The
critical unknown is obviously if the toxins in the fly ash will affect the environment surrounding any structure built
with these bricks, and an experiment is underway to investigate any possible exposure.
While this does not
directly relate to transportation, consumers should have an understanding of the processes involved in generating the
electricity we use (or abuse) so much of, especially since we are considering using even more electricity either for
plug-in hybrids, or to generate hydrogen for transportation purposes.
[Source: MSNBC.com, Joel A, the
prolific AutoBlogGreen tipster strikes again, thanks!]