Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Flame Experiments at the Advanced Light Source: New Insights into Soot Formation Processes
Published on: May 26, 2014
Environmental hazard of oil shale combustion fly ash
Irina Blinova1, Liidia Bityukova, Kaja Kasemets
1Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Akadeemia tee 23, Tallinn 12618, Estonia. irina.blinova@kbfi.ee
Abstract:
The combined chemical and ecotoxicological characterization of oil shale combustion fly ash was performed. Ash was sampled from the most distant point of the ash-separation systems of the Balti and Eesti Thermal Power Plants in North-Eastern Estonia. The fly ash proved potentially hazardous for tested aquatic organisms and high alkalinity of the leachates (pH>10) is apparently the key factor determining its toxicity. The leachates were not genotoxic in the Ames assay. Also, the analysis showed that despite long-term intensive oil-shale combustion accompanied by considerable fly ash emissions has not led to significant soil contamination by hazardous trace elements in North-Eastern Estonia. Comparative study of the fly ash originating from the 'new' circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustion technology and the 'old' pulverized-fired (PF) one showed that CFB fly ash was less toxic than PF fly ash. Thus, complete transfer to the 'new' technology will reduce (i) atmospheric emission of hazardous trace elements and (ii) fly ash toxicity to aquatic organisms as compared with the 'old' technology.
Related Concept Videos
Acid Mine Drainage
Enthalpy and Heat of Reaction
Pozzolans
Fly ash is a...
Combustion Energy: A Measure of Stability in Alkanes and Cycloalkanes
Alkanes undergo combustion in the presence of excess oxygen and high-temperature conditions to give carbon dioxide and water. A combustion reaction is the energy source in natural gas, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and...
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
Deleterious Substances in Aggregate
Another type of impurity is clay and fine material that...

