International Journal of Creative Mathematical Sciences & Technology (IJCMST) 2(1): 42-46, 2012

ISSN (P): 2319 7811, ISSN (O): 2319 782X

Steady-State Statistical Approach to the Prediction of Physico-Chemical Properties of Fly-Ash for Eroded Soil Reclamation and Vegetation
A.K. Dash , T. N. Tiwari and R. N. Barik 1, 3 Padmanava College of Engineering, Rourkela, Odisha, India 2 Unique Research Centre, Rourkela, Odisha, India
1 2 3

Abstract: Fly-ash is a resultant of the combustion of coal at high temperature, which is

considered as one of the hazardous solid wastes from different thermal power stations all over the world. To minimize the extent of pollution in the physical environment, fly-ash is used as a better amending material to protect soil erosion that leads to improved vegetation. Statistical method is a time-saving as well as cost-effective tool to estimate the physico-chemical properties of fly-ash to increase its agronomic advantage in economically developing countries. The collected data on 7 properties viz. moisture (M), specific gravity (SG), bulk-density (BD), porosity (Ps), water-holding capacity (WHC), pH and electrical conductivity (EC) are subjected to steady state approach of statistical analysis to establish regression equations between significantly correlated properties. Average error percentage between the observed and predicted data indicates the usefulness of the fly-ash. Keywords: Fly-ash, correlation, regression, soil reclamation, steady state.

INTRODUCTION
In India coal is used as the major source for the generation of thermal energy that meets about 80% of total energy demand for several activities (Srivastava et al, 2007)[1]. Normally, power-grade coal which is used for this purpose is easily available and mined by open-cast method and is well pulverized before consumption. During mining, the common impurities present in it are clay, sulphur (in elemental, mineral or organic forms), moisture (both surface and inherent moisture) and many other earthy elements or minerals. However, the quality of coal is ranked by considering particularly its volatile material content and calorific value. Firing of pulverized coal in thermal-power stations leads to escape of 5-10% of fine-ash with carbon dust that directly enters into the atmosphere as pollutants, 15-20% of granular-ash that immediately falls down under gravity and is removed as bottom-ash, and about 70-75% of ash, which is collected by electrostatic precipitator, is known as fly-ash. Due to large percentage of disposal, fly-ash is considered as the major solid-waste material that contributes to the environmental pollution from power generation plants.

FLY-ASH
In our country, from about 84 existing thermal power stations, more than 150 Mt of coal ash is generated every year. Fly-ash, which makes major contribution to the solid waste materials from the burning of coal, is a heterogeneous mixture of both amorphous and various crystalline 42
Corresponding Author: A. K. Dash, Padmanava College of Engineering, Rourkela, Odisha, India

International Journal of Creative Mathematical Sciences & Technology (IJCMST) 2(1): 42-46, 2012

ISSN (P): 2319 7811, ISSN (O): 2319 782X

phases. It consists of very fine spherical particles having diameter range from 0 to 100 , medium bulk density, high surface area and light texture (Kumar, 1996)[2]. The chemical composition of fly-ash is greatly influenced by the chemical content in coal, which contains 95-99% of metal oxides like Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O, etc. and 0.5-3.5% of non-metal oxides like SO3, SiO2, etc. (McKerall, 1982 and Rai et al., 2011)[3-4]. Fresh fly-ash neither contains any micro-lives nor any nitrogenous materials that are highly required for plants for their growth and for vegetation. But it acquires the same after a long time (about 6 months) of dumping in sites either through nitrogen fixation or by addition of tree litters (Paul, 2002)]5]. So it can be used as a good low-cost amending material for the low-fertile, eroded soil for cultivation. Moisture, specific gravity, bulk density, porosity, water-holding capacity and pH of soil play vital role for the improvement of plantation and vegetation. The water-holding capacity (WHC) of fly-ash improves the fertility of a soil by supplying nutrients; however, the bulk-density (BD) is an important variable parameter that decides the water-holding capacity (WHC) of fly-ash as well as that of amended soil. Fly-ash and/ or the amended soil having pH value less than 4.5 or more than 9.0 is undesirable for cultivation. The best favorable range of pH for cultivation is 7.3 to 7.6, or about to neutrality. Therefore, fly-ash contributes a lot in reclaiming the productivity of severely non-fertile, eroded agricultural lands by maintaining the porosity, aeration and the soil moisture level and making the land fertile and easy to cultivate, that ultimately reduces runoff and erosion hazards. Soil provides anchorage to roots, enabling plants to stand erect; it acts as a store house of water and nutrients for plant growth and provides space for proper aeration to create a healthy environment for the biological activities of soil organisms.

STUDY AREA
Jharia Coal Fields (JCF) lies in Damodar River Valley. It is located in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand at the latitude of 23039 to 23048N and longitude of 86011 to 86027E, and is about 180 km away from Jamshedpur and 12 km away from Dhanbad. Here, about 6 collieries are owned by Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO), which are divided into 2 groups: Jamaboda group and Sijua group. The former occupies an area of 5508 acres, having production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum. The power generation capacity of Jamaboda Thermal Power Station is 10 MW that produces 400 T of ash daily, of which 160 T is fly-ash and 240 T as bottom-ash (Rai et al., 2011)[4].

METHODOLOGY
Fly-ash samples were collected from 3 different dumping sites of Jamaboda Thermal Power Station (JTPS) and 7 physico-chemical properties viz. moisture (M), specific gravity (SG), bulk-density (BD), porosity (Ps), water-holding capacity (WHC), pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were analyzed by Rai et al., 2011. Here the units of M, Ps and WHC are expressed in percentage, BD in g/cc and EC in mhos/cm, whereas SG and pH have only numerical value without any unit. Correlation coefficient (r) among the 7 parameters was determined and r0.9 were considered to formulate linear regression equations between the variables. Several Statistical 43
Corresponding Author: A. K. Dash, Padmanava College of Engineering, Rourkela, Odisha, India

International Journal of Creative Mathematical Sciences & Technology (IJCMST) 2(1): 42-46, 2012

ISSN (P): 2319 7811, ISSN (O): 2319 782X

works have already been done and published by the present authors [6-11]. Table-1 shows all the correlation coefficient values for the properties having r 0.7. Table-1. Physico-chemical properties having correlation coefficient (r) 0.7 Properties r Moisture(M)-Specific Gravity(SG) 0.99 Moisture(M)-Porosity(Ps) 0.93 Specific Gravity(SG)-Electrical Conductivity(EC) -0.93 Bulk Density(BD)-Porosity(Ps) -0.95 Bulk Density(BD)-Water-Holding Capacity(WHC) -0.98 Moisture(M)- Electrical Conductivity(EC) 0.86 Specific Gravity(SG)- Porosity(Ps) 0.86 Porosity(Ps)- Water-Holding Capacity(WHC) 0.86 pH- Electrical Conductivity(EC) -0.85 Moisture(M)- Bulk Density(BD) -0.77 Considering r0.9, one can easily estimate the values of 5 dependent physico-chemical properties such as SG, M, Ps, BD and WHC of fly-ash from the single independent property, i.e. EC, with high accuracy, having average error percentage (e %) within the range of 0. 23 to 3.70. Eq.-1 to 5 represents 5 simple linear regression equations that have been formulated between ECSG, SG-M, M-Ps, Ps-BD and BD-WHC, and are as follows: SG = 0.92857EC + 1.6336 M = 3.7857SG 6.2429 Ps = 19.7913M + 41.3948 BD = -0.0228Ps + 2.2553 WHC = -100.3333BD + 170.1233 1 2 3 4 5.

Here, the predicted data of specific gravity (SG) from Eq.-1 becomes the independent variable (or known data) for Eq-2. Similarly, the estimated value of moisture (M) from Eq.-2 becomes the independent variable (or known data) for Eq.-3, and the process is continued up to Eq.-5 to calculate the value of WHC. In the present study, the statistical approach is identical to the steady-state approach, which can be applied only to a system under identical conditions, where all the parameters except EC and WHC behave like intermediates. Fig.-1 represents the steady state approach to the parameters and their average error percentages (e %). EC Average Error (e %): SG 0.23% M 3.03% Ps 1.41% BD 2.51% WHC 3.70%

Fig.-1: Steady state approach and average error percentage of the parameters The average error percentage (e%) value for WHC that was predicted from observed EC data through the predicted data of SG, M, Ps and BD in continues manner was found to be 0.235 (approx) which is too small to ignore and can be observed from Table-2. 44
Corresponding Author: A. K. Dash, Padmanava College of Engineering, Rourkela, Odisha, India

International Journal of Creative Mathematical Sciences & Technology (IJCMST) 2(1): 42-46, 2012

ISSN (P): 2319 7811, ISSN (O): 2319 782X

Table-2. Prediction of WHC from EC through predicted data of SG, M, Ps and BD EC 0.22 0.24 0.25 SG(p) 1.837 1.856 1.865 M(p) 0.715 0.785 0.820 Ps(p) 55.541 56.933 57.628 BD(p) 0.989 0.957 0.941 WHC(p) 70.898 74.081 75.672 WHC(p) 74.55 70.42 76.44 Error (e %) 4.899 -5.199 1.0041 Avg.e% 0.235

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

From the above equations, it is observed that by applying the steady-state approach to regression analysis, the average error percentage for the prediction of each physico-chemical property (except EC) is ranging from 0.23% to 3.70%, while the same is from 0.23% to 1.406% if the prediction is done individually in conventional manner from their observed data. In the latter case, though the average error percentage (e%) range is small, but the experimental data for all the independent variables are essential for the estimation of the value for a dependent variable, which is time taking and expensive. Statistical approach is a time-saving and cost-effective tool to estimate the essential physico-chemical properties of fly-ash such as specific gravity (SG), moisture (M), porosity (Ps), bulk-density (BD) and water-holding capacity (WHC), which are required for the reclamation of eroded soil and for vegetation. High specific gravity increases the bulk density and stability that lowers the moisture content in fly-ash as well as in amended soil, which is not suitable for plantation/ vegetation. As the porosity is directly related to the waterholding capacity of the material, therefore, higher porosity value of fly-ash leads to better scope for plantation or vegetation in reclaimed land, that ultimately minimizes the land erosion, either by wind or by surface runoff. Plantation and agriculture are not only the source of job opportunity and income to the people in a country, but also check soil erosion and its fertility declination. Soil erosion and soil fertility declination can be minimized by cover crops and inorganic fertilizer application. Strong correlation between the pair of physico-chemical properties of fly-ash generated from Jamadoba Thermal Power Station (JTPS) in Jharkhand reveals that the prediction of the dependent parameters like specific gravity, porosity and water-holding capacity, which are highly essential for the eroded soil reclamation and vegetation in amended soil, can easily be estimated from the linear regression equation with high accuracy and least error percentage.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are thankful to the management and principal of Padmanava College of Engineering, Rourkela (Odisha) for providing facilities and guidance in writing this paper and permitting us to publish this paper.

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Corresponding Author: A. K. Dash, Padmanava College of Engineering, Rourkela, Odisha, India

International Journal of Creative Mathematical Sciences & Technology (IJCMST) 2(1): 42-46, 2012

ISSN (P): 2319 7811, ISSN (O): 2319 782X

REFERENCES
[1]. Srivastava, R., Sharma, S.K. and Sethi, R. (2007). The utilization of fly-ash: Its scope in India, Minetech, 28(4), pp: 9-14. [2]. Kumar, V. (1996). Fly-ash utilization: A mission mode approach in ash ponds and ashdisposal system, Ed. V.S. Raju, M. Dutta, V. Seshadri and V.K. Agrawal. Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi. [3]. Mc Kerall, W.C., W.B. Ledbetter and D.J.Teague (1982). Analysis of fly-ash produced inTexas. Research report no: 240-1. Texas Transportation Institute, A and M University, Texas, USA, pp: 34-36. [4]. Rai, A.K., Paul, B. and Singh, G. (2011). The preliminary characterization of fly-ash from Jamadoba Thermal Power Station (JTPS), Jharia Coalfields, Jharkhand. Indian Journal of Environmental Protection, 31(8), pp: 617-626. [5]. Paul, B. (2002). Investigation into utilization of fly-ash in economic management of miningdegraded land with special reference to TISCO lease hold area in JCF. Ph.D. Thesis, Indian School of Mines Univ., Dhanbad. [6]. Dash, A.K., Barik, R.N. and Tiwari, T.N.(2010). Effect of Durga Idol Immersion on some water quality parameters of Brahmani River at Rourkela, Orissa. IJEP, vol.30(2), pp:165-168. [7]. Dash, A.K., Barik, R.N. and Tiwari, T.N.(2010). Correalation and Regression Analysis of Some physic-chemical parameters of bore-well waters of industrial areas of Vishakhapatnam. IJEP, vol.30 (10), pp: 857-861. [8]. Dash, A.K., Barik, R.N. and Tiwari, T.N. (2010). Correlation and Regression Analysis on Water quality parameters of Ramganga River at Moradabad, UP. IJEP, vol.31 (3), pp: 224-229. [9]. Dash, A.K., Barik, R.N. and Tiwari, T.N. (2010). Correlation and Regression Study of Some Physico-chemical parameters of Groundwater of Sanganer Town (Rajsthan). IJEP, vol.30 (6), pp:479-485. [10]. Dash, A.K., and Barik, R.N. (2012). Health Hazards of some Volatile Organic Compounds and a Correlation between Benzene and Toluene. Pollution Research, vol.31 (3), pp: 333-336. [11]. Dash, A.K., Barik, R.N. and Tiwari, T.N. Multiple Regression Analysis of the Water Quality Parameters of Drinking Water in Balasore Town Planning Area, Odisha. Acta Ciencia Indica (C), 37(C-1), pp: 39-42(2011). _____________________

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Corresponding Author: A. K. Dash, Padmanava College of Engineering, Rourkela, Odisha, India