Ecological Risk Indicators for Leached Heavy Metals from Coal Ash Generated at a Malaysian Power Plant

Teh Sabariah Binti Abd Manan, Salmia Beddu, Nur Liyana Mohd Kamal, Daud Mohamad, Zarina Itam, Taimur Khan, Affiani Machmudah, Denys Dutykh, Wan Hanna Melini Wan Mohtar, Hisyam Jusoh, Fadzli Mohamed Nazri, Md Fauzan Kamal Mohd Yapandi, Siddhartha Pati, Amirrudin Ahmad and Nadiah Wan Rasdi
Additional contact information
Teh Sabariah Binti Abd Manan: Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus 21030, Terengganu Darul Iman, Malaysia
Salmia Beddu: Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan Ikram-Uniten, Kajang 43000, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Nur Liyana Mohd Kamal: Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan Ikram-Uniten, Kajang 43000, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Daud Mohamad: Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan Ikram-Uniten, Kajang 43000, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Zarina Itam: Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan Ikram-Uniten, Kajang 43000, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Taimur Khan: Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
Affiani Machmudah: Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Technology and Multidisciplinary, Universitas Airlangga, Jalan Mulyorejo, Kampus C, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia
Denys Dutykh: Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LAMA, 73000 Chambéry, France
Wan Hanna Melini Wan Mohtar: Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Hisyam Jusoh: Geo TriTech, No. 17, Persiaran Perdana 15A, Pinji Perdana, Lahat 31500, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
Fadzli Mohamed Nazri: School of Civil Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nibong Tebal 14300, Penang, Malaysia
Md Fauzan Kamal Mohd Yapandi: TNB Research Sdn. Bhd. No. 1, Kawasan Institusi Penyelidikan, Jalan Ayer Itam, Kajang 43000, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Siddhartha Pati: SIAN Institute, Association for Biodiversity Conservation and Research (ABC), Balasore 756001, Odisha, India
Amirrudin Ahmad: Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus 21030, Terengganu Darul Iman, Malaysia
Nadiah Wan Rasdi: Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus 21030, Terengganu Darul Iman, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: The application of coal ash (CA) in construction industries has grown rapidly, posing risk to the environment due to heavy metals leaching from the material. This research presents a simulation of ecological risk assessment and model risk indicators (ERI) of leached heavy metals (lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and arsenic (As)) from CA (FA: fly ash and BA: bottom ash) via response surface methodology (RSM). The ERI values were based on quantified leached heavy metals from the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP-1311) and synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP-1312). The ecological risk index ( R I ) values for TCLP were 10.27 × 10 0 (FA), 9.91 × 10 0 (BA) and 12.58 × 10 0 (FA + BA); whereas R I for SPLP were 10.34 × 10 0 (FA), 9.90 × 10 0 (BA) and 12.61 × 10 0 (FA + BA). Twenty-nine combinations of operations were evaluated based on Box-Behnken design with ERI as the response variable. The established model risk indicator (i.e., coded and actual factors) of Pb, Cu, Zn and ‘As’ showed significant model terms that describe their relationship very well, perfectly fit to the corresponding ERI (sum of squares = 0.4160, F value = 682,375.55) with probability of 0.01% for an F-value could occur due to noise. The optimized models were validated with error percentage of less than 5%. The established ERI models showed significant model terms and will be useful for ecological monitoring of CA application in construction industries.

Keywords: coal ash; power plant; heavy metals; ecological risk indicators; ecological risk assessment; Box-Behnken design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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