The objectives of the project are:  (1) to demonstrate fly ash ozonation technology on a utility site, with minimum modification to existing plant equipment and operations and to confirm the process effectiveness through a complete battery of technology performance and concrete quality tests;(2) to develop a plan for effective implementation of the technology at the PPL Montour station; and (3) for technology transfer to other U.S. coal-fired plants.

One of the biggest challenges facing the fly ash utilization industry is the management of unburned carbon. Elevated carbon levels often accompany low NOx retrofits of coal fired power stations and can disqualify ash for its largest and most lucrative utilization market:  as a pozzolanic additive in concrete. Ozone treatment of fly ash reduces surfactant absorbtivity, the cause of air entrainment problems in concrete, as illustrated in the attached figure. Efforts are underway to develop an ash beneficiation process based on this principle.