Development of construction materials using sulfite-rich scrubber sludge and fly ash

Construction materials with characteristics suitable for a variety of applications have been developed using up to 95% of coal combustion by-products comprising of sulfite-rich scrubber sludge and fly ash. These materials can be produced as soil-like mixes that can be prepared at the power plant, transported to the deployment site and compacted using conventional road building equipment without a need for forms. These developed materials provide an early strength of 5.8–8.3 MPa after 7–14 d and are environmentally benign. For a cattle feeding pad application, which is the focus of this paper, the cost is estimated be about 25–30% of the cost of developing a conventional concrete feeding pad. Following mix development and establishment of quality assurance/quality control protocols, a commercial cattle feeding pad has been designed and demonstrated using the developed mix.