Coal ash is solid fossil fuel combustion residues from coal burning power plants.
Coal burning power plants in the U.S. produce more than 75 million metric tons of ash annually. With shrinking landfill space and increasing amounts of ash generation, there is an urgent need to utilize these materials in an environmentally safe manner. Coal ash has many soil-like properties, contains plant nutrients, and can be used to amend highly acidic soils. At West Virginia University, we are developing technologies to exploit these properties of ash for the reclamation of surface mine soils. Reclamation Of Mine Lands Surface mining of coal requires revegetation.