Engineering Properties of Tanjung Bin Bottom Ash

^1,3,4 Department of Geotechnics and Transportations, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
² Geotechnical Engineering Department, Building and Road Research Institute, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan

Abstract

Tanjung Bin is one of the biggest coal-fired power plants in Malaysia to generate electricity. The by product from burning of the coal ash produce 42, 000 metric tons of fly ash and 8, 000 metric tons of bottom ash every month. This huge amount of waste requires large area for disposal storage and also may cause environmental problems. This paper aims to study the properties of bottom ash and the possibility to be used as a substitute materials of sands. The laboratory testing program covered physical and mechanical properties of bottom ash. The physical testing includes specific gravity and particle size distribution, whereas, the mechanical properties are Standard Proctor compaction, relative density, permeability and direct shear test. The results show that the properties of bottom ash have similarities to those of sand thus there is a potential to be used as sand replacement materials in construction and engineering works.