In this post, Ashley Doyal, VP of Sales – South Region for ProcessBarron, provides several ash storage recommendations for pulp & paper plants with long-term environmental and cost benefits.
Many of us remember the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) ash flood in 2008. The ash settling pond at the 1,700-MW Kingston Fossil Power Plant ruptured, spilling over 5 million cubic yards of fly ash and bottom ash — making it the largest coal slurry spill to date. It was an EPA disaster.
Ash settling ponds are not uncommon, especially for pulp and paper mills. But they come with risks and aren’t the only disposal solution for your fly ash.
Options for Selling Your Fly Ash
Fly ash has a high carbon content that can increase crop yields and stabilize soil, making it a valuable resource for farmers. Because of this, more and more plants are selling their ash for use in agriculture, turning waste into income and minimizing environmental risks.
Even if you can’t find a buyer for your ash, some companies will haul it off-site at no cost to use in asphalt and other recycled materials. As the EPA tightens its regulations around settling ponds, this is one relatively easy strategy for reducing your plant’s compliance costs.
Here are a few more simple and affordable ways to meet your emissions requirements!
Storage Solutions for Your Ash
Regardless of where your ash goes once it’s off-site, optimizing your silos can help you safely and efficiently meet your ash storage needs. We recently designed a silo for a plant that wanted to be able to go the whole weekend without unloading its ash. We delivered an 8500 cubic foot silo out at the facility, allowing the plant to store ash for 48 hours without exceeding capacity.
ProcessBarron can customize any of our ash handling equipment to meet your production needs. Our ash silos, conditioners, and unloaders are fabricated to withstand the harshest environments and integrate seamlessly with your current systems.
Cutting Costs and Increasing Efficiency for Your Pulp and Paper Mill
Turning your ash from a compliance burden into a new source of revenue is just one small way your plant can cut unnecessary costs and align with green manufacturing. And ash storage probably isn’t the only industrial efficiency opportunity hiding in plain sight around your plant.
ProcessBarron enables smart, clean, and efficient manufacturing, and we are always looking to use our skills and resources to help plants like yours reach their greenhouse gas emissions goals.
Reach out to our experts to learn more about our custom equipment and industrial efficiency solutions!