Ash and slag storage yards of thermal power plants in Binh Thuan Province are on the verge of overloading. (Photo: SGGP)
There are two pictures with two different shades of color of thermoelectric fly ash and slag in the Southern region. In Binh Thuan Province, the total amount of ash and slag from thermal power plants stagnant in storage yards has reached about 12 million tons by the beginning of 2022. Meanwhile, the total amount of fly ash and slag at the Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant, built in 2015 in Tra Vinh Province, is roughly 3.67 million tons. From the time it was put into operation until the end of April 2022, the total amount of fly ash and slag generated by the Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant was 7.88 million tons, and about 4.2 million tons were reused. There has been no consistent and radical solution for thermoelectric fly ash and slag.Dumpsite out of storage, consumption stagnant According to the report of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Binh Thuan Province, the ash and slag storage yard of Vinh Tan 1 Thermal Power Plant covers an area of about 59.5ha. Currently, the volume of ash and slag stored at the dump is about 3.2 million tons, accounting for 43 percent of the storage capacity. The ash and slag storage yard of Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Plant is shared with Vinh Tan 4 and Vinh Tan 4 Expansion Thermal Power Plant with an area of more than 38 hectares, capable of storing about 8.7 million tons of ash and slag. However, this dumpsite is about to run out of room when it has stored 8.1 million tons of ash and slag, mainly from Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Plant, with 7.2 million tons. According to the leader of Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Plant, in the coming time, if there is no solution to handle this amount of ash and slag, there will be no room for storage, which means that thermal power plants are likely to have to stop operations. To solve difficulties, Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Plant previously asked the People's Committee of Binh Thuan Province for permission to use 300,000 tons of ash and slag to level the ground at the Hang Co Quarry in Tuy Phong District to reduce the load for the dumpsite. However, so far, there are still no results. Not only that, Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee approved for a company to build a factory to produce building materials from ash and slag about eight years ago, but then for unknown reasons, this enterprise fled even though it built a factory. Noticeably, ash and slag have been assessed and certified by relevant ministries and sectors to meet standards to be used as leveling materials, rural roadbeds, and mineral additives for concrete, but up to now, many units are still turning their backs on this source of raw materials. “Over the years, Binh Thuan Province has continuously had the policy to invite investors to participate in the use of ash and slag. Some enterprises came and promised a lot but then quietly withdrew," said Mr. Vo Van Hoa, Director of Binh Thuan Province's Department of Industry and Trade. He also acknowledged that consumers are afraid and not used to using construction products made from thermoelectric ash and slag. Due to the poor consumer demand for this material, investors turned away, so the ash and slag kept piling up.Lack of investment in processing technology Facing these difficulties, the People's Committee of Binh Thuan Province recently issued a document requesting relevant units to promote coordination and have solutions to prioritize the use of ash and slag from standardized and legal thermal power plants as leveling materials in construction works under the management of local departments. Particularly, it is required that construction project owners using public investment capital must prioritize using ash and slag as leveling materials. According to experts in Binh Thuan Province, the policy of using ash and slag in public investment projects is a feasible solution. However, the reality is not that simple. "There are not many projects using the local public investment capital, so the amount of ash and slag consumed is not much," said a representative of the Department of Construction of Binh Thuan Province. For works funded by other capital sources to also use ash and slag, according to the Department of Construction of Binh Thuan Province, there must be factories to mix and process some other materials to shape and create a certain hardness for ash and slag. Unfortunately, at present, Binh Thuan Province has no investors interested in this field, leading to a waste of ash and slag. Mr. Vo Van Hoa said that to handle ash and slag effectively and fundamentally, more investment must be made for thermoelectric ash and slag to become a good building material; at the same time, it is necessary to help consumers understand and accept consuming products made from ash and slag. This is a radical and long-term solution to help solve the increasing amount of ash and slag generated in Binh Thuan. Unlike many years ago, from having to spend tens of billions of Vietnamese dong per year to process, ash and slag at Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant (Tra Vinh) have become a hot commodity now, bringing a significant source of income. Every day, dozens of tank trucks wait in lines for ash and slag. Currently, three factories of Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant release about 4,000 tons of ash and slag daily, and 90 percent of them are consumed immediately. This unit has had to invest in an additional pipe system of fly ash to the port to supply barges and ships.
* Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Deputy Director of Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company:
Fly ash and slag of thermal power plants of the company have been granted a certificate of conformity as leveling materials and input materials for concrete, mortar, and cement production from 2020. Since then, many enterprises have registered to purchase ash and slag. Especially recently, when the price of leveling sand and construction sand has increased rapidly, more and more enterprises competed to buy ash and slag for leveling, making concrete and clinker for cement production. Up to now, 16 units have signed contracts to purchase ash and slag from three thermal power plants of Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company. In 2021, nearly 860,000 tons of more than 1 million tons of ash and slag generated from the Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company were consumed. Thanks to the great demand, only more than 10 percent of the ash and slag are temporarily stored in the yard.
In recent years, over-exploitation of sand has led to many environmental consequences. Mekong Delta provinces, such as An Giang and Dong Thap, which were considered sand pits, now also face the risk of depletion. Especially, the price of construction materials, especially sand, fluctuated constantly, causing many works and projects to stall. Therefore, many enterprises and production units have chosen ash and slag as materials for leveling.
* Mr. Nguyen Quang Huan, Director of Duyen Hai DGM Green Materials Company:
Starting operations at the end of 2020, the company has signed a contract to purchase ash and slag from Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant to produce construction materials. Every month, the company uses at least 3,000 cubic meters of fly ash and 1,000 cubic meters of slag to produce 1.5 million unbaked bricks per month, 10,000 tons of dry mortar per month, and 90,000 cubic meters of materials for leveling and concrete production per month. Ash and slag are showing great efficiency, replacing traditional building materials used in construction and leveling, with cheaper price, environmental friendliness, and good quality. Currently, the company does not have enough ash and slag for production.
* Mr. Tran Phuoc Loi, Deputy Director of Thuan Hoa TV Production, Trading and Service Company:
The company specializes in leveling projects. Recently, the price of construction materials, especially sand, has continuously climbed, causing difficulties for enterprises. Therefore, the enterprise has decided to switch to using ash and slag for leveling. Lately, the company won an auction to buy 1 million tons of ash and slag from Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant at a price of more than VND17 billion. The quality of leveling by ash and slag is not inferior to sand. Moreover, the price of one cubic meter of ash and slag is only two-thirds of one cubic meter of sand. It is estimated that Duyen Hai District and Duyen Hai Town need 5-6 million cubic meters of materials per year to level the ground and serve development needs. I hope that in the near future, ash and slag will be widely used in leveling roads and infrastructure.
Fly ash and slag of thermal power plants of the company have been granted a certificate of conformity as leveling materials and input materials for concrete, mortar, and cement production from 2020. Since then, many enterprises have registered to purchase ash and slag. Especially recently, when the price of leveling sand and construction sand has increased rapidly, more and more enterprises competed to buy ash and slag for leveling, making concrete and clinker for cement production. Up to now, 16 units have signed contracts to purchase ash and slag from three thermal power plants of Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company. In 2021, nearly 860,000 tons of more than 1 million tons of ash and slag generated from the Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company were consumed. Thanks to the great demand, only more than 10 percent of the ash and slag are temporarily stored in the yard.
In recent years, over-exploitation of sand has led to many environmental consequences. Mekong Delta provinces, such as An Giang and Dong Thap, which were considered sand pits, now also face the risk of depletion. Especially, the price of construction materials, especially sand, fluctuated constantly, causing many works and projects to stall. Therefore, many enterprises and production units have chosen ash and slag as materials for leveling.
* Mr. Nguyen Quang Huan, Director of Duyen Hai DGM Green Materials Company:
Starting operations at the end of 2020, the company has signed a contract to purchase ash and slag from Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant to produce construction materials. Every month, the company uses at least 3,000 cubic meters of fly ash and 1,000 cubic meters of slag to produce 1.5 million unbaked bricks per month, 10,000 tons of dry mortar per month, and 90,000 cubic meters of materials for leveling and concrete production per month. Ash and slag are showing great efficiency, replacing traditional building materials used in construction and leveling, with cheaper price, environmental friendliness, and good quality. Currently, the company does not have enough ash and slag for production.
* Mr. Tran Phuoc Loi, Deputy Director of Thuan Hoa TV Production, Trading and Service Company:
The company specializes in leveling projects. Recently, the price of construction materials, especially sand, has continuously climbed, causing difficulties for enterprises. Therefore, the enterprise has decided to switch to using ash and slag for leveling. Lately, the company won an auction to buy 1 million tons of ash and slag from Duyen Hai Thermal Power Plant at a price of more than VND17 billion. The quality of leveling by ash and slag is not inferior to sand. Moreover, the price of one cubic meter of ash and slag is only two-thirds of one cubic meter of sand. It is estimated that Duyen Hai District and Duyen Hai Town need 5-6 million cubic meters of materials per year to level the ground and serve development needs. I hope that in the near future, ash and slag will be widely used in leveling roads and infrastructure.
