Chemical properties. The effect of fly ash on chemical properties of soil is influenced by original pH of both ash and soil.

The pH (4.5-12.0) of fly ash varies depending on the sulpher content of the parent coal and the type of coal used for combustion affects the sulpher content of fly ash. Neutralizing capacities of ash varied from 0.01 to 3.74 meq . The liming potential of fly ash is derived from the hydrolysis of CaO and

MgO, major constituents of fly ash. Applications of alkaline fly ash have invariably been associated with the corresponding increase in soil pH and improving the nutrient status of soil. Application of fly ash to soil (8% by weight) increases pH (5.4-9.9) of the calcareous soil. The lignite fly ash was equivalent to about 20% of reagent grade CaCO3 in reducing soil acidity and supplying Ca needs of plants (due to fly ash as a liming material). The pH of soil was significantly influenced with ash application and there was a marked reduction in pH with increase in percentage of fly ash and the values being minimum under 30 percent fly ash application and maximum under the control.

Highly alkaline fly ash, added to sample of acidic and alkaline soil mixture, actually decreased the amount of Fe, Mn, Ni, Co and Pb released from the acid soil, while the release of these metals from the alkaline soil remained unchanged. Fresh ash has been found more effective in raising soil pH to levels conducive to maximum plant growth than that of weathered ash in given soil. The pH alone does not determine role of fly ash as amendment but under certain situations composition of fly ash plays a

useful role. A significant increase in EC has been reported with increase in percentage of fly ash after 25 days of incorporation. However, EC decreases after the harvesting of rice and further reduction was recorded after the harvesting of wheat. One possible reason for this may be that salts might have leached down with water and resulting in lower EC of the soil after a certain period. Boron has tendency to accumulate in soils as a result of fly ash addition. Fly ash amendment can increase concentration of trace elements, particularly Se. Ash has also been explored for removing contaminating metal from sewage effluent and aqueous solutions. Increased Se accumulation in plant tissues with increased fly ash application warrants close monitoring and use if appropriate quantity of weathered fly ash depending upon the end use of the produced biomass. Ash samples from dumping site and directly from electrostatic precipitator of Bhatinda Thermal Power Plant indicated that Ca was the most dominant cation of the exchanged complex, followed by Mg, Na and K. Content of S were quite high. Amongst DTPA extractable micronutrients only Fe was present in higher amount. The rate of release of Na was found to be much less than Ca and Mg. Ash collected from ESP was relatively finer in texture, lower in pH and generally richer in nutrient when compared with ash from dumping site. An incubation study conducted with sandy loam and sandy soil amended with 0, 5 and 10 % fly ash indicated decreased bulk density and pH but increased the salt content of soils. The plant available water content increased over control for sandy loam and sandy soil with addition of fly ash. Though fly ash used in study contained appreciable amount of P, but its application to soil decreased the available P content. Availability of S, Fe, B and Mo also increased whereas K and Mn remained almost unchanged. Compaction Characteristics Compaction characteristics of soil-fly ash mixes were studied by several investigators since they are very important in the construction of embankments, roads, and backfilling of retaining walls. Several investigators reported that the maximum dryunit weight increases and the optimum moisture content decreases due to addition of fly ash (Basavanna and Ravi Kumar 1990, Choudhary 1994, Pandian 2004, Prabakar 2004) The compaction tests were performed to get the optimum water content and maximum dry unit weight of fly ash sample.

Compressive strength Based on Reyes and Pando (2007), the compressive strength of tested plain fly ash for 7 days curing period gives 4754 kN/m2. The compressive strength values indicate that all admixture treatment types

resulted in strength gains and that most of the gain occurred within the first seven days of curing. The fast strength gain is believed to be related to the initial rapid hydration that takes place with the admixture. The strength gain due to stabilization depends mainly upon three factors; ash content, molding water content and compaction delay (Senol et al 2006). Fly ash has been used successfully in many projects to improve the strength characteristics of soils. Fly ash can be used to stabilize bases or subgrades, to stabilize backfill to reduce lateral earth pressures and to stabilize embankments to improve slope stability. Typical stabilized soil depths are 15 to 46 centimeters (6 to 18 inches). The primary reason fly ash is used in soil stabilization applications is to improve the compressive and shearing strength of soils. The compressive strength of fly ash treated soils is dependent on: In-place soil properties Delay time Moisture content at time of compaction Fly ash addition ratio