Dmitry Serant took part in the working group of the RF State Council for Power

A meeting of the section on legal support for improving the environmental efficiency of coal generation, including the problem of bottom ash waste disposal at the coal-operated TPPs was held on July 26, 2019 in the RF State Duma.

Under the supervision of Dmitry Islamov (Head of the Section, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Power), the committee discussed topical issues of the ash dumps overfilling and the options for their unloading. Russia takes the 13th place in terms of generation of power in the coal-operated thermal power plants (TPPs), following only China and India. The experience of these countries demonstrates that, due to several legal measures, we can significantly increase the bottom ash waste (BAW) disposal.

So far, the BAW application in Russia is low. Nevertheless, the global practice demonstrates that it can be used as efficient additives and fillers in the production of a wide range of construction materials: cement, concrete, bricks, as well as in soils and artificial bulk inert materials for restoring the disturbed lands, construction of motor roads, and land planning.

During the meeting, the options for the phased integration of bottom ash waste into the economic turnover were discussed, including its use in the construction industry. The option of introducing a prohibition on the use of natural mineral materials for construction and production of construction materials in the regions where BAW is available having the technical, sanitary, and hygienic characteristics that allow replacing the natural resources, was also discussed.

Achievement of the global aim — transferring Russian coal-operated TPPs to operation without ash dumps and full disposal of BAW – is only possible if the authorities support this initiative. The participants of the meeting of the State Council, including the representatives of the major generating companies, design institutes, and deputies, supported the proposed options and recommended the respective amendments to the federal laws.

Moreover, during the meeting of the committee, the participants discussed the pilot project for 100% disposal of the ash at the Artyomovskaya GRES being designed. If the project is implemented, COTES is ready to take part in designing the system for dry ash handling and the system for the BAW disposal in cooperation with ZAO “ProfCementVector”.