From toxic waste to ideal home

New building materials put coal power station residues to use

Australian researchers have come up with something to help stem the overload of greenhouse gases in India and China. They’re making building materials from fly ash - a toxic powder that coal-burning power plants churn out as waste.

China and India between them produce an estimated 300 million tonnes of this horrible stuff each year. That’s plenty of raw material just begging to be turned into Flash Bricks and Flashag - the invention of Obada Kayali and Karl Shaw of the University of New South Wales, who say that their brainchild is both stronger and lighter than traditional building materials.

Fly ash creates environmental and health problems in countries throughout the world. India and China, with their huge populations and heavy use of coal, are worst affected. Currently some fly ash is used in certain cements, but more than 65% of the waste is left to rot in landfills worldwide. The new Flashag materials are made almost entirely of the contaminated powder, which is neutralised during the manufacturing process. “This means larger consumption of the ash,” says Kayali. “There is growing interest in reducing greenhouse gases, reducing chemical pollutants and dust emissions, and stopping the alienation of the land. Flash Bricks and Flashag overcome many of these problems.”

The products are currently licensed in the UK and US, and business relations are being developed in China, India, and other countries. - Caroline Goldman

9 November 2006