Toxicological Characterization of Nigerian Bituminous Coal Fly Ash and Priority Assessment of the Potential Applications Based on the Concept of Industrial Ecology

The impact of coal fly ash (CFA) exposure to the ecosystem and human health has not gone
unnoticed. Is quiet very obvious that CFA disposal will continue unabated and will continue to
constitute a menace to the ecosystem as the demands for energy soured-up. This is expected as the
utilization and exploration of dormant coal deposits will take a comeback into the energy master-plan
of most developing economies. As a fallout of these demands, the health risk associated with CFA,
particularly as regards the Nigerian bituminous CFA were reported in this study. Albino rats were
separately administered coal fly ash sample burned at a temperatures of 500°C and 900°C. The
assumption is to get more insight whether coal burning temperature participated in defining the
underlying susceptibility of CFA toxicity. The in vivo study shows the CFA at both ashing temperature
exerted similar effect on both the biochemical indices and the histological section of the rats,
suggesting the effects to be independent of the temperature at which samples were burned. Even
though, the CFA were observed to trigger toxic induced effects, the chapter picture the CFA
generated from coal combustion processes as an integral components of a productive cycles than a
menace. A resources for other applications and a sink that may act to absorb or detoxify waste. This
chapter attempt to establish an ecological symbiosis between the CFA generated as a waste to
environmental sustainability by closing material cycle in concert with the ecosystem based on the
concept of industrial ecology. The expectations are that the impact of the chapter will influences
changing post-processing materials from coal combustion processes from waste to resources. The
Nigerian bituminous CFA sample collected at two different ashing temperatures of 500°C and 900°C
produced similar biochemical and histological effects. The analyses showed that the effects were not
dose and ashing temperatures dependent. Attributed, more probably to the combustion efficiency
rather than coal type and fly ash sampling temperature. And more probably to the ability of both the
organic and inorganic constituents of the CFA to initiate and induce the formation of free radicals,
particularly activated reactive oxygen species, by Fenton-like reaction. To ameliorate the
environmental-related concerns of CFA on the ecosystem, the concept of industrial ecology were
discussed in line with natural concept of ecology. Placing emphasis on CFA utilization in soil
amendment and reclamations, in agriculture, as adsorbents materials, in catalysis, in ceramics and in
concretes. The assumption is that changing post-processing materials from waste to resources will
reduce economic cost and environmental impact of effluent like CFA.