LafargeHolcim, Geocycle partner with CenterPoint Energy to recycle coal ash

LafargeHolcim in the U.S., its subsidiary, Geocycle and CenterPoint Energy Inc. have announced a major milestone in their multiyear initiative to recover and recycle more than 6 million tons of coal ash for beneficial reuse in producing cement.

The companies invested a combined $80 million in infrastructure to remove, process, transport, store and recycle coal ash produced at CenterPoint Energy’s A.B. Brown generating station in Evansville, Indiana. The Houston-based company operates two coal-fired generation plants in southwestern Indiana.

The coal ash will be transported to LafargeHolcim’s flagship cement plant in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri—reducing the cement plant’s consumption of natural materials, such as clay and sand. LafargeHolcim, with U.S. headquarters in Chicago, is one of the nation’s largest cement producers.

“This milestone is a tangible example of how industry participants together can develop creative and efficient solutions that contribute to the circular economy. Together, LafargeHolcim, Geocycle and CenterPoint Energy will avoid landfilling for power plants and reduce the consumption of non-renewable raw materials. This is a clear win-win for people and our planet,” says Toufic Tabbara, CEO of U.S. Cement for LafargeHolcim, in a news release announcing the initiative.

The teams recently achieved the first barge shipment of nearly 2,000 tons of the reclaimed material—containing mostly bottom ash with some fly ash—from the 165-acre pond at CenterPoint Energy’s A.B. Brown plant. Geocycle has managed the ongoing initiative between LafargeHolcim and CenterPoint Energy since 2009.

“Our multi-year initiative with LafargeHolcim and Geocycle has been the ideal solution as it has allowed for the material to be removed from the environment and used for beneficial purposes,” says Steve Greenley, senior vice president of Indiana electric operations for CenterPoint Energy. “CenterPoint Energy’s decision to recycle the coal ash has reduced the impact on the environment and allowed for a choice with less financial impact than other compliance options.”

Used as fuel for one-quarter of electricity generation in America, coal creates two kinds of combustion waste: fly ash and bottom ash, a sandy sludge. According to the American Coal Ash Association, only 52 percent of the 78.6 million tons of coal ash produced in electricity generation in 2019 was beneficially reused.

The balance—37.6 million tons—was disposed of in landfills or retention ponds. There are more than 2 billion tons of landfilled ash in the U.S. To mitigate environmental risks, federal regulations are mandating the closure of ash ponds and encouraging the recycling of the materials to achieve environmental and economic benefits.

With careful material sourcing and testing, this initiative advances the treatment of ponded coal-ash material for beneficial reuse in the production of concrete mixes. This technology, which included trials on CenterPoint Energy’s ponded coal ash, is being deployed in select markets that are experiencing fly-ash shortages due to the ongoing retirement of coal-fired power plants in the U.S.