Abstract
Besides spewing carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air, coal-fired plants also produce solid waste that poses environmental risks because it can contain arsenic, mercury, chromium, selenium, and other toxic metals. This coal ash is the residue produced when coal is burned, and plants in the US and elsewhere capture and store it, typically in unlined waste ponds. According to a study released March 4 by advocacy groups, toxic chemicals leaching from coal-ash ponds contaminate groundwater at 91% of coal plants in the US. A team at North Carolina State University thinks that seeding coal-ash ponds with microbes could help contain this toxic waste. With the right food supply, certain microbes create calcium carbonate, the main component in cement, which then precipitates out of the water to stiffen the sludge and contain toxic metals. (J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng. 2019, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002036). To carry out biocementation, bacteria need a taste
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