Report and Opinion 2010;2(10) Physico - Chemical Properties of Fly ash and Soil from TISCO Power Plant, Jharia Coalfield, Jharkhand, India Arvind Kumar Rai * , Biswajit Paul, ** and Gurdeep Singh *** Research Scholar* Associate Professor** Professor and Head*** Department of Environmental Science & Engineering. Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India. E mail: arvind_dese@rediffmail.com Abstract: Thermal power plants produce enormous quantities of fly ash as a by- product of combustion of coal. The high ash content (30 -50%) of the coal in India makes disposal problem more complex. The enormous quantities of fly ash occupy vast tract of land area, as well as adversely affects for its storage and disposal problem. Its fine particles, if not managed well by nature of lightlessness, can become airborne easily in surrounding areas. Thus generation of huge quantity of fly ash poses serious environmental problems. Hence, it has become crucial that large scale utilization of fly ash in plantation or agriculture process, rather than dumping it anywhere. For this purpose, physico - chemical properties of fly ash and local soil from TISCO power plant, Jamadoba was carried out and analyzed for Specific gravity, Moisture content, Bulk density, Porosity, Water holding capacity, Lime reactivity, Organic carbon, Cation exchange capacity, Available nitrogen, pH, and Electrical conductivity. The detailed physical and chemical studies carried out on fly ash and soil of TISCO power plant has opened up a new prospect for their utilization in agriculture, plantation and vegetation purpose. [Arvind Kumar Rai, Biswajit Paul, and Gurdeep Singh. Physico - Chemical Properties of Fly ash and Soil from TISCO Power Plant, Jharia Coalfield, Jharkhand, India. Report and Opinion 2010;2(10):50-57]. (ISSN: 1553-9873). Key Words: Coal, Thermal power plants, Fly ash, Cation exchange capacity, Organic carbon. 1.0 Introduction Coal is combustible material generally occurring in sedimentary rock in layers called coal beds. Coal is composed of primarily of carbon, along with variable quantities of other elements, mainly Sulphur, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen. Coal begins as layers of plant matter accumulate at the bottom of a body of water. In 2006, China was the top producer of coal with 38% share followed by the USA and India. Coal reserves in major countries are given in Table 1. Table 1. Coal reserves in major countries as on 2006 (million tonnes) S. No Countries Bituminous & Anthracite Sub Bituminous & Lignite Total 1 United states 111,338 135,305 246,643 2 Russia 49,088 107,922 157,010 3 china 62,200 52,300 114,500 4 India 90,085 2,360 92,445 5 Australia 38,600 39,900 78,500 6 South Africa 48,750 0 48,750 (Source: BP Statistics review, 2007) Nearly 60% of India total installed power generation capacity is produced by coal based thermal power plants. The combustion of powered coal in power plants produces ash, which contains high ash content. There are about 84 thermal power stations in India producing nearly 120 million tonnes http://www.sciencepub.net/report editor@sciencepub.net 50