Meet the standards for landfill but still unsold

Power Generation Corporation 1 (EVNGENCO1) and Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company have just met with 31 ash and slag consuming enterprises to remove difficulties and promote ash and slag consumption for 3 plants: Duyen Hai 1, Duyen Hai 3, and Duyen Hai 3 expansion thermal power plants at Duyen Hai Power Center (Tra Vinh).

Currently, in addition to the daily ash emissions of about 2,000 - 5,000 tons (depending on the capacity of the generators), the factories also have slag dumps containing about 3.8 million tons of ash that need to be consumed.

Mr. Ngo Van Sy, Director of Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company (the unit assigned by EVNGENCO1 to manage and operate 3 plants: Duyen Hai 1 Thermal Power Plant, Duyen Hai 3, Duyen Hai 3 Extension) said: "Every year, the ash and slag of the company's plants are sampled by the Institute of Construction Science and Technology - Ministry of Construction for testing and certification of conformity and compliance for use in landfill and construction according to current standards and regulations".

In recent times, the Government has also focused on directing the treatment and use of ash and slag. Specifically, Decision 452/2017/QD-CP approving the Project to promote the treatment and use of ash, slag, and gypsum; Directive 08/CT-TTg dated March 26, 2021 of the Prime Minister on promoting the treatment and use of ash and slag as raw materials for the production of construction materials and in construction works.

However, if in 2022 - 2023, the ash and slag of the factories of Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company consumed about 90 - 95%, then in the first 4 months of 2024, the consumption only reached about 80%. Of which, most of the ash and slag is consumed through silos pumped to tankers and barges to supply cement and concrete production enterprises. That is also the reason why when the construction market is sluggish, the consumption of cement and concrete decreases, causing the consumption of ash and slag to stagnate. In particular, the consumption of 3.8 million tons of ash and slag stored outside the slag yard is even more difficult when it can only be used for landfill and making unburnt bricks, even though samples are taken, certified to meet standards and regulations for landfill use every year.

Cost and environmental issues

Previously, at the end of 2021, Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company successfully auctioned 1 million tons of ash and slag as landfill material with a value of more than 17 billion VND. However, up to now, the winning enterprise has only sold about 20,000 tons, landfilling for a driving school project in the area. The biggest difficulty this enterprise encountered is that project investors who need to landfill are not interested in ash and slag, and do not include ash and slag in the design documents. Although for local projects, the cost of using ash and slag for landfill is considered lower than sand, the source of sand for landfill is scarce, and the price of sand is pushed up.

According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu, Financial Director of Hoang Son Flyash and Cement Joint Stock Company, to overcome difficulties for businesses wanting to use ash as landfill material, it is necessary to remove two main barriers: cost and environment. "Businesses will have to carefully evaluate costs such as loading, unloading, transportation and environmental safety issues. As far as I know, up to now, no unit has completed the full legal documents to assess the environmental impact of using ash as landfill material. Therefore, we hope that ministries and branches will soon issue specific standards to promote the use of ash as landfill material. Thereby, promoting the consumption and treatment of ash, especially in thermal power plants in the South, which are currently facing problems such as nearly full slag dumps," said Mr. Vu.

Mr. Pham Viet Hung, member of the Board of Directors of EVNGENCO1, said that EVNGENCO1 can commit to and ensure that it meets the requirements of ash and slag standards as landfill materials and for cement use... Regarding the cost and purchase price of ash and slag, it is necessary to first determine that this is a local material with local characteristics. The issue of whether it is used locally on-site or in another location will require calculation and proposal to the competent authority to issue cost and price norms as a basis for conducting the auction. "The goal is how to speed up the consumption of 3.8 million tons of ash and slag at the slag dump and ensure the consumption of the amount of ash and slag emitted daily," said Mr. Hung.

According to Duyen Hai Thermal Power Company, despite many difficulties, the consumption of ash and slag at factories still has many prospects when recently, the investor of VSIP Can Tho industrial park project came to the factory to conduct a field survey and is requesting procedures to use ash and slag from factories to fill the industrial park. If successful, the need for filling materials of the above project will be up to 8 million ^m3 . Similarly, the Song Hau 2 Thermal Power Plant project (Hau Giang) is also researching the use of ash and slag from factories in Duyen Hai as filling materials with a need of about 1.5 million ^m3 .