Company installing crushed rock eco-lining to hold pulverized fuel ash from Aberthaw power station
NORTH-Wales-based civil engineering firm Jones Bros have begun work on the latest phase of a major project to install an eco-lining in a quarry to enable it to hold pulverized fuel ash (PFA) from Aberthaw power station, in South Wales.
The project involves the innovative use of crushed rock (mudstone) as part of the third phase of construction of a huge containment cell at the former quarry.
It is the first time in the UK that crushed rock has been recycled for use as a geological barrier for such a cell and forms part of an RWE npower restoration project to regenerate the quarry to an area of agricultural use.
The new material, which creates a geological barrier that has attenuation properties similar to those constructed using more conventional materials, has the added benefit of saving on waste – a vital consideration given the increasing pressure on UK industries to improve their green credentials.
The barrier construction operation is located in a redundant area of Aberthaw’s north quarry, not far from the coal-fired power station where surplus PFA from the combustion process has been deposited since 2007.
Geraint Thomas, contracts manager for Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK, said: ‘We expect phase three to take around six months to complete. It will involve excavating 150,000 cubic metres of rock and crushing 60,000 cubic metres of it. The aggregate produced will be used as drainage stone to form part of the cell lining, along with the placement of geotextile and a 20mm to dust barrier layer on top.’
