Characterization of Coal Fly Ash Modified by Sodium Lauryl Sulphate

The application of coal fly ash as mineral filler in polymers is hampered by the aggregation of the ash particles and a lack of interaction between the ash and polymer. In this study, a commercially available South African coal fly ash sample was treated under a variety of conditions with an anionic surfactant, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), with the aim to modify the surface and physical properties of the ash. The properties of the modified products were compared to those of the untreated samples by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM-EDS) thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA-IR), particle size distribution, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was applied to gain a better understanding of the changes in chemical bonding and interactions on the surface of the modified ash. World of Coal Ash (WOCA) Conference May 9-12, 2011, in Denver, CO, USA http://www.flyash.info/