Source: Headwaters Resources, South Jordan, Utah

Headwaters anticipates mid-July completion for the first phase of a major investment at Detroit Edison’s Monroe (Mich.) Power Plant, propelling a new Class F fly ash source for Midwest and Eastern Canadian concrete producers. The country’s largest manager and marketer of coal combustion products is finishing the changeover from a wet-handled ash facility, where material is placed in a disposal impoundment, to a dry process netting concrete-grade powder.

“Regulatory changes on the horizon are expected to make conversions like this even more desirable,” said Headwaters Resources Vice President Mike Adams. “Utilizing coal ash in concrete has numerous performance and environmental benefits. In addition to reducing the material going to landfills, coal ash also allows concrete producers to use less cement…that conserves natural resources and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from cement production to the tune of up to 15 million tons last year alone.”

The $10 million Detroit Edison/Monroe first phase includes installation of equipment to collect in a dry state coal ash produced in two of the station’s four combustion units; a 4,000-ton silo; and truck/rail loading equipment for distribution to concrete customers. The second phase is scheduled to begin by 2012, and will encompass collection and storage equipment for two remaining units. Each phase will represent potential capacity upward of 200,000 tons. That volume will join the approximately 7 million tons of concrete-grade fly ash Headwaters ships annually.