Resource and recycling: a comprehensive review of India’s coal landscape, characterization, and the current to future potential of fly ash from thermal power plants

This study delves into a comprehensive review of coal mining, production, and consumption in India, focusing on thermal power plants and the generation of coal fly ash (CFA). It assesses CFA's physicochemical properties and potential applications, as well as its environmental and technological management aspects. CFA, an industrial by-product, has gained importance due to increasing disposal challenges and environmental concerns. Reviewing global trends, the study highlights the economic, environmental, and sustainability implications of CFA utilization, emphasizing both opportunities and challenges. CFA has valuable properties for use in construction materials, agriculture, water purification, wastewater treatment, metal recovery, ceramics, and paint, contributing to environmental pollution mitigation and waste recycling. However, challenges such as metal leaching variability and logistical barriers hinder its widespread adoption. Regulatory support, including preferential recycling policies, is identified as critical to promoting CFA utilization. The future of CFA utilization in India looks promising, bolstered by initiatives like the "Swachh Bharat Mission" and the "National Clean Energy Fund." Recommendations include optimizing CFA's agricultural applications by studying long-term effects on soil health and productivity. Emerging technologies, such as blending CFA with organic and industrial wastes, biosolids, and innovative materials, hold the potential for enhancing sustainability, highlighting the need for further research.