Chemical and Mechanical Properties of Attarat (Jordan) Oil Shale Ash and Its Engineering Viable Options

Oil shale ash (OSA) resulted from the combustion of Jordanian Attarat oil shale at different conditions has been chemically and physically characterized. XRD analysis of OSA showed that the main phases present were quartz and calcite in addition to structures like, pyrite, dioside, fluorapatite and muscovite. XRF analysis showed that increasing the ashing temperature to above 650°C accelerated the transformation reaction of calcite into lime. The transformation process was found to continue until the calcite phase completely disappeared at and above 850°C. The pH of the produced ash was found to be in the range of 9.4 to 12.18 based on ashing temperature. OSA with high pH value possessed alkaline properties and underwent alkaline reactions in contact with water. Performed mechanical properties tests indicated that Attarat OSA is a very rapid permeable material (>25 cm/h). Attarat OSA revealed low holding capacity ratio of water, which was estimated to be (3.8 g H 2 O/g ash), indicating high permeability and ability to percolate a leachate after contacting with water to other soil layers and consequently to the aquifer of underground water. It is worth mentioning that highlighting chemical composition and mechanical properties of Attarat oil shale ash will open the opportunity for its future reuse in various engineering applications as : catalyst, adsorbent, filler, additives and source of precious metals.