This article is a critical overview on the experimental results on development of activation techniques to acquire a deeper understanding of surface chemistry and to improve the catalytic activity of coal fly ash, in relation to its use as solid acid catalyst and catalytic support materials. Studied fly ash was collected from Jamshedpur Thermal Power Station as an extremely fine ash, formed from the inorganic components of the coal, mainly silica and alumina which remain after combustion of the carbonaceous part of the coal. Mechanical activation results in slight increase in silica percentage, amorphous nature, specific surface area and surface roughness, as evident by analytical measurements using XRF, XRD, FT-IR, BET surface area, TGA-DTA and SEM techniques. Thermal activation evaluates the changes in phase mineralogy, removal of amorphous carbon and enhanced the silica amount. The variation of surface and Physico-chemical properties of the fly ash by activation methods resulted in improved acid and therefore, catalytic activity of fly ash.
Keywords: Fly Ash; Mechanical Activation; Chemical Activation; Acid Treatment; Deposition-Precipitation Method; Ball Milling