This materials section was created through the support of NanoSonic, a private clean-tech company that researches, designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes innovative materials and products.
Power plants that burn coal account for more than half of the electricity produced in the United States. These power plants also produce residual materials like fly ash (which is captured from the exhaust of the boiler) that can be recovered for productive uses such as additive ingredients in concrete, wallboard, mortars, stuccos, blocks, bricks, shingles, paints and a variety of other building materials. They are also used to stabilize soils or wastes, and can be used as structural fill or road base materials. They're even used by peanut farmers to improve their crop yields.