Purrfect solutions�, a start up company in Salt Lake City, has recently developed a method to turn the waste product from the combustion of coal known as fly ash, into a clay like material suitable for cat litter. However, as fly ash can be contaminated with toxic elements such as mercury and selenium, it is essential that the amounts of toxic contaminants do not exceed regulatory limits. In this work, several fly ash samples, as well as the cat litter derived from these samples, was analyzed using a toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP, EPA Method 1311). The range of Se found in the leachate from these samples was between 0.9 and 123.7 ppb, whilst the level of Hg was below 2 ppb for all samples, both well below regulatory standards established by the EPA.

Mercury and selenium analysis of cat litter manufactured from fly ash

245th National Meeting (2013)

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