Fly Ash (Class F & Class C)

Class F and Class C fly ash by LOI and fineness

Fly ash is the fine ash caught from the flue gas of coal-fired power stations, and a cement grinder or concrete producer buys it as a pozzolan: it reacts with the lime released by cement to add strength over time. ASTM C618 splits it into two classes by chemistry. Class F needs SiO₂ + Al₂O₃ + Fe₂O₃ of at least 70% and Class C at least 50%, the lower sum reflecting Class C's higher lime content; both carry a loss on ignition limit of 6%, although a user may accept Class F up to 12% on performance records or test results. Loss on ignition is the number that decides most trades, because it measures unburnt carbon, and carbon adsorbs air-entraining admixture and makes a concrete mix hard to control. Fineness is measured as the share retained on a 45 µm wet sieve. The European standard EN 450-1 sets fineness category N at no more than 40% retained and category S at no more than 12%, grades loss on ignition in categories (category B is 2 to 7%), and requires an activity index of at least 75% at 28 days and 85% at 90 days. A COA without loss on ignition and fineness is not a fly ash specification.

Supply is large and uneven. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2621.90 total about 13.0 million MT across reporting countries, led by India at 5.61 million MT, Japan at 2.51 million MT, Türkiye at 1.34 million MT, China at 1.33 million MT and Germany at 0.75 million MT; Viet Nam is also a leading exporter by shipment count. Bangladesh is a long-standing buyer: its fly ash requirement was put at around 4 million MT a year in 2020, largely imported from India. On the import side the United States declared 0.90 million MT under HS 2621 in 2024, Thailand 0.57 million MT and the Philippines 0.28 million MT. How the ash travels matters as much as what it is. Dry ash is conveyed pneumatically and moves in pneumatic cement carriers and bulk tankers; ash conditioned with water to control dust handles in open equipment but becomes a different cargo, because the IMSBC Code separates Fly Ash, Dry from Fly Ash, Wet, and wet fly ash is a Group A cargo that may liquefy above its transportable moisture limit, so a TML certificate and a moisture test go with the shipment. Documents are a COA with class, loss on ignition and fineness, a certificate of origin and, for European building materials, the natural-radioactivity assessment Directive 2013/59/Euratom applies to fly ash. In the EU fly ash is registered under REACH as ashes (residues), coal (EC 931-322-8). Cement has been a CBAM good since the definitive period began on 1 January 2026, but HS 2621 is not in the CBAM Annex I list. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company, and its chartering desk (LaycanDesk) quotes the freight with the cargo. Send the class and standard, the loss on ignition ceiling, dry or conditioned, discharge port and monthly tonnage, and the enquiry is worked on FOB or CFR against that.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices Egypt to West Africa cement and clinker freight on LaycanDesk.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.