Environmental assessment and nano-mineralogical characterization of coal,overburden and sediment from Indian coal mining acid drainage

The deterioration of environmental conditions is the major contributory factor to poor health and quality of life that hinders sustainable development in any region.Coal mining is one of the major industries that contribute to the economy of a country but it also impacts the environment.The chemical parameters of the coal,overburden,soil and sediments along with the coal mine drainage(CMD)were investigated in order to understand the overall environmental impact from high sulphur coal mining at northeastern coalfield(India).It was found that the total sulphur content of the coal is noticeably high compared to the overburden(OB)and soil.The volatile matter of the coal is sufficiently high against the high ash content of the soil and overburden.The water samples have a High Electrical Conductivity(EC)and high Total Dissolve Solid(TDS).Lower values of pH,indicate the dissolution of minerals present in the coal as well as other minerals in the mine rejects/overburden.The chemical and nano-mineralogical composition of coal,soil and overburden samples was studied using a High Resolution-Transmission Electron Microscopy(HR-TEM),Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy(EDS),Selected-Area Diffraction(SAED),Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy(FE-SEM)/EDS,X-ray diffraction(XRD),Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy(FTIR),Raman and Ion-Chromatographic analysis,and Mossbauer spectroscopy.From different geochemical analysis it has been found that the mine water sample from Ledo colliery has the lowest pH value of 3.30,Tirap colliery samples have the highest electrical conductivity value of5.40 ms cm^(-1)Both Ledo and Tirap coals have total sulphur contents within the range 3-3.50%.The coal mine water from Tirap colliery(TW-15 B)has high values of Mg^(2+)(450 ppm),and Br^-(227.17 ppm).XRD analysis revealed the presence of minerals including quartz and hematite in the coals.Mineral analysis of coal mine overburden(OB)indicates the presence both of pyrite and marcasite which was also confirmed in XRD and Mossbauer spectral analysis.The presented data of the minerals and ultra/nano-particles present shows their ability to control the mobility of hazardous elements,suggesting possible use in environmental management technology,including restoration of the delicate Indian coal mine areas.

Genesis of Strata-bound Sulfide Orebodies in the Tongling Polymetallic Mineralization Cluster, SE China: Evidence from Colloform Pyrite

Colloform pyrite(CPy)is widely distributed in the Tongling mineralization cluster of the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Mineralization Belt(MLYRMB),China.There have many debates as to whether such CPy is associated with Late Mesozoic igneous or Carboniferous sedimentation.CPy from the Xinqiao deposit,a representative of the stratabound sulfide deposits in the MLYRMB,was studied by powder X-ray diffraction(XRD),field-emission scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(TEM).The results show that CPy mainly comprises pyrite,pyrrhotite,quartz,and illite.Pyrite in CPy shows cubic,globule,and xenomorphic morphologies.No octahedral or pyritohedron was observed.Most of the quartz crystals display xenomorphic morphology,where pyrite mold are popular on the surface.Organic matter(OM),which is usually bound to illite,is an important component in CPy.Morphological investigations which exhibit detrital features of quartz and clay minerals indicate that they were derived from continental weathering.Specially,some hexagonal pyrrhotite nanoparticles which show mackinawite morphology are coexisted with OM.The results indicate that the transformation process of sulfides possibly is mackinawite(the precursor)—hexagonal pyrrhotite-pyrite.Thus,compositional and micro-textural characteristics of CPy in Xinqiao deposit suggest it to be a sedimentary origin rather than a hydrothermal origin which is associated with Yanshanian magmatism.Moreover,the coexistence of CPy and stratabound sulfide orebodies in the MLYRMB suggests a causal link between the two.It is considered that CPy might have served as a Cu mineralization geochemical barrier for the Cu-bearing ore-forming fluids,which originated from the Mesozoic magma in the MLYRMB.

Nano-solids in manganese nodules from northern part of Pacific Ocean floor——Nano-solids in minerals and prospects of its uses in industry

The study of the crystal structure and particle size of manganese nodules from the northernpart of the Central Pacific Ocean floor indicates that besides the phases of todorokite,birnessite and δ-MnOwith the crystallite size at the micron scale,there are many other multi-phase solids having particle size at thenanomater scale.The chemical analysis,TEM study,M(?)ssbauer spectroscopy and differential thermal analysisshow that they are mainly ferri-hydroxides with the short-range ordered structure similar to that of goethiteand lepidocrocite.The small-angle X-ray scattering measurements indicate that the peak position of the particlesize distribution is at 5-10nm,hence the existence of nano-solids in minerals is confirmed.