IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i8p1368-d223264.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Potential Environmental Impact of PAHs on Soil and Water Resources in Air Deposited Coal Refuse Sites in Niangziguan Karst Catchment, Northern China

Author

Listed:
  • Chengcheng Li

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology and School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China)

  • Xin Zhang

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology and School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China)

  • Xubo Gao

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology and School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China)

  • Shihua Qi

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology and School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China)

  • Yanxin Wang

    (State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology and School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China)

Abstract

Long-term deposition of coal spoil piles may lead to serious pollution of soil and water resources in the dumping sites and surrounding areas. Karst aquifers are highly sensitive to environmental pollution. In this study, the occurrence and release/mobilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in coal waste and coal spoils fire gas mineral (CSFGM) were evaluated by field and indoor investigations at Yangquan city, one of the major coal mining districts in the karst areas of northern China. Field investigations showed that dumping of coal waste over decades has resulted in soil and water pollution via spontaneous combustion and leaching of coal spoil piles. Indoor analysis revealed that the 2-ring and 3-ring PAHs contribute to 65–80% of the total PAHs in coal spoils, with naphthalene (Nap), Chrysene (Chr), and Phenanthrene (Phe) as the dominant compounds. Based on a heating/burning simulation experiment, the production of PAHs is temperature-dependent and mainly consists of low-ring PAHs: 2-ring, 3-ring, and part of the 4-ring PAHs. The PAHs in the leachate are light-PAHs (Nap, 20.06 ng/L; Phe, 4.76 ng/L) with few heavy-PAHs. The distribution modes of PAHs in two soil profiles suggest that the precipitation caused downward movement of PAHs and higher mobility of light-PAHs.

Suggested Citation

  • Chengcheng Li & Xin Zhang & Xubo Gao & Shihua Qi & Yanxin Wang, 2019. "The Potential Environmental Impact of PAHs on Soil and Water Resources in Air Deposited Coal Refuse Sites in Niangziguan Karst Catchment, Northern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:8:p:1368-:d:223264
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/8/1368/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/8/1368/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yahui Qian & Zhenpeng Xu & Xiuping Hong & Zhonggeng Luo & Xiulong Gao & Cai Tie & Handong Liang, 2022. "Alkylated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Are the Largest Contributor to Polycyclic Aromatic Compound Concentrations in the Topsoil of Huaibei Coalfield, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, October.
    2. Liang Song & Ying Yu & Zelin Yan & Dong Xiao & Yongqi Sun & Xuanxuan Zhang & Xingkai Li & Binbin Cheng & Han Gao & Dong Bai, 2022. "Rapid Analysis of Composition of Coal Gangue Based on Deep Learning and Thermal Infrared Spectroscopy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Wojciech Rykała & Monika J. Fabiańska & Dominika Dąbrowska, 2022. "The Influence of a Fire at an Illegal Landfill in Southern Poland on the Formation of Toxic Compounds and Their Impact on the Natural Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-22, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:8:p:1368-:d:223264. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.