Characterization of Santa Catarina (Brazil) coal with respect to human health and environmental concerns

Abstract

The current paper presents the concentration, distribution, and modes of occurrence of trace elements of 13 coals from south Brazil. The samples were collected in the state of Santa Catarina. Chemical analyses and the high ash yields indicate that all studied coals are rich in mineral matter, with SiO(2) and Al(2)O(3) dominating as determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Quartz is the main mineral species and is associated with minor levels of feldspars, kaolinite, hematite, and iron-rich carbonates. The contents of trace elements, including As, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Mn, Be, V, U, Zn, Li, Cu, Tl, and Ni, in coals were determined. A comparison of ranges and means of elemental concentrations in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and world coals shows that the ranges of most elements in Santa Catarina coal are very close to the usual worldwide concentration ranges in coal.

Nanominerals and nanoparticles in feed coal and bottom ash: implications for human health effects

“…Brazilian coals have considerable concentrations of pyrite (Silva et al 2009b), which has recently been shown to spontaneously generate hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) (Cohn et al 2005) and hydroxyl radicals ( • OH) (Cohn et al 2004) when placed in water. The formation of these reactive oxygen species (ROS) also explains the recent observation that aqueous pyrite slurries degrade yeast RNA, ribosomal RNA and DNA (Cohn et al 2006).…”

Mineralogy and Leaching Characteristics of Coal Ash from a Major Brazilian Power Plant

“…These power plants produce approximately 3 Mt of ash per year, of which 65-85% is fly ash and 15-35% bottom ash. In Santa Catarina, where the largest of the thermal plants is located, the coals used for power production tend to be high in ash and sulfur (Silva et al, 2009a). There is also considerable concern over particulate matter, due to the low efficiency of fine-particle-emissions control systems (Teixeira et al, 2009).…”

A preliminary study of coal mining drainage and environmental health in the Santa Catarina region, Brazil

“…The data obtained on trace elements in our samples are shown in Table 1. Because of the lower calorific value, combustion by-products from Brazilian coals can be expected to have larger amounts of non-volatile elements per unit of energy than U.S. coals, but the concentrations of these elements in the Brazilian combustion byproducts are diluted by the high quartz contents (Silva et al 2009b). …”

“…Various trace elements, such as As, Co, Cu, Pb, Ni, Se, uranium (U), and Zn, are concentrated in coal (Table 1) and are harmful to the health of aquatic and Silva et al (2009b) terrestrial organisms (US Environmental Protection Agency 2002a, b). These were also found in the CMD water samples collected in this study (Table 2).…”

“…Brazilian coal contains a considerable amount of pyrite (Pires and Querol 2004;Kalkreuth et al 2006;Silva et al 2009b), and pyrite has recently been shown to spontaneously generate hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ; Borda et al 2001;Cohn et al 2005) and hydroxyl radicals ( • OH; Cohn et al 2004) when placed in water. The formation of these reactive oxygen species (ROS) also explains the recent observation that aqueous pyrite slurries degrade yeast RNA, ribosomal RNA, and DNA (Cohn et al 2006).…”