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Enrichment of Sulfate, Acidity and Mercury in Native outcrop coal, Southwest China

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Abstract

The coal found in the Longtan Formation of the Late Permian is widely distributed in Southwest China, including the northwestern Guizhou, southeastern Sichuan, and northern Yunnan regions. This coal typically has a high sulfur content. Eighty-two coal samples were collected from the coal strata in 11 counties spanning this area, including underground mine coal, native outcrop coal and man-made outcrop coal. The mercury, total fluorine, total sulfur, and sulfate contents and pH values were determined. The results showed that the average mercury content in native outcrop coal was 2233 ng/g, whereas that in underground mine coal was 306 ng/g, and the relative enrichment factor could reach 6.6. There was no significant difference in the total fluorine content among the three types of coals; furthermore, the total sulfur content in native outcrop coal and man-made outcrop coal was higher than that in underground mine coal because of the local policy, which strictly prohibits the mining of high-sulfur coal. Native outcrop coal is acidic, with a total average pH of 3.54 and an average sulfate content as high as 13,390 μg/g. In contrast, underground coal is almost neutral (average pH 7.33), with a low sulfate content (average 3221 μg/g). These characterizations indicate that native outcrop coal has been subjected to long-term weathering and the mercury enrichment is likely due to migration, oxidation, and precipitation of Hg from the underground coal seam and enriched in loose and pulverized coal particles. Further investigation is needed to determine whether other outcrop areas are affected by this phenomenon.

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Data availability

The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Miss **g Lei for her assistance in the field work and Changqiu Zhao for his laboratory work.

Funding

This work was supported by the Anhui Natural Science Foundation Project (No. 2008085QD169), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41902172 and 41772157), and the Natural Science Research Project of Colleges and Universities in Anhui Province (No. KJ2020A1204).

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  1. College of Life Sciences, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, Anhui, China

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    Correspondence to Kang Yang.

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Hong, X., Yang, K., Liang, H. et al. Enrichment of Sulfate, Acidity and Mercury in Native outcrop coal, Southwest China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 63368–63381 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26791-y

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