Kinetic test to estimate mobility of macroand micro-elements in composition of solid coal refuse

The article describes the modified kinetic test data on estimation of long-term environmental impact of coal refuse. The test includes sequential outwashing of water-soluble substances from overburden rocks of different composition after each cycle of treatment in a test cell at the temperature of 25 °C and moisture of 95%. It is shown that for overburden with low content of sulfur, sequential leaching of water-soluble substances leads to no substantial change in mobility of macroand micro-elements. For overburden with high sulfur content, outwashing of water-soluble substances after the 1st week of treatment in the test cell initiates oxidation of sulfur-containing minerals and increases their intensity. This shows up as a decrease in the total sulfur content of overburden and an increase in percentage of water-soluble sulfur forms. It is emphasized that mobility of macroand micro-elements, including sulfur, during longterm treatment of sulfur-bearing rocks reduces greatly in every next cycle of treatment, which increases pH of water extract and decreases thereby potential risk of acid water formation during extended storage of such waste.

Hao J., Epstein S. A., Lavrinenko A. A., Fomina E. G. Kinetic test to estimate mobility of macroand micro-elements in composition of solid coal refuse. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2025;(1):5-19. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2025_1_0_5.

The study was carried out within the framework of the Strategic Project on Technologies for Sustainable Development of the Priority 2030 Academic Leadership Program.

J. Hao¹, Graduate Student, e-mail: haoj1127@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0008-6621-4518,
S.A. Epstein¹, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Professor, Head of Laboratory, e-mail: apshtein@yandex.ru, ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8356-4319,
A.A. Lavrinenko¹, Project Engineer, e-mail: alina.lavrinenko@rambler.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0005-0918-2597,
E.G. Fomina¹, Project Engineer, e-mail: egseemenova@misis.ru, ORCID ID: 0009-0006-8100-467X,
¹ NUST MISIS, Research Educational Testing Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Coals, 119049, Moscow, Russia.

J. Hao, e-mail: haoj1127@yandex.ru.

1. Setiawan I. E., Zhang Z., Corder G., Matsubae K. Evaluation of environmental and economic benefits of land reclamation in the Indonesian coal mining industry. Resources. 2021, vol. 10, no. 6, article 60. DOI: 10.3390/resources10060060.

2. Skousen J., Zipper C. E. Coal mining and reclamation in Appalachia. Appalachia's Coal-Mined Landscapes: Resources and Communities in a New Energy Era. 2021, pp. 55—83. DOI: 10.1007/9783-030-57780-3_3.

3. Harionovskij A. A., Grishin V. Yu., Kolikov K. S., Udalova N. P. Problems of using coal mining waste. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021, no. 10-1, pp. 45—55. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_14 93_2021_101_0_45.

4. Burritt R. L., Christ K. L. Full cost accounting. A missing consideration in global tailings dam management. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021, vol. 321, article 129016. DOI: 10.1016/j. jclepro.2021.129016.

5. Worlanyo A. S., Jiangfeng L. Evaluating the environmental and economic impact of mining for post-mined land restoration and land-use. A review. Journal of Environmental Management. 2021, vol. 279, article 111623. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111623.

6. Buch A. C., Niemeyer J. C., Marques E. D., Silva-Filho E. V. Ecological risk assessment of trace metals in soils affected by mine tailings. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2021, vol. 403, article 123852. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123852.

7. Xin R., Banda J. F., Hao C., Dong H., Pei L., Guo D., Wei P., Du Z., Zhang Y., Dong H. Contrasting seasonal variations of geochemistry and microbial community in two adjacent acid mine drainage lakes in Anhui Province, China. Environmental Pollution. 2021, vol. 268, article 115826. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115826.

8. Kutepov Yu. I., Kutepova N. A., Vasileva А. D., Mukhina A. S. Engineering-geological and ecological concerns in operation and reclamation of high slope dumps at open-pit mines in Kuzbass. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021, no. 8, pp. 164—178. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_202 1_8_0_164.

9. Pashkevich M. A., Alekseenko A. V., Nureev R. R. Environmental damage from the storage of sulfide ore tailings. Journal of Mining Institute. 2023, vol. 260, pp. 155—167. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31897/PMI.2023.32.

10. Anawar H. M. Sustainable rehabilitation of mining waste and acid mine drainage using geochemistry, mine type, mineralogy, texture, ore extraction and climate knowledge. Journal of Environmental Management. 2015, vol. 158, pp. 111—121. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.04.045.

11. Gruzdev E. V., Beletsky A. V., Kadnikov V. V., Mardanov A. V., Ivanov M. V., Karnachuk O. V., Ravin N. V. Diversity of eukaryotic microorganisms in the drainage waters of a coal open-cast mine. Microbiology. 2020, vol. 89, no. 5, pp. 623—628. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31857/S0026365620050109.

12. Çelebi E. E., Ribeiro J. Prediction of acid production potential of self-combusted coal mining wastes from Douro Coalfield (Portugal) with integration of mineralogical and chemical data. International Journal of Coal Geology. 2023, vol. 265, article 104152. DOI: 10.1016/j.coal.2022.104152.

13. Van Wyk N., Fosso-Kankeu E., Moyakhe D., Waanders F. B., Le Roux M., Campbell Q. P. Natural oxidation of coal tailings from Middelburg area (South Africa), and impact on acid-generation potential. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 2020, vol. 120, no. 11, pp. 651—658. DOI: 10.17159/2411-9717/1205/2020.

14. Brookhian M., Golkar Hamzee Yazd H. R., Tavousi M. An investigation of acid-base accounting test to predict acid mine drainage at Sangan iron ore mine in Khaf, Iran. Environmental Earth Sciences. 2022, vol. 81, no. 13, article 344. DOI: 10.1007/s12665-022-10434-5.

15. Vriens B., Plante B., Seigneur N., Jamieson H. Mine waste rock: Insights for sustainable hydrogeochemical management. Minerals. 2020, vol. 10, no. 9, article 728. DOI: 10.3390/min10090728.

16. Vriens B., Skierszkan E. K., St-Arnault M., Salzsauler K., Aranda C., Mayer K. U., Beckie R. D. Mobilization of metal (oid) oxyanions through circumneutral mine waste-rock drainage. ACS Omega. 2019, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 10205—10215. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b01270.

17. Elghali A., Benzaazoua M., Taha Y., Amar H., Ait-khouia Y., Bouzahzah H., Hakkou R. Prediction of acid mine drainage: Where we are. Earth-Science Reviews. 2023, vol. 241, article 104421. DOI: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104421.

18. Hao J., Kochetkova E. M., Epshtein S. A. Study of long-term leachability of major and trace elements in coal mining wastes. Solid Fuel Chemistry. 2024, vol. 58, no. 5, pp. 370—376. DOI: 10.3103/ S0361521924700265.

19. Hao J., Kochetkova E. M., Epshtein S. A. Mobility of the major and trace elements in the coal mining wastes. Solid Fuel Chemistry. 2023, no. 4, pp. 64—72. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.31857/ S0023117723040047.

20. Johnson D. B., Hallberg K. B. Acid mine drainage remediation options: a review. Science of the Total Environment. 2005, vol. 338, no. 1-2, pp. 3—14. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.09.002.