Wastes from coal mining and processing. Methodological approaches to the assessment of their ecological safety and directions for use. Part 4. Criteria for assessing the risks of acid drainage during storage and use of wastes

The processes of formation of acid drainage during the contact of waste generated during mining and processing of coal with atmospheric moisture are one of the main problems of the mining and processing industry. In the world, the most common method for a preliminary assessment of the risks of acid rock drainage is to determine the neutralization potential of waste. The key issue in assessing the risks of acid rock drainage formation is the interpretation of the neutralization potential (Net NP) results. In this work the optimal criteria for assessing the risks of acid drainage formation were decided on the basis of experimental studies of determining the neutralization potential in wastes of various origins, and the following recommendations are proposed. They are: for calculating neutralization potentials in tonnes of calcium equivalent (Ca) per 1000 tons of waste; on ranges and sub-ranges of neutralization potential values corresponding to different risks of formation of acidic and alkaline effluents; on the the form of data representation. It is shown that, in order to assess the risks of formation of acidic or alkaline effluents after contact of waste with water, it is recommended to involve additional information on the elemental composition of these waste including their water-soluble forms. Examples of the interpretation of the results of determining the neutralization potentials of waste from mining and combustion of coals from different deposits of the Kansk-Achinsk coal basin are given. Wastes from coal mining in this basin differ in the degree of risk of the formation of drainage not only of acidic, but also alkaline wastewater. Coal combustion products such as fly ash, slag and ash and slag wastes are of a lower risk of acid effluent formation, in contrast to coal mining waste.

Keywords: neutralization potential, acid potential, acid rock drainage (ARD), coal mining and processing waste, fly ash, slag, ash and slag waste, evaluation criteria.
For citation:

Gushchina T. O., Sokolovskaya E. E., Epshtein S. A., Fomenko N. A. Wastes from coal mining and processing. Methodological approaches to the assessment of their ecological safety and directions for use. Part 4. Criteria for assessing the risks of acid drainage during storage and use of wastes. MIAB. Mining Inf. Anal. Bull. 2021;(4):69-84. [In Russ]. DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2021_4_0_69.

Acknowledgements:

The work was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, grant 19-35-90117.

Issue number: 4
Year: 2021
Page number: 69-84
ISBN: 0236-1493
UDK: 658.567.1:622.33:504.064
DOI: 10.25018/0236_1493_2021_4_0_69
Article receipt date: 12.12.2020
Date of review receipt: 18.02.2021
Date of the editorial board′s decision on the article′s publishing: 10.03.2021
About authors:

T.O. Gushchina1, Graduate Student, Engineer, e-mail: gushchina.t.o@gmail.com,
E.E. Sokolovskaya1, Leading Engineer, e-mail: sesokolovska@mail.ru,
S.A. Epshtein1, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Head of Laboratory, e-mail: apshtein@yandex.ru,
N.A. Fomenko1, Cand. Sci. (Eng.), Leading Engineer, e-mail: natali92@mail.ru,
1 Scientific and Educational Testing Laboratory «Physics and Chemistry of Coals», National University of Science and Technology «MISiS», 119049, Moscow, Russia.

For contacts:

S.A. Epshtein, e-mail: apshtein@yandex.ru.

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