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A REVIEW OF IRON SULFIDES AND OXIDES IN COAL MINE WASTE, HUFF RUN WATERSHED, OHIO

Burkey, Michael F
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525905282950671

Abstract Details

2018, BS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences.
Abandoned coal mines are common throughout the Appalachian region of the United States as surface and underground mines. The exposed mine waste from mining operations has led to the contamination of multiple streams throughout the region with acid mine drainage (AMD). The AMD at these sites is caused by the oxidation of the iron sulfides (pyrite, mracasite, etc.) within the coal mine waste. Associated with the AMD, heavy metals and metalloids such as As, Se, Co, Cd, Ni, Mn, Mg, Pb, and Zn are released into these streams. These can lead to associated water quality issues for drinking water and local environments near abandoned coal mine sites.The research conducted here seeks to better define the nature of the iron sulfides in coal mine waste and to demonstrate a method to observe and analyze the mineralogical transformations of iron oxides from ferrihydrite to hematite that occur in AMD settings at abandoned coal mines in the Huff Run Watershed. We use a combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine the mineralogical differences between the coal shale parent material and the soils developing on the coal mine waste, the crystal form of the iron sulfides within the coal shale parent material, and the mineralogical transformations of the subsequent iron oxides as a result of dry heating. We determine that pyrite is not a primary constituent of the bulk mineralogical phases picked up by XRD in the the soils developed on the coal mine spoil although present as a bulk mineral phase in the coal shale parent material, and the method of dry heating iron oxides to simulate the mineralogical transformations over time is hindered by a persistence of ferrihydrite at high temperature ranges. From this, implications on the rate of oxidation of pyrite in these soils and the release of heavy metals and metalloids can be further inferred.
David Singer, Dr. (Advisor)
Alison Smith, Dr. (Committee Member)
Christopher Fenk, Dr. (Committee Member)
Elizabeth Herndon, Dr. (Committee Member)
48 p.
Environmental Geology; Environmental Science; Geology
Acid Mine Drainage, Iron Sulfides, Pyrite, Marcasite, Mine Spoil, Coal Mine Waste, Coal Surface Mining, X-Ray Diffraction, XRD, Scanning Electron Microscopy, SEM, Iron Oxides, Ferrihydrite, Goethite, Hematite,

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Burkey, M. F. (2018). A REVIEW OF IRON SULFIDES AND OXIDES IN COAL MINE WASTE, HUFF RUN WATERSHED, OHIO [Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525905282950671

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Burkey, Michael. A REVIEW OF IRON SULFIDES AND OXIDES IN COAL MINE WASTE, HUFF RUN WATERSHED, OHIO. 2018. Kent State University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525905282950671.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Burkey, Michael. "A REVIEW OF IRON SULFIDES AND OXIDES IN COAL MINE WASTE, HUFF RUN WATERSHED, OHIO." Undergraduate thesis, Kent State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ksuhonors1525905282950671

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ksuhonors1525905282950671
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University Honors College and OhioLINK.