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Geochemical and mineralogical assessment of sedimentary limestone mine waste and potential for mineral carbonation

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Abstract

This paper attempts to evaluate the mineralogical and chemical composition of sedimentary limestone mine waste alongside its mineral carbonation potential. The limestone mine wastes were recovered as the waste materials after mining and crushing processes and were analyzed for mineral, major and trace metal elements. The major mineral composition discovered was calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2], alongside other minerals such as bustamite [(Ca,Mn)SiO3] and akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7). Calcium oxide constituted the greatest composition of major oxide components of between 72 and 82%. The presence of CaO facilitated the transformation of carbon dioxide into carbonate form, suggesting potential mineral carbonation of the mine waste material. Geochemical assessment indicated that mean metal(loid) concentrations were found in the order of Al > Fe > Sr > Pb > Mn > Zn > As > Cd > Cu > Ni > Cr > Co in which Cd, Pb and As exceeded some regulatory guideline values. Ecological risk assessment demonstrated that the mine wastes were majorly influenced by Cd as being classified having moderate risk. Geochemical indices depicted that Cd was moderately accumulated and highly enriched in some of the mine waste deposited areas. In conclusion, the limestone mine waste material has the potential for sequestering CO2; however, the presence of some trace metals could be another important aspect that needs to be considered. Therefore, it has been shown that limestone mine waste can be regarded as a valuable feedstock for mineral carbonation process. Despite this, the presence of metal(loid) elements should be of another concern to minimize potential ecological implication due to recovery of this waste material.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported through the grant no FRGS 5540081 funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and UPM GP 9574900. The authors would like to acknowledge the laboratory staffs of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UPM for analytical services and Centre for Research and Instrumentation (CRIM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for providing technical assistance for laboratory analysis.

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  1. Department of Environment, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Nabila Syuhada Mohd Isha, Faradiella Mohd Kusin, Nurfakhira Meor Ahmad Kamal, Sharifah Nur Munirah Syed Hasan & Verma Loretta M. Molahid

  2. Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Faradiella Mohd Kusin

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  1. Nabila Syuhada Mohd Isha
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  4. Sharifah Nur Munirah Syed Hasan
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  5. Verma Loretta M. Molahid
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Mohd Isha, N.S., Mohd Kusin, F., Ahmad Kamal, N.M. et al. Geochemical and mineralogical assessment of sedimentary limestone mine waste and potential for mineral carbonation. Environ Geochem Health 43, 2065–2080 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-020-00784-z

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