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Effects of water–coal interactions on coal mine water quality in China: a lixiviation experiment and actual water quality investigation

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Abstract

Water–coal interactions are dominant factors that affect water quality in coal mines. Using lixiviation, the effects of water–coal interactions on pH, salinity, and hazardous elemental enrichment in coal mine water and associated trends were simulated and analyzed. The salinity and hazardous element contents were low in the alkaline solution filtrate. However, the salinity and contents of hazardous elements (As, Cr, Zn, Cu, Mn, Co, Ni, Cd, Pb, U, and Be) in acid solution filtrate increased significantly with a decrease in pH. The pH of the solution filtrate was affected by the mineral composition of the coal, wherein the pyrite content could generally determine the pH. In addition, the spatial distribution and utilization potential of coal mine water quality in China was determined based on water quality data surveys. For water-deficient regions in northern China, particularly in the northwest, the local mine water had high salinity, a high pH, and a low content of hazardous elements; therefore, the reuse of mine water for water consumption is feasible. Conversely, the mine water in the southwest region had high salinity and a low pH and was enriched in harmful elements with potential ecological and health risks. The actual water quality characteristics of the coal mine water matched the results of the laboratory simulation analysis, confirming the effect from water–coal interactions. This work provides a reference for understanding the determinants of coal mine water quality and the potential for water environment protection.

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The data used in this paper are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the comments and suggestions from anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2017YFF0206703-2) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42103079).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China

    Qingyi Cao, Ruiwen Yan & Liu Yang

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 615-8540, Japan

    Masaki Takaoka

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  1. Qingyi Cao
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  2. Ruiwen Yan
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  3. Liu Yang
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Contributions

Qingyi Cao: Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing—original draft & editing, Conceptualization, Methodology. Ruiwen Yan: Review. Liu Yang: Funding acquisition, Supervision, Review. Masaki Takaoka: Writing, Review.

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Correspondence to Liu Yang.

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Cao, Q., Yan, R., Yang, L. et al. Effects of water–coal interactions on coal mine water quality in China: a lixiviation experiment and actual water quality investigation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 107350–107364 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-25116-9

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