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Characterization of organic compounds in simulated rainfall runoffs from model coal piles

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Abstract

Model coal piles were constructed and leached with distilled water under simulated rainfall conditions. The piles were composed of one of four coals: two of high sulfur content (Illinois #6 and Western Kentucky), one of low sulfur content (Montana Nerco), and one of variable sulfur content (Texas lignite). There were nine rainfall simulations spaced 15 days apart. The runoffs were collected, extracted at acid and base pH, and analyzed by capillary column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Also, an extreme case was simulated by stir-extracting a coal with three different organic solvents in an acid and base medium, and the extracts were analyzed by GC/MS. The most common organic compound identified in any extract was phenanthrene. Aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and methyl and ethyl substituted PAHs were also identified. The concentration of most of the compounds did not exceed 50 μg/L. The concentrations of compounds in the extreme case simulations ranged from below detection (< 1 μ/L) up to 107 μ/L. The data demonstrated that runoffs from coal piles may contain numerous organic compounds including many PAHs.

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  1. Ralph G. Stahl Jr.

    Present address: School of Fisheries, University of Washington, WH-10, 98195, Seattle, WA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health, Post Office Box 20186, 77025, Houston, Texas

    Ralph G. Stahl Jr. & Ernst M. Davis

  2. Analytical Chemistry Center, The University of Texas at Houston, Medical School, The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, 77030, Houston, Texas

    Joachim G. Liehr

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  1. Ralph G. Stahl Jr.
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  2. Joachim G. Liehr
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  3. Ernst M. Davis
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Stahl, R.G., Liehr, J.G. & Davis, E.M. Characterization of organic compounds in simulated rainfall runoffs from model coal piles. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 13, 179–190 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055875

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055875

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