Trace elements and mineral composition of waste produced in the process of combustion of solid fuels in individual household furnaces in the Upper Silesian Industrial Region (Poland)

Abstract

This study presents preliminary research results, with regard to the concentration of chosen trace elements (Mn, Cr, Tl, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Ba, Pb) in waste, which was produced in the process of combustion of solid fuels (hard coal and flotation concentrate of bituminous coal) in individual household furnaces in Poland (in the Upper Silesian Industrial Region). 27 samples of ash, 4 samples of hard coal and 2 samples of flotation concentrate of bituminous coal were prepared for the research. Methods such as: ICP-MS, X-ray diffraction by means of the powder method and scanning electron microscopy were used during the research. In the ash samples obtained from the combustion of hard coal, the highest average concentrations were: Mn (1477.7 ppm), Ba (1336.4 ppm) and Zn (599.7 ppm). In the samples obtained from the combustion of flotation concentrate of bituminous coal, the highest average concentrations was stated for: Zn (762.4 ppm), Mn (668.5 ppm), Pb (552.1 ppm) and Ba (211.7 ppm). Crystalline components were determined by used the X-ray diffraction method and the samples of ash obtained from the combustion of hard coal contained: anhydrite, gypsum, hematite, magnetite, quartz, calcite, mullite, periclase, kaolinite, dolomite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena and feldspars (albite–anorthite). The samples of ash obtained from the combustion of flotation concentrate of bituminous coal contain: pyrite, quartz, potassium feldspar, muscovite and kaolinite. The scanning electron microscope analysis enabled the identification of the chemical composition of single ash grains and determined their morphology (aluminosilicate forms, substance PbS and ZnS, oxides of Ni, Cu and Mn, monazite, xenotime).