Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Assessment of emissions of trace elements and sulfur gases from sulfide tailings. / Bortnikova, S. B.; Yurkevich, N. V.; Abrosimova, N. A. et al.
In: Journal of Geochemical Exploration, Vol. 186, 01.03.2018, p. 256-269.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of emissions of trace elements and sulfur gases from sulfide tailings
AU - Bortnikova, S. B.
AU - Yurkevich, N. V.
AU - Abrosimova, N. A.
AU - Devyatova, A. Yu
AU - Edelev, A. V.
AU - Makas, A. L.
AU - Troshkov, M. L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - This article presents the results of field and laboratory experiments performed to determine the compositions of gases in the air above the Komsomolsk sulfide tailings. Concentrations of SO2 were measured using a GANK-4 portable gas analyzer. The possibility of the gaseous transport of trace elements was estimated by pumping air through a bubbler with an absorber. Qualitative analyses of sulfur gases (CS2, C2H6S2, C2H6S3, S8, S7, and S6) were performed using a field chromatography-mass spectrometer. The SO2 concentrations in the air above the surface of the Komsomolsk tailings can reach up to 2.5 mg/m3 and vary significantly during the day, depending on the difference between the temperature of the tailings surface and that of the ambient air. A wide range of chemical elements (i.e., rock-forming elements, metals, and anionic elements) can migrate with the gaseous phase from both sulfide tailings and background sites. Correlation analysis indicates that the main source of trace elements in gas streams from tailings material is unstable crystalline hydrates, which are represented by sulfates and sulfarsenates of Al, Fe, Mg, Zn, and Cu. The emissions of alkaline and alkaline earth elements are mainly caused by the compositions of pore solutions. Volatile sulfur compounds, including sulfur dioxide, carbon disulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide, as well as elemental sulfur, are the products of microbiological activity. The results obtained here indicate that the gas phase above the surface of the sulfide tailings has a complex composition and that many chemical elements may be transferred by gases under low-temperature conditions.
AB - This article presents the results of field and laboratory experiments performed to determine the compositions of gases in the air above the Komsomolsk sulfide tailings. Concentrations of SO2 were measured using a GANK-4 portable gas analyzer. The possibility of the gaseous transport of trace elements was estimated by pumping air through a bubbler with an absorber. Qualitative analyses of sulfur gases (CS2, C2H6S2, C2H6S3, S8, S7, and S6) were performed using a field chromatography-mass spectrometer. The SO2 concentrations in the air above the surface of the Komsomolsk tailings can reach up to 2.5 mg/m3 and vary significantly during the day, depending on the difference between the temperature of the tailings surface and that of the ambient air. A wide range of chemical elements (i.e., rock-forming elements, metals, and anionic elements) can migrate with the gaseous phase from both sulfide tailings and background sites. Correlation analysis indicates that the main source of trace elements in gas streams from tailings material is unstable crystalline hydrates, which are represented by sulfates and sulfarsenates of Al, Fe, Mg, Zn, and Cu. The emissions of alkaline and alkaline earth elements are mainly caused by the compositions of pore solutions. Volatile sulfur compounds, including sulfur dioxide, carbon disulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide, as well as elemental sulfur, are the products of microbiological activity. The results obtained here indicate that the gas phase above the surface of the sulfide tailings has a complex composition and that many chemical elements may be transferred by gases under low-temperature conditions.
KW - Environmental
KW - Gaseous transport
KW - Sulfide tailings
KW - Sulfur dioxide, sulfur gases
KW - Trace elements
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044391074&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.gexplo.2017.12.008
DO - 10.1016/j.gexplo.2017.12.008
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044391074
VL - 186
SP - 256
EP - 269
JO - Journal of Geochemical Exploration
JF - Journal of Geochemical Exploration
SN - 0375-6742
ER -
ID: 12178909