Offsetting anthropogenic carbon emissions from biomass waste and mineralised carbon dioxide.

The present work investigates biomass wastes and their ashes for re-use in combination with mineralised CO in cement-bound construction products. A range of biomass residues (e.g.

Pollution evaluation, spatial distribution, and source apportionment of trace metals around coal mines soil: the case study of eastern India.

The degradation of land by trace metals contamination around coal mining areas is a serious environmental issue, and therefore, it is necessary to have detailed information about the pollution caused by them and their sources. The objective of the work was to study the impact of trace metals (e.g.

Comprehensive review on wastewater discharged from the coal-related industries - characteristics and treatment strategies.

Wastewaters discharged from various coal-related activities deteriorate fresh water quality and inflict possibilities of groundwater contamination. Their characteristics mostly depend on the parent coal properties, though some of the pollutants are cyanide, thiocyanate, ammonia, phenol, heavy metals and suspended solids. This paper has reviewed the treatment techniques along with the characteristics of all such kinds of wastewater and also identified the challenges and future perspectives.

Experimental process parameters optimization and in-depth product characterizations for teak sawdust pyrolysis.

Pyrolysis is an efficient thermochemical route to obtain biofuels in the form of bio-oil, biochar and pyrolytic gas from the processing of biomass. Pyrolysis experiments were performed with teak sawdust to determine the yield and main characteristics of solid, liquid and gaseous products. Experiments were carried out in the temperature range of 400-700 °C in 100 °C intervals, nitrogen flow rate of 150-250 mL/min, packed bed height in between 2 and 8 cm and particle size in between 0.

Monte Carlo simulation-based probabilistic health risk assessment of metals in groundwater via ingestion pathway in the mining areas of Singhbhum copper belt, India.

Probabilistic health risk assessment was conducted for metal exposure through groundwater in mining areas of Singhbhum Copper Belt, India. The concentrations of metals showed notable spatial variation exceeding drinking water standards at some of the locations. Hazard Quotient revealed that chronic risks to the local population were largely contributed by Mn, Co and As.

Health risks from PAHs and potentially toxic elements in street dust of a coal mining area in India.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (Ba, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Co) were determined in the road dusts of a coal mining area (Dhanbad, India) to assess their content and potential human health risks. Dust samples were collected from sign boards of the heavy traffic road connecting Dhanbad and Sindri. The total PAHs (∑PAHs, all values in mg/kg) content in the road dust samples varied from 3.

Tracing source, distribution and health risk of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in street dust of Durgapur, India.

Street dust samples from Durgapur, the steel city of eastern India, were collected from five different land use patterns, i.e., national highways, urban residential area, sensitive area, industrial area and busy traffic zone during summer, monsoon, and winter to analyze the pollution characteristics, chemical fractionation, source apportionment and health risk of heavy metals (HMs).

Heavy metals in eggs and chicken and the associated human health risk assessment in the mining areas of Singhbhum copper belt, India.

Metal contamination was studied in locally rearing chicken and eggs in the environs of mining areas of Singhbhum copper belt. Concentrations of metals were below Indian standards except for Cu, Ni and Zn in the case of chicken at some locations. Estimated daily intake (EDI) and target hazard quotient (THQ) suggested that the metals did not pose risk individually.

Colorimetric and fluorimetric detection of Hg and Cr by boronic acid conjugated rhodamine derivatives: Mechanistic aspects and their bio-imaging application in bacterial cells.

Colorimetric and fluorimetric detection of toxic metal ions such as Hg and Cr has gained tremendous popularity over the conventional methods due to their operational simplicity, high selectivity, and speediness. Although numerous colorimetric and fluorescent receptors for Hg or Cr were reported in the literature, boronic acid-based receptors for these metal ions are rather scarce in the literature. Hence, in the present study dual function boronic acid conjugated rhodamine derivatives were developed, and their toxic metal ion detection abilities were studied by absorption, emission and visual detection methods.

Assessment of Mine Water Quality Using Heavy Metal Pollution Index in a Coal Mining Area of Damodar River Basin, India.

A total no. of 16 mine water (underground and opencast coal mine pump discharges) samples were collected from East Bokaro coalfield during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, As, Se, Al, Cd and Cr were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the assessment of spatio-temporal variations, source apportionment and heavy metal pollution indexing.

Human health risk assessment due to dietary intake of heavy metals through rice in the mining areas of Singhbhum Copper Belt, India.

The study was intended to investigate heavy metal contamination levels in the rice grown in the vicinity of the mining areas of Singhbhum Copper Belt, India. The concentrations of the metals were below the Indian maximum allowable concentrations for food except for Pb, Ni, and Zn at some locations. Principal component analysis extracted three factors explaining 79.

Bioavailability and health risk of some potentially toxic elements (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in street dust of Asansol, India.

Street dust samples were collected from five different types of land use patterns (busy traffic zone, urban residential area, national highways, industrial area and sensitive area) in a medium sized industrial city Asansol, India. The samples were fractionated into ≤53µm and analyzed for potential toxic elements (PTEs) viz. Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu.

Estimation of Heavy Metal Contamination in Groundwater and Development of a Heavy Metal Pollution Index by Using GIS Technique.

Heavy metal (Al, As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Se and Zn) concentration in sixty-six groundwater samples of the West Bokaro coalfield were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy for determination of seasonal fluctuation, source apportionment and heavy metal pollution index (HPI). Metal concentrations were found higher in the pre-monsoon season as compared to the post-monsoon season. Geographic information system (GIS) tool was attributed to study the metals risk in groundwater of the West Bokaro coalfield.

Soil quality index for evaluation of reclaimed coal mine spoil.

Success in the remediation of mine spoil depends largely on the selection of appropriate tree species. The impacts of remediation on mine soil quality cannot be sufficiently assessed by individual soil properties. However, combination of soil properties into an integrated soil quality index provides a more holistic status of reclamation potentials of tree species.

Metals in Some Edible Fish and Shrimp Species Collected in Dry Season from Subarnarekha River, India.

The concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Zn, Cr, Co and Sr were determined in five fish and one shrimp species collected from the Subarnarekha River during pre-monsoon season using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for a risk assessment and source apportionment study. Concentrations of metals in the fish and shrimp exceeded the recommended food standards for As, Cu, Ni, Cd and Zn in many samples. Principal component analysis suggested both innate and anthropogenic activities as contributing sources of metal in the fish and shrimp.

Human exposure risks for metals in soil near a coal-fired power-generating plant.

Coal-fired thermal power stations (TPSs) may contaminate the surrounding soil and could lead to pollution levels that can affect human health. Soil samples collected from the immediate vicinity of a TPS were analysed for heavy metals. TPS soils were enriched with arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), barium (Ba), vanadium (V), beryllium (Be), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni).

Potentially toxic elements in lignite and its combustion residues from a power plant.

The presence of potentially toxic elements in lignite and coal is a matter of global concern during energy extraction from them. Accordingly, Barsingsar lignite from Rajasthan (India), a newly identified and currently exploited commercial source of energy, was evaluated for the presence of these elements and their fate during its combustion. Mobility of these elements in Barsingsar lignite and its ashes from a power plant (Bikaner-Nagaur region of Thar Desert, India) is presented in this paper.

Assessment of human health risk for heavy metals in fish and shrimp collected from Subarnarekha river, India.

Five fish species and one shrimp species from the Subarnarekha river were analyzed for heavy metals using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The geometric mean concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Zn, Cr, Co, and Sr for all the samples was found to be 0.248, 0.

Fate of radionuclides present in Indian fly ashes on its application as soil ameliorant.

Natural radioactivity depends primarily on the geological and geographical conditions, and appears at different levels in the soils. Coal contains various organic and inorganic substances including trace quantities of the naturally occurring radionuclides, which are of human health concern. The combustion of coals releases natural radioactive elements in the form of their oxides to the environment.

The accident analysis of mobile mine machinery in Indian opencast coal mines.

This paper presents the analysis of large mining machinery related accidents in Indian opencast coal mines. The trends of coal production, share of mining methods in production, machinery deployment in open cast mines, size and population of machinery, accidents due to machinery, types and causes of accidents have been analysed from the year 1995 to 2008. The scrutiny of accidents during this period reveals that most of the responsible factors are machine reversal, haul road design, human fault, operator's fault, machine fault, visibility and dump design.

Assessment of human health risks from heavy metals in outdoor dust samples in a coal mining area.

Jharia (India) a coal mining town has been affected by the consequences of mining and associated activities. Samples of outdoor fallen dust were collected at different locations of Jharia covering four different zones: commercial, petrol pump, high traffic, and residential areas. The dust samples were analysed for different trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn).