Geochemical behavior of hazardous volatile elements in coals with different geological origin during combustion

The geochemical behaviors of hazardous elements in the combustion process of Chinese coals with different geological origins at different temperatures were studied. The analyzed coal samples were placed in a fixed bed reactor with a quartz tube and heated to six desired temperature points, from 400 °C to 900 °C with 100 °C for each interval. The mineral morphology and composition of coal and coal ash were determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscope-X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectrom (SEM-EDS) and X-ray powder diffraction techniques (XRD). Sequential chemical extraction procedure was used to describe the modes of occurrence of selected hazardous elements in coal. The content of arsenic (As) in coal and coal ash was analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and the content of selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) in coal ash was analyzed by atomic emission spectrometry (AES) and atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). The volatile characteristics of As, Se and Hg in coal were studied by thermogravimetry (TG). The results show that: 1) the mineral phases of Liuzhuang (LZ) and Huajiahu (HJH) coal samples are mainly composed of clay minerals and silicate minerals and the contents of As, Se and Hg were closely related to the organic matter and inorganic mineral in coal; 2) As mainly exists in organic matter and Se, Hg mainly exists in silicate minerals. The organic As in coal is closely related to the low-rank, low ash content and low As content of coal. The modes of occurrence of Se and Hg may be related to the low element content, low sulfide content in coal and stable sedimentary environment; 3) the relationship between volatilization rate (Vr) of As, Se and Hg elements and combustion temperature is the closest. The differences of Vr of As, Se and Hg elements in coal of different geological origin are mainly related to elements concentration and coal quality; 4) at different heating rates, the Vr curves of As, Se and Hg elements have the characteristics of “S” type, logarithmic type and linear type, respectively; The Initial stable temperature of Vr is different under the influence of element geochemical characteristics. The volatility of As reaches the maximum at 800 °C, and Se and Hg reach the maximum at 700 °C and 600 °C, respectively; 5) The heating rate and the difference of coal quality under different geological origin are important factors affecting the Vr of As, Se and Hg. The maximum weight loss temperature (TP) can be used as an important index to reflect the influence of coal quality and heating rate on the Vr of hazardous elements (As, Se and Hg).