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Environmental Monitoringand AssessmentAn International JournalDevoted to Progress in the Useof Monitoring Data in AssessingEnvironmental Risks to Manand the Environment ISSN 0167-6369 Environ Monit AssessDOI 10.1007/s10661-011-2197-1

Characterization of different road dusts inopencast coal mining areas of India

K. Mandal, A. Kumar, N. Tripathi,R. S. Singh, S. K. Chaulya, P. K. Mishra &L. K. Bandyopadhyay

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Characterization of different road dusts in opencast coalmining areas of India

K. Mandal & A. Kumar & N. Tripathi & R. S. Singh &

S. K. Chaulya & P. K. Mishra &

L. K. Bandyopadhyay &

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

Received: 28 December 2010 /Accepted: 8 June 2011# Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Abstract Dust from haul and transport roads are themajor source of air pollution in opencast coal miningareas. Dust generated during mining operations pollutesair which causes different health problems. Variousavailable techniques are implemented in the field tominimize and control dust in mining areas. However,they are not very effective because dust deposited onroad surfaces are not removed by these techniques. Foreffective control of dust in opencast mining areas, it hasto be regularly collected from road surfaces and may beconverted into solid form, and subsequently can be usedas a domestic fuel considering its physicochemicalproperties. The present paper describes a comparativestudy of qualitative and quantitative aspects of road dustsamples of four coalfields of India. The pH of the dustwas found to be in the range of 5.1–7.7. Moisture, ash,volatile matter, fixed carbon, water-holding capacity,bulk density, and specific gravity of dust samples werefound to be in the range of 0.5–3.0%, 45–76%, 12.6–20.0%, 10.2–45.3%, 21.17–31.71%, 1.15–1.70, and1.73–2.30 gcm−3, respectively. Observing the overallgeneration and characteristics of coal dust, it issuggested that coal dust from haul and transport roadsof mining areas can be effectively collected and usedas domestic fuel.

Keywords Opencast coal mine . Road dust .

Physicochemical properties . Domestic fuel

Introduction

Coal is one of the world’s most important sources ofenergy. India is the third largest coal producer of theworld next to China and the USA (Chaulya andChakraborty 1995). Many countries around the world,including India, depend on coal and other fossil fuelsto produce electricity. Coal is mined through under-ground as well as opencast mines (Singh and Singh1999). Demand for coal production is increasing dayby day due to industrialization and population growth.At present, Indian coal production reached 525 Mt in2009–2010 with a contribution of 44 Mt by privateplayers. Coal subsidiaries of Coal India and SingareniCollieries Company Limited contribute 90% of totalcoal production with 473 (279 underground, 163opencast, and 31 mixed mines) and 50 (36 under-ground and 14 opencast mines) mines, respectively(http://www.svssec.com). The challenge of increasingcoal production to meet the ever-growing needs of thecountry has been met by increasing coal production fromopencast mines (Kumar 1995). The projected value ofcoal production by opencast mines in the future decadehas been shown in Fig. 1. Most of the coal productionin India comes from surface mines which contributeover 90% of the total production and remaining 10%from underground mines (http://www.svssec.com).

Environ Monit AssessDOI 10.1007/s10661-011-2197-1

K. Mandal :A. Kumar :N. Tripathi : R. S. Singh :S. K. Chaulya (*) : P. K. Mishra : L. K. BandyopadhyayCentral Institute of Mining and Fuel Research,Barwa Road,Dhanbad 826015, Indiae-mail: chaulyask@yahoo.co.in

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Underground coal mine is less detrimental to environ-mental degradation than opencast mine. But due tovarious problems in underground mines, opencastmining has been opted as a better alternative of coalmining (Ghose and Majee 2000a, b). Coal miningposes enormous and long lasting environmental haz-ards to the society (Chaudhari and Gajghate 2000;Crabbe et al. 2000; Wheeler et al. 2000; Nanda andTiwary 2001; Sharma et al. 2009). The increasing trendof opencast coal mining, along with adaptation oflarge-scale mechanization, leads to a release of hugeamount of dust (suspended and respirable particulatematters) and gaseous pollutants (vehicular emission;Sinha and Banerjee 1997; CMRI 1998; Meenalbal andAkil 2000; Almbauer et al. 2001). The magnitude andsignificance of environmental pollution caused due tomining depends on the type of mineral being mined,the method of mining, and various other factors(Ghose 2007). However, the dust deposited on haulroad and adjacent areas is not completely coal dust butis a mixture of coal and stone dusts. According toCentral Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited(1993), dust generated due to coal exploitationbecomes explosive that can be made inert by addingincombustible stone dust to it.

Dust is the major air pollutant in opencast coalmining areas (CMRI 1998; Vallack and Shillito 1998).Singh (1997) has reported haul roads to produce0.25–0.70 kg of dust per kilometer travel of a dumper.Ghose and Majee (2000c) reported a total generationof 9.4 t dust per day as a result of whole miningoperation in an opencast mine of Jharia Coalfields, ofwhich 7.8 t dust was generated due to variousactivities (topsoil removal, overburden removal, ex-traction of coal, size reduction, etc.) and 1.6 t of dustper day was contributed by wind erosion. Maximum

concentrations of total suspended particulate (TSP)and respirable particulate matter (RPM or PM10) arefound in mining areas and concentrations are gradu-ally declined with increase in distance due totransportation, deposition, and dispersion of particles(Horst 1977; Hanna et al. 1982; Sinha and Banerjee1994; Ermak 1977; Chaulya et al. 2001; Jones et al.2002). Several authors (Karaca et al. 1995; Soni andAgarwal 1997; CMRI 1999; Ghose and Majee 2000c;Tayanc 2000; Nanda and Tiwary 2001; Reddy andRuj 2003) studying on generation of coal dust haveobserved that the maximum concentration of particu-late matter generally occurred during winter andminimum in rainy season.

According to the analysis carried out byAmponsah-Dacosta (1997) using the US Environ-mental Protection Agency (USEPA 1988) guidelines,93.3% of the total emissions from coal mines wereattributable to dust generated from haul road of SouthAfrican coal mine. The second largest source wastopsoil handling (2.7%) followed by overburdenstripping (1.6%), coal removal (0.8%), coal handling(stockpiles; 0.1%), drilling and blasting (0.4%), andmiscellaneous (1.1%) as illustrated in Fig. 2. Howev-er, emission rates in Indian mines are different fromthose in the USA due to the differences in nature ofmining, site practices and mitigation measures, andgeological and climatic conditions. It is reported that80.2% of total dust emission is from transport road ofIndian mines (CMRI 1998). Screening plant is nextlarger source of dust emission which contributes 8.1%of dust while 2.8% is released from overburdenremoval. Top soil handling releases 2.6% of total dustfollowed by coal extraction (2.2%), drilling andblasting (1.3%), coal handling or stockpile (1.1%) ofdust and 1.7% is from miscellaneous work as shownin Fig. 3.

At present, various techniques are used for con-trolling road dust, namely, (1) spraying of water onroads at a regular interval; but due to its high surfacetension, it is not significantly potential as a wettingagent. Surfactants are added to water to increase thewetting and capturing capacity by affecting surfacetension of the liquid and its interfacial tension againstdust. (2) Application of binding materials with wateron haul road. Kost et al. (1980) and Foley (1991)have reported a reduction of 27% and 36% inrespirable dust and total airborne dust concentrationsafter the addition of surfactant to water. (3) Convert-

400

440

480

520

560

600

2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022

Year

Prod

uctio

n (M

t)

Fig. 1 Projected value of coal production from opencast minesin India

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ing unpaved road to a black top road. (4) Dustcollector also plays a vital role in dust reduction frommines by capturing the airborne materials from the airstream and discharge cleaned air into the atmosphereback. (5) Development of green belt on both sides ofa transport road. Trees with compact branches andclosely arranged broad leaves, hairy with shiny orwaxy leaves with high proline content are preferredfor inhibiting or minimizing dust level (Ghose andMajee 2001; Trivedi et al. 2009). However, all thesetechniques are ineffective as they cannot completelyremove the dust (i.e., the source) from road surface.For effective control measures, dust has to becollected from road surface and converted into solidform, which may be used as domestic fuel. Thus, the

overall objective of the present study includescharacterization of road dust for further use asdomestic fuel to meet the twin problems of minimi-zation of huge amount of dust pollution in miningareas and its utilization in useful manner.

Materials and methods

Study sites

Location and description

The study has been carried out for 6 months (Januaryto June 2009) in four coal mining areas in India,

Coal removal0.8%

Drilling and blasting0.4%

Coal handling/stockpile

0.1%

Overburden stripping

1.6%

Topsoil handling2.7%

Miscellaneous1.1%

Coal transport road

93.3%

Fig. 2 Percent contributionsto total dust emissions fromtypical South Africanstrip mine

Haul and transport road

80.2%

Drilling and blasting1.3%

Coal extraction2.2%

Topsoil handling2.6%

Overburden removal2.8%

Coalhandling/stockpile

1.1%Miscellaneous1.7%

Screening plants8.1%

Fig. 3 Percent contribu-tions to total dust emissionsfrom a typical Indianopencast coal mine

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namely, (1) Tara mine (site I) of Bengal Emta,Asansol, West Bengal; (2) Jamunia mine (site II) ofBharat Coking Coal Limited, Jharia, Jharkhand; (3)Lakhanpur mine (site III) of Mahanadi CoalfieldsLimited, Ib Valley, Orissa; and (4) Jhingurdah mine(site IV) of Northern Coalfields Limited, Singrauli,Madhya Pradesh. Brief descriptions of the four minesites are presented in Table 1.

Climate

The climate of all the four mines sites are dry tropicaland a year can be divided into three parts: cold winter(November to February), hot summer (April to June),and rainy season (July to September). Octoberconstitutes the transitional month between rainy andwinter seasons, and March between winter andsummer seasons.

For sites I and II the mean minimum and maximumdaily temperature within the annual cycle varies from10–28°C and 26–45°C, respectively. For site III, inthe summer months the temperature may reach 47°Cand in winter months can fall to 10°C and annualmean maximum and minimum temperature are33.2°C and 20.5°C. For site IV, the mean monthlyminimum temperature within the annul cycle rangesfrom 6°C to 28°C and mean monthly maximum from20°C to 42°C.

The average annual rainfall is 1,375 mm, out ofwhich 1,107 mm occurs between late June andSeptember for sites I and II (Chaulya et al. 1999).The average annual rain fall in site III is1,400 mm year−1and these being an average 81 rainydays in a year (Chaulya 2004, 2005). For site IV(Jhingurdah), annual average rainfall is 1,069 mm and

90% of it occurs during the period late June toSeptember (Singh and Singh 2006).

Geology and soil

Site II is located in Jharia Coalfields, which is amember of the Damodar Valley coal belt, occurring asan “outlier” in the Archaean basement area. Thebedrocks of sites I and II (Raniganj Coalfields) areformed of medium to coarse grained sandstone andclay stone with ferruginous bands and carbonaceous.The soil surface layer of site II is 10–11 cm thick,consisting of grey brown to very pale brown sandyloam, and clay loam, the whole having a sub-angularblocky structure. Ferromanganese concretions andclay content are present in the subsoil. The soilsurface layer of site I is 100–110 cm thick, consistingof grey brown to very pale brown sandy loam, thewhole having a sub-angular blocky structure. Ferro-manganese concretions and clay content are presentin the sub soil (Chaulya et al. 1999). Geology ofsite III area is mainly of lower Gondwana system(CIL 1993). The rocks of site IV are fine to coarse-grained sand stones, with ferruginous bands carbo-naceous shales and coal seams (Singh et al. 1995).The mine spoils of Singrauli Coalfields (site IV) arenontoxic although sub-optimal medium for plantgrowth (Jha 1992).

Field sampling

Dust samples were collected from haul road, transportroad, and road outside the mine, i.e., communicationroad of four mine sites. Three representative sampleswere collected at different locations of the aforemen-

Features Mine sites

Site I Site II Site III Site IV

Company Bengal EMTA BCCL MCL NCL

State West Bengal Jharkhand Orissa Madhya Pradesh

District Burdwan Dhanbad Jharsuguda Sidhi

Coalfield Raniganj Jharia Ib Valley Singrauli

Location

Longitude 86° 43′E 86°12′31″E 83°50′38″E 82° 27′E

Latitude 23° 47′N 23° 46′05″N 21° 45′15″N 24° 18′N

Mining method Opencast Opencast Opencast Opencast

Table 1 Description ofstudy sites

BCCL Bharat Coking CoalLimited, MCL MahanadiCoalfields Limited, NCLNorthern Coalfields Limit-ed, Site I Tara mine, Site IIJamunia mine, Site IIILakhanpur mine, Site IVJhingurdah mine

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tioned roads covering 1×1 m length at each location.Dust samples were collected from mine sites andstored in polyethylene bags for analysis after remov-ing larger particles.

Methods

Laboratory studies were conducted by using standardmethods (Table 2) to determine the physicochemicalproperties (Table 3) of dust samples. Dust pH wasmeasured by Orion Ion Analyzer, using glass elec-trode (1:5, dust/water). Moisture content was deter-mined by oven dry method using Indian standard(IS: 1530 (part 1) 1970); preweighed samples wereoven dried at 105°C till the constant weight wasobtained. Determination of volatile matter was carriedout by placing a weighed sample in a covered crucibleand heated at 900±10°C for 7 min in a mufflefurnace. The sample was cooled and weighed. Loss ofweight represents volatile matter. Ash content wasdetermined by using Indian standard (IS: 1530 (part1) 1970); weighed quantity of dust sample was placedin an uncovered crucible and heated in muffle furnaceat 815±10°C. The residue was weighed which isincombustible ash. Fixed carbon was determineddirectly by deducting the sum total of moisture,volatile matter, and ash percentage from 100. Water-holding capacity (WHC) and bulk density (BD) wasdetermined using perforated circular boxes (Piper1944). Dust was packed into perforated box linedwith a filter paper by adding small quantity of dust ata time. Container was repeatedly tapped after eachaddition. When the box was full, it was weighted andplaced in a Petri plate containing water, permitting thedust to get saturated. The amount of water retained by

dust was determined by oven drying and treated as itsWHC. BD was estimated as the weight of oven drieddust per unit volume. Specific gravity was determinedby using density bottle method.

Particles size distribution of dust samples wasanalyzed by using sieves of different mesh size as wellas micron photosize analyzer manufactured by SeisinEnterprise, Japan (Model SKN 1000). In sieve analysis,4 mm, 2 mm, 425 μ, and 75 μ sieves were used forsieving. Dust samples were categorized into coarseparticles (>4–2 mm), medium size particles (<2 mm–425 μ), fine particles (<425–75 μ), and silt and clayparticles (<75 μ; Table 4). Dust particles of smallerfractions (up to 100 μ) were further categorized withthe help of micron photosize analyzer. These werefurther divided into four groups, i.e., particle sizeof ≤2.5, >2.5 to ≤10, >10 to ≤100, and >100 μ(Table 5). Quantity of dust (kg m−1) available on roadsurface was calculated based on average quantity (kg)of dust collected from three locations covering 1×1 mlength of particular road in each sampling site.Subsequently, measured dust quantity (kg m−1) wasconverted to conventional unit (t km−1).

Results

The results of different physicochemical properties ofcoal dust samples of all the studied sites with theirsubsites are given in Tables 3 and 4.

pH

The pH values of dust samples are shown in Table 3,which show that dust samples of all the studied sites

Variables Procedure References

pH Glass electrode AWWA (1992)

Ash content Indian standard method IS: 1350 (part 1) (1970)

Moisture content Indian standard method IS: 1350 (part 1) (1970)

Volatile matter content Indian standard method IS: 1350 (part 1) (1970)

Fixed carbon Indian standard method IS: 1350 (part 1) (1970)

Water holding capacity Keens cup method Piper (1944)

Bulk density Keens cup method Piper (1944)

Specific gravity Density bottle method IS 2720 (part 3/sec 1) (1980)

Particle size distribution Sieve analysis Jumikis (1995)

Table 2 Standardprocedures adoptedfor coal dust sampletesting

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were acidic in nature ranging from 5.1 to 6.8, excepthaul road of sites I and III, which were slightlyalkaline in nature showing the values 7.7 and 7.3,respectively.

Ash

Ash content of the dust samples from haul, transport,and communication roads ranged from 54% to 76%,39% to 53%, 48% to 64%, and 45% to 60%,respectively, for sites I–IV, with the maximum value(76%) in haul road dust samples of site I (Table 3).

Moisture

Moisture content of all the dust samples from fourmine sites was found to be in the range of 0.5–3.0%(Table 3). Moisture was higher in haul road of all thesites followed by transport road and communication

road, except site I where higher value of moisture wasobserved in the communication road.

Volatile matter

The values of volatile matter of dust samples fromhaul, transport, and communication roads of all thefour mine sites were found to be in range of 12.6–20.0% (Table 3); being the lowest (12.6%) in haulroad of site I and communication road of site II andhighest (20.0%) in transport road of site IV. Thevalues of volatile matter were higher in transport roadof all sites, except in case of site II, where volatilematter was found higher in haul road.

Fixed carbon

The fixed carbon for all the dust samples of fourmines was found to be in range of 10.2–45.3%. In the

Table 3 Physico-chemical properties of coal dust of studied sites (means±1SE)

Mine sites Parameters

Sample Ash (%) MC (%) VM (%) FC (%) WHC (%) BD (g cm–3) SG pH

Site I HR 76±0.50 0.5±0.02 13.3±0.03 10.2±0.52 24.77±3.05 1.54±0.04 2.18±0.06 7.7

TR 54±1.56 0.7±0.03 13.4±0.06 31.9±1.49 27.60±0.28 1.44±0.04 2.08±0.02 6.4

CR 64±3.02 0.8±0.09 12.6±0.07 22.6±2.94 21.64±0.64 1.48±0.04 1.92±0.08 6.4

Coala 15–36 – 25–43 61–90 – – – –

Site II HR 39±2.75 1.3±0.04 14.4±0.53 45.3±0.44 22.80±0.63 1.42±0.02 1.91±0.15 6.8

TR 47±1.12 0.7±0.03 13.4±0.38 38.9±1.36 26.55±0.47 1.39±0.02 1.73±0.23 6.2

CR 53±1.29 0.6±0.02 13.3±0.92 33.1±0.29 23.86±0.55 1.55±0.06 2.15±0.23 5.7

Coalb 20–25 – 26–40 65–87 – – – –

Site III HR 48±1.03 3.0±0.11 13.6±0.14 35.4±1.13 21.31±0.02 1.70±0.07 2.30±0.01 7.3

TR 59±1.53 2.4±0.35 14.5±0.23 24.1±1.19 21.17±0.78 1.50±0.02 2.11±0.05 5.8

CR 64±1.59 1.4±0.09 14.4±0.36 20.2±1.90 22.45±0.56 1.47±0.01 1.87±0.03 5.3

Coalc 15–40 – 35–45 49–82 – – – –

Site IV HR 45±1.96 2.2±0.17 19.9±0.39 32.9±1.16 29.64±0.31 1.29±0.02 1.95±0.01 5.6

TR 55±2.61 1.4±0.31 20.0±0.64 23.6±1.36 31.71±1.07 1.21±0.01 2.02±0.04 5.3

CR 60±2.34 0.5±0.07 18.9±0.74 20.6±1.06 30.91±0.79 1.15±0.01 1.89±0.09 5.1

Coald 22–35 – 40–42 46–78 – – – –

HR haul road, TR transport road, CR communication road, WHC water-holding capacity, MC moisture content, VM volatile matter, BDbulk density, SG specific gravity, FC fixed carbon, site I Tara mine, site II Jamunia mine, site III Lakhanpur mine, site IV Jhingurdahminea Raniganj Coalfieldsb Jharia Coalfieldsc Ib Valley Coalfieldsd Singrauli Coalfields

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present study, it observed that maximum fixed carbonwas in haul road followed by transport road andcommunication road for all three mines except haulroad of site I where trend was somewhat differentshowing higher value in transport road as comparedto communication and haul roads (Table 3).

Water holding capacity

The water-holding capacity ranged from 21.17% to31.71% (Table 3) for all three types of roads in all thefour sites. Water-holding capacity was found to showhigher values in transport road of all the sites, exceptthat of site III, where higher value of water-holdingcapacity was observed in the communication road.

Specific gravity

The values of specific gravity of haul, transport, andcommunication roads of all the four sites ranged from1.73% to 2.30% (Table 3); being the maximum inhaul road of site III and minimum in transport road ofsite II.

Bulk density

The values of bulk density of dust sample of sites I–IV for all the three types of roads ranged from 1.15 to1.70 gcm−3 (Table 3), with the highest values in haulroad of site III and in minimum in communicationroad of site IV.

Particle size distribution

As per the sieve analysis, silt and clay content of dustsamples of size less than 75 μ ranged from 10.55% to23.99% for all the four mines (Table 4). Fine particlesof size less than 425–75 μ for dust samples of sites I–IVof haul, transport, and communication roads rangedfrom 40.40% to 43.64%, 26.41–46.29%, 41.37–42.14%, and 41.26–45.32%, respectively. Dust par-ticles of medium size between <2 mm and 425 μvaried from 19.22% to 28.97% for all the four sites.Coarse particles of size greater than 4–2 mm rangedfrom 11.27% to 38.26% for all the four sites.

As per the analysis carried by Micron PhotosizeAnalyzer, dust particles of size ≤2.5 μ (PM2.5) rangedfrom 6% to 22% for all the four sites (Table 4). Dustparticles of size (>2.5 μ to ≤10 μ) for dust samples of Ta

ble

4Particle

size

distribu

tionof

differentcoal

dustsamples

(means±1S

E)

Param

eters

Minesites

Site

ISite

IISite

III

Site

IV

HR

TR

CR

HR

TR

CR

HR

TR

CR

HR

TR

CR

Particle

size

distributio

nby

sieveshaker

Coarsesize

(>4mm–2

mm)

23.49±0.75

21.41±1.78

22.23±0.34

38.26±3.67

16.05±0.25

11.27±0.07

21.18±0.43

16.21±0.24

14.08±0.14

19.02±0.53

17.15±0.76

12.88±0.61

Medium

size

(<2mm–4

25μ)

22.32±0.31

23.93±0.17

25.53±0.23

19.22±0.04

20.92±0.62

21.83±1.02

23.16±0.21

25.14±1.12

28.97±0.74

21.51±0.22

20.32±0.62

21.34±2.13

Finesize

(<425μ–7

5μ)

43.64±2.33

42.72±0.32

40.40±0.71

26.41±0.32

39.04±2.08

46.29±2.31

41.37±0.41

42.14±0.83

41.79±3.01

41.26±3.55

42.37±0.19

45.32±0.32

Silt

&clay

(<75

μ)

10.55±0.28

11.94±0.03

11.51±1.03

16.11±0.62

23.99±0.02

20.61±0.18

14.29±2.06

16.51±0.47

15.16±0.29

18.21±0.50

20.16±0.49

20.46±3.13

Particle

size

distributio

nby

micronphotosize

analyzer

≤2.5

μ6±0.52

11±1.36

22±0.33

8±0.613

12±0.46

19±0.23

9±0.51

14±1.07

17±0.26

10±0.73

16±0.28

19±0.19

>2.5to≤1

0μ

28±2.67

36±1.27

31±0.35

26±0.85

30±0.73

26±1.13

26±0.31

23±0.05

27±3.01

25±0.34

22±0.46

26±1.03

>10

to≤1

00μ

38±0.77

32±0.21

29±0.61

34±0.79

26±0.59

27±0.16

29±1.01

26±0.19

22±0.44

32±0.26

26±0.30

25±0.21

>100μ

28±0.38

21±0.49

18±0.12

32±0.26

32±0.33

28±0.21

36±0.73

37±0.37

34±0.14

33±3.04

36±0.61

30±2.12

HRhaul

road,TRtransportroad,CRcommun

icationroad

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sites I–IV ranged from 22% to 36%. Dust particles ofsize greater than 10 μ to less than equal to 100 μ rangedfrom 22% to 38% and dust particles of size greater than100 μ varied from 18% to 37% for all the four sites.

Dust quantity

The quantity of dust in haul, transport, and commu-nication roads varied to a greater extent with thevalues ranging from 78.4 to 124.5, 51.7 to 98.2, and38.7 to 50.3 tkm−1, for all the four mine sites,respectively (Table 5).

Discussion

The decline percentages of all the physicochemicalproperties are given in Table 6.

pH

Result indicated that pH values in transport road andcommunication road of sites II–IV were declined by8.82% and 16.18%, 20.55% and 27.40%, and 5.36%and 8.93%, respectively; and in site I, it was declinedby 16.88% for both the subsites as compared to haulroad, respectively (Table 6). The acidity increasesfrom haul road to communication road followed bytransport road which may be due to the lessercontamination of dust with coal samples and mixingof adjacent acidic soil with the dust samples by winderosion.

Water-holding capacity

The WHC was higher in transport road as com-pared to haul road and communication road of sitesI, II, and IV. The WHC in haul and communicationroads was found to decline over transport road insites I, II, and IV by 10.25% and 21.59%, 14.12%and 10.13%, and 6.53% and 2.52%, respectively;

whereas in case of site III, the decline observed inhaul and transport roads was by 5.08% and 5.70%,as compared to communication road (Table 6). Thedecrease in WHC may be due to the high bulkdensity. Higher bulk density was probably associatedwith the loss of organic matter. Water retained in porespaces and adsorbed onto the surface of mineral andorganic particles (Li et al. 2007), a decrease inorganic matter content increases bulk density anddecreases porosity and as a result decreases water-holding capacity. This could be explained by the factthat dust samples with low bulk density could havenumerous gas pockets (pore space) that might retainwater (http://ressources.ciheam.org). According toJha and Singh (1992), presence of coarse texture,or very compacted texture, results in low waterretention capacity.

Bulk density

In sites I, III, and IV, the values of bulk density inhaul road were higher as compared to transport andcommunication roads samples; while in case of siteII, it was higher in communication road comparedto haul and transport roads. The values of bulkdensity in transport and communication roads forsites I, III, and IV were declined by 6.49% and3.90%, 11.76% and 13.53%, and 6.20% and10.85%, respectively. Whereas, it was declined inhaul road and transport road by 8.39% and 10.32%as compared to communication road in site II(Table 6). The decline in bulk density showed thatwater-retention capacity was higher in such samples,which have more number of pore space. Bulk densityis inversely related to pore space (Saxena 1994).According to Jha and Singh (1992), there exists aninverse relation between WHC and bulk density.According to Huat et al. (2009), the bulk densityincreased with decrease in organic content. This wasdue to lower specific gravity of the particles andhigher water-holding capacity.

Sites Quantity of dust (t km−1)

Site I Site II Site III Site IV

Haul road 124.5±9.02 96.2±6.72 78.4±4.78 116.0±8.74

Transport road 48.0±3.08 64.5±5.03 51.7±3.65 98.2±6.35

Communication road 45.3±2.98 38.7±2.07 42.6±3.10 50.3±3.03

Table 5 Quantity of dust ondifferent sampling sites(means±1SE)

Site I Tara mine, site IIJamunia mine, site IIILakhanpur mine, site IVJhingurdah mine

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Table

6Percentagedeclineof

differentph

ysico-chem

ical

prop

ertiesof

coal

dustof

stud

iedsites

Param

eters

Minesites

Site

ISite

IISite

III

Site

IV

HR

TR

CR

HR

TR

CR

HR

TR

CR

HR

TR

CR

pH–a

16.88

16.88

–a8.82

16.18

–a20

.55

27.40

–a5.36

8.93

Water

holdingcapacity

10.25

–a21

.59

14.12

–a10

.13

5.08

5.70

–a6.53

–a2.52

Ash

–a28

.95

15.79

26.42

11.32

–a25

.07.81

–a25

.08.33

–a

Moisturecontent

38.00

12.50

–a–a

46.15

53.85

–a20

.00

53.33

–a36

.36

77.27

Volatilematter

0.75

–a5.97

–a6.94

7.64

6.21

–a0.69

0.50

–a5.50

Fixed

carbon

68.03

–a29

.15

–a14

.13

26.93

–a31

.92

42.94

–a28

.27

37.39

Bulkdensity

–a6.49

3.90

8.39

10.32

–a–a

11.76

13.53

–a6.20

10.85

Specificgravity

–a4.59

11.93

11.16

19.53

–a–a

8.26

18.70

3.47

–a6.44

Particle

size

distribu

tionby

sieveshaker

Coarsesize

(>4mm–2

mm)

–a8.85

5.36

–a58

.05

70.54

–a23

.47

33.52

–a9.83

32.28

Medium

size

(<2mm–4

25μ)

12.57

6.27

–a11.96

4.17

–a20

.06

13.22

–a–a

5.53

0.79

Finesize

(<42

5μ–75μ)

–a2.11

7.42

42.95

15.66

–a1.83

–a0.83

8.96

6.51

–a

Silt

&clay

(<75

μ)

11.64

–a3.60

32.85

–a14

.09

13.45

–a8.18

11.00

1.47

–a

Particle

size

distribu

tionby

micronph

otosize

analyzer

≤2.5

μ72

.73

50.00

–a57

.89

36.84

–a47

.06

17.65

–a47

.37

15.79

–a

>2.5to≤1

0μ

22.22

–a13

.88

13.33

–a13

.33

3.70

14.81

–a3.85

15.38

–a

>10

to≤1

00μ

–a15

.79

23.68

–a23

.53

20.59

–a10

.34

24.14

–a18

.75

21.88

>10

0μ

–a25

.00

35.71

–a–a

12.50

2.70

–a8.11

8.33

–a16

.66

HRhaul

road,TRtransportroad,CRcommun

icationroad,Site

ITara

mine,

Site

IIJamun

iamine,

site

IIILakhanp

urmine,

Site

IVJhingu

rdah

mine

aReference

pointfrom

which

comparisonhasbeen

made

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Specific gravity

The variation of specific gravity was quite similar tothat of bulk density for most of the subsites. Thevalues of specific gravity in transport and communi-cation roads for sites I and III were declined by 4.59%and 11.93%, and 8.26% and 18.70%, respectively, ascompared to haul road samples. The result obtainedfor sites II and IV was somewhat different. The valuesof specific gravity in haul road and transport road forsite II were reduced by 11.16% and 19.53% comparedto communication road, this may be due to lower bulkdensity in these subsites. According to Saxena (1994),specific gravity is directly related to its bulk density.Specific gravity in haul and communication roads forsite IV was declined over transport road by 3.47%and 6.44% (Table 6). The values of specific gravityin different dust samples from site II were 1.73–2.15 gcm−3 which are in concordance with thevalues of specific gravity of fines (1.23–1.7 gcm−3)as reported by Ghose and Majee (2007).

Ash

The values of ash content were lower in haul road andtransport road dust samples in all the three mine sitesII, III, and IVas compared to communication road by26.42% and 11.32%, 25.0% and 7.81%, and 25.0%and 8.33%, respectively, except in case of site I,where ash content was lower in transport road andcommunication road than haul road by 28.95% and15.79% (Table 6). Ash content of all the dust sampleswas greater than the coal of the respective coalfieldsshown in Table 3 (CIL 1993). The values of ashcontent were increased gradually from haul totransport roads and communication road, which maybe due to the higher contamination of dust withimpurities added by the wheel of the vehicles and

other impurities including mud on the adjacent roadsides. Ash content of haul road dust samples of all themine sites was nearly equal to that of coal of therespective mines, except haul road of site I, whichmay be due to the contamination of dust with stonedust which is applied on roads to reduce the chancesof coal dust explosion. Ash content of coal used indifferent Indian power-generated plants is given inTable 7 (http://www.osc.edu and Visuvasam et al.2005). Indian coal used in power plants is generallyof low quality (Mathur et al. 2003) having high ashcontent (35–45%). For dust collection and utilizationpoint of view, it may be concluded that haul road dustof all the three mines, except Tara mine and transportroad dust of Jamunia mine, may be used for domesticfuel purpose.

Moisture

The results of the present study shows that themoisture content was declined in transport road andcommunication road samples of sites II–IV as com-pared to the haul road by 46.15% and 53.85%, 20.0%and 53.33%, and 36.36% and 77.27%, respectively(Table 6), whereas in case of site I, moisture in hauland transport roads was observed to be reduced by38.0% and 12.50% as compared to that communica-tion road which may be due to rapid evaporation ofmoisture from surface due to dry weather. Themoisture content was low during the dry season andit increases as the rainy season begins. A similarvariation in moisture is also reported by Guan et al.(2009). The moisture content was highest in site III,which may be due to frequent water spraying on roadsto suppress emission of dust from mine roads. Themoisture content values were found to range betweenwere 0.6–1.3% in dust samples from communication,transport, and haul roads of site II, respectively, which

Location of coal State Ash content (%) Moisture content (%) Carbon (%)

Simhadri Andhra Pradesh 46.0 15.0 29.0

Sipat Chhattisgarh 45.0 15.0 30.7

Singrauli Uttar Pradesh 26.3 12.0 50.2

Chandrapur Maharashtra 47.0 5.1 37.7

Dahanu Maharashtra 38.5 5.9 42.4

Neyveli lignite Tamilnadu 7.0 47.0 26.1

Kutch lignite Gujarat 15.0 36.0 28.3

Table 7 Typical coalcharacteristics in selectedIndian power plant

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is in concordance with the moisture content reportedby Ghose and Majee (2000a), i.e., less than 1–2% inroad dust for Jharia Coalfields, which causes emissionof significant quantity of coal dust particles from roadsurface into air while vehicles move on roads. Themoisture content in dust changes with the change ofpsychometric condition of the atmosphere.

Volatile matter

The values of volatile matter in transport road weremaximum for all sites as compared to haul andcommunication roads, except in case of site II, wherehaul road showed the maximum value of volatilematter followed by transport and communicationroads. Volatile matter was declined by 0.75% and5.97%, 6.2%1 and 0.69%, and 0.50% and 5.50%,respectively, in haul road and communication roaddust samples of sites I, III, and IV as compared totransport road, whereas transport road and communi-cation road showed a decline trend over haul road by6.94% and 7.64% in case of site II (Table 6). Volatilematter content of dust samples was much lesser thanthe coal of the respective coalfields 25–43%, 26–40%, 35–40%, and 40–42%, respectively, (Table 3).Dust samples of site IV showed higher percentage ofvolatile matter than the dust samples of other threemine sites, it may be due to higher percentage ofvolatile matter in the coal samples (40–42%) of thiscoalfield (Table 3). The more the volatile matter themore the dust was explosive in nature. Dust withvolatile matter less than 10% was generally non-explosive, 10–15% was less explosive, 15–20%explosive and dust of volatile matter with 20–36%was highly explosive (CMPDIL 1993).

Fixed carbon

The haul road samples of sites II–IV showed highervalues of fixed carbon followed by transport andcommunication roads; while in case of site I, thevalue of fixed carbon in transport road was higherover haul and communication roads. The values offixed carbon in transport and communication roads ofsites II–IV were declined over haul road by 14.13%and 26.93%, 31.92% and 42.94%, and 28.27% and37.39%, respectively; while in case of site I, it waslower in haul and communication roads by 68.03%and 29.15% as compared to transport road dust

samples (Table 6). Minimum value of fixed carbonwas found in haul road of site I because ash contentwas highest in haul road dust samples of site 1. Fixedcarbon of coal for respective coalfields varied to agreater extent with the values ranging from 61% to90%, 65% to 87%, 49% to 82%, and 46% to 78%,respectively, as compared to the dust of same coal-fields (Table 3). Based on the fixed carbon values ofthe dust samples, it may be concluded that the coalmine road dust can be used as domestic fuel.

Particle size distribution

As per sieve analysis, coarse particles in transport andcommunication roads of all the four sites (I, II, III,and IV), were decreased by 8.85% and 5.36%,58.05% and 70.54%, 23.47% and 33.52%, and9.83% and 32.28%, respectively, compared to haulroad samples (Table 6). Coarse particles were higherin haul road dust samples due to the falling of coalfrom overloaded trucks plying on haul road but thosewere reduced in transport road due to crushing offallen coal by movement of heavy vehicles.

Medium-size particles in communication road dustsamples for sites I–III were higher in comparison tohaul and transport roads; while in case of site IV, haulroad shows higher percent of medium-size dustparticles. Medium-size particles in haul and transportroads of sites I–III were declined by 12.57% and6.27%, 11.96% and 4.17%, and 20.06% and 13.22%,respectively, compared to those of communicationroad; whereas in transport and communication roadsof site IV these were lowered by 5.53% and 0.79%compared to haul road.

A declining trend was observed in case of fineparticles in haul and transport roads as compared tocommunication road value with a reduction in percentvalues by 42.95% and 15.66%, and 8.96% and6.51%, respectively, in case of sites II and IV. In caseof site I, percentage of fine particles was higher inhaul road and lower in transport road and communi-cation road by 2.11% and 7.42%. The values of fineparticles in haul and communication roads weredeclined by 1.83% and 0.83% compared to transportroad of site III.

Silt and clay particles were reduced by 11.64% and3.60%, 32.85% and 14.09%, and 13.45% and 8.18%,respectively, in haul and communication roads ascompared to transport road for all the three mine sites

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except site IV, where fine particles in haul andtransport roads showed a declining pattern with apercent decline of 11.0% and 1.47% over communi-cation road (Table 6).

As per analysis carried by Micron PhotosizeAnalyzer, similar trend was observed for dust particlesof size ≤2.5 μ in all four mine sites showing lowervalues in haul and transport roads as compared tocommunication road for all the four mine sites with apercent decline of 72.73% and 50.00%, 57.89% and36.84%, 47.06% and 17.65%, and 47.37% and15.79%, respectively (Table 6). It has been reportedby Snilsberg (2008) that for long-term exposures, anincrease in PM2.5 of 10 μg m−3 resulted in an increasein relative risk of 4% for all causes of death, and 6%and 8% for death by cardiovascular disease and lungcancer, respectively.

Dust particles of size >2.5 to ≤10 μ in transport roadwere higher in comparison to that of haul andcommunication roads of sites I and II; whereas in caseof sites III and IV, these were higher in communicationroad as compared to haul and transport roads. There wasa declining trend observed in haul and communicationroads with 13.33% for both the subsites for site II and22.22% and 13.88%, respectively, for site I. In case ofsites III and IV, dust particles of >2.5 to ≤10 μ in hauland transport roads were reduced by 3.70% and14.81%, and 3.85% and 15.38%, respectively, com-pared to communication road.

The values of dust particles of size >10 to ≤100 μin haul road were higher compared to transport and

communication roads. The transport and communica-tion roads showed declining trend of 15.79% and23.68%, 23.53% and 20.59%, 10.34% and 24.14%,and 18.75% and 21.88%, respectively, over haul roadfor all the four sites. Similar trend of dust particles ofsize >10 to ≤100 μ in all the four mine sites wasobserved. These dust particles were increased graduallyfrom communication road to transport and haul roads.

Dust particles of size >100 μ in haul road were higherin case of site I as compared to transport and communi-cation roads. At site II, both haul and transport roadsshowed the same values for dust particles of size >100 μ,but dust particles of size >100 μ in communication roadwere declined by 12.50% than both haul and transportroads subsites. Moreover, in case of sites III and IV, dustparticles of size >100μ in haul and communication roadswere declined by 2.70% and 8.11%, and 8.33% and16.66%, respectively, as compared to transport road(Table 6). Several authors (Ermak 1977; Horst 1977;Hanna et al. 1982; Chaulya et al. 2001; Jones et al.2002) have reported for different mine sites that TSPand PM10 generated due to transportation, deposition,and dispersion of particles were gradually diminishedwith increase in distance of road from mine operationsite.

Dust quantity

In general, dust quantity was maximal in haul road(78.4–124.5 tkm−1) of all the four mines sitesfollowed by transport road (48.0–98.2 tkm−1) and

Table 8 Company wise production of coal (Mt)

Company Type 1974–19705

1984–1985

1994–1995

2001–2002

2002–2003

2003–2004

2004–2005

2005–2006

2006–2007

2007–2008

2008–2009

2009–2010

ECL U/G 20.50 16.67 13.62 11.66 10.95 9.91 9.45 9.34 8.27 8.32 8.39 8.23

OC 2.66 6.44 11.23 16.89 16.23 18.09 17.80 21.78 22.20 15.74 19.74 81.23

TOTAL 23.16 23.11 24.85 28.55 27.18 28.00 27.25 31.11 30.47 24.06 28.13 30.07

NCL OC 0.00 0.00 32.50 42.46 45.10 47.03 49.95 51.52 52.16 59.62 63.65 67.67

MCL U/G 0.00 0.00 1.94 1.65 1.76 2.05 2.18 2.02 1.97 2.12 2.15 2.20

OC 0.00 0.00 25.39 46.16 50.47 58.00 63.90 67.59 78.03 85.89 94.19 101.88

TOTAL 0.00 0.00 27.33 47.81 52.23 60.05 66.08 69.60 80.00 88.01 96.34 104.08

BCCL U/G 15.64 13.34 11.49 7.59 7.29 6.74 6.38 5.47 4.90 4.46 4.13 3.90

OC 2.10 8.50 17.26 17.66 16.86 15.94 15.94 17.84 19.30 20.75 21.38 23.61

TOTAL 17.74 21.84 28.75 25.25 24.15 22.68 22.32 23.31 24.21 25.21 25.51 27.51

ECL Eastern Coalfields Limited, NCL Northern Coalfields Limited, MCL Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, BCCL Bharat Coking CoalLimited, U/G underground mine, OC opencast mine, Mt million tonnes

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communication road (38.7–50.3 tkm−1; Table 5)which may be due to the presence of gravel and coallumps in the haul road. As the distance from the coalextraction point increases, presence of small chunksof coal and heavier particles on the road decreases dueto crushing of these heavier particles by frequentmovement of overloaded and heavy vehicles. Nairand Singh (1990) also reported that haul roads are themost prolific sources of dust in opencast mines.According to Singh (1997), haul roads were reportedto produce 0.25–0.70 kg of dust per kilometer travelof a dumper. Due to the presence of unpaved road insites I and IV, quantity of dust was more incomparison to the other two mines. The generationof dust is dependent upon the quantity of coalextracted from opencast mining in the area. Thegreater the extraction of coal, the greater will be theconcentration of contamination of dust generated inthe nearby area, particularly haul road. According toMohapatra et al. (2010), the dust-laden environmentof Ib Valley Coalfield in Mahanadi Coalfields Limitedis the source of respiratory disorder, called “tubercu-losis”. It is also reported that due to increase ofmining operations in and around the coalfield, dustdoses of these places are more than the safe limit. Adetailed account of generation of coal in different studysites has been given in Table 8 (www.ismenvis.nic.in). Itis observed from Table 8 that in all the four studiedcoalfields, coal is mainly produced from opencastmines which create more air pollution problem thanunderground mines.

Conclusions

Huge quantity of coal dust is accumulated on the hauland transport roads in opencast coal mining areas inIndia, which causes air pollution and serious healthproblems. Such a large amount of dust deteriorates airquality and creates serious health hazards andultimately affects flora and fauna in and around themining areas. The environmental impact of coalmining cannot be ignored but, to some extent, isunavoidable. Hence, attempts could be made toreduce generation. Spraying of water on roads,application of binding materials with water on haulroads, converting unpaved road to a black top road,using dust collector, and a green belt should also bedeveloped in and around mining areas to reduced

emission of dust. These are some mitigative measuresrequired at the mine sites to control generation ofparticulate matter and the air quality in the study areascould be brought within the national ambient airquality protocol threshold limit.

For effective control of dust emission from hauland transportation roads, dust must be collected andremoved from road surface. However, the mostappropriate will be the minimization of dust concen-tration over the roads through some collective andabsorbing devices. Coal dust collected from roadsurface of opencast coal mining areas may be used asdomestic fuel. Thus, to control air pollution in andaround mining areas, there is need of fabrication ofsome automatic collecting device through which dustcould be collected and converted into solid form, sothat it could be efficiently used as domestic fuel bythe local people vis-à-vis save environment andenergy.

Acknowledgments Authors are thankful to the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests, Government of India for provid-ing financial support to carry out this research study.Authors are also grateful to the Dr. A. Sinha, Director,Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad,India for providing technical advice and giving permissionto publish this paper.

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