Effect of coal mine waters of variable pH on springwater quality: A case study

Abstract

Disruption of coal strata during mining accelerates pyrite oxidation by exposing greater surface areas of the reactive mineral to weathering. Acidic water in a coal mine in the Niangziguan spring watershed is related to this process and is characterized by low pH (min. 2.52) and high sulfate (max. 4100 mg/I), iron (max. 257 mg/I), and hardness (max. 2274.45 mg/I). However, it is possible that the kind of acidic coal mine water is subsequently neutralized because of the dissolution of calcite present in the coal strata. The hydrochemical characters of the alkaline coal mine water produced are high pH (max. 8.18), sulfate (max. 542 mg/I), and hardness (max. 1183.56 mg/I) and lower iron (min. 0.12 mg/I). Experiments were conducted to further understand the mechanism of the formation of both acidic and alkaline waters in the spring watershed coal mines by modeling natural conditions with simplification, and the results of the experiments have shown that they are basically successful. The high sulfate (max. 223.82 mg/I) and hardness (max. 435.53 mg/I) of the Niangziguan springs are related to the influence of the neutralized acid coal mine water as demonstrated by analysis of water temperature, total dissolved solid, Q-mode cluster analysis, and sulfur isotopes. The influence of the neutralized acid coal mine water on the pH and iron in the springs is not obvious because of the neutralization effect of calcite in aquifer, the buffer effect of groundwater, and the precipitation of iron. Some measures to prevent the formation of acid and alkaline coal mine water are presented.