On the occurrence and persistence of coal-mineral microagglomerates in respirable coal mine dust

dc.contributor.authorGonzalez, Jonathanen
dc.contributor.authorKeles, Cigdemen
dc.contributor.authorSarver, Emily A.en
dc.coverage.countryUnited Statesen
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-15T19:09:33Zen
dc.date.available2022-03-15T19:09:33Zen
dc.date.issued2022-02-10en
dc.date.updated2022-03-15T17:30:12Zen
dc.description.abstractA previous effort to characterize respirable coal mine dust in 16 US mines turned up a curious finding: particle-based analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tended to overpredict the abundance of dust sourced from rock strata, and underpredict the abundance of coal, when compared to mass-based thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). One possible explanation is the occurrence of coal-mineral microagglomerates (MAGs). Coal particles covered with fine mineral dust could be mostly coal by mass but classified as minerals by SEM due to their surface elemental content. In the current study, a subset of the previously analyzed mine dust samples was re-examined, and SEM images and elemental mapping showed that MAGs are indeed present. Furthermore, dust samples were created and sampled passively in the laboratory, demonstrating that MAG formation can occur due to dust generation processes and the sampling environment, rather than as a mere artifact of respirable dust sampling procedures. Finally, experiments were conducted to evaluate dispersibility of MAGs in liquid suspensions, which might shed some light on their possible fate upon inhalation. Results indicated that sonication in deionized water was effective for MAG dispersion, and a solution that mimics natural lung surfactant also appeared to enhance dispersibility. An understanding of MAG occurrence might be important in terms of exposure assessment.en
dc.description.versionAccepted versionen
dc.format.extent12 page(s)en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-022-00555-7en
dc.identifier.eissn2524-3470en
dc.identifier.issn2524-3462en
dc.identifier.orcidSarver, Emily [0000-0003-2301-8740]en
dc.identifier.orcidKeles, Cigdem [0000-0002-1467-4618]en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/109347en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSpringeren
dc.relation.urihttp://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000753725800002&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=930d57c9ac61a043676db62af60056c1en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectMetallurgy & Metallurgical Engineeringen
dc.subjectMining & Mineral Processingen
dc.subjectRespirable coal mine dusten
dc.subjectSEM-EDXen
dc.subjectMicroagglomeratesen
dc.subjectOccupational healthen
dc.subjectPARTICLESen
dc.titleOn the occurrence and persistence of coal-mineral microagglomerates in respirable coal mine dusten
dc.title.serialMining Metallurgy and Explorationen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.otherArticleen
dcterms.dateAccepted2022-01-11en
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Techen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Engineeringen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Engineering/Mining and Minerals Engineeringen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/All T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Engineering/COE T&R Facultyen

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