Characterization of REE geochemistry of coals from the Sangrud coal mine, Alborz coalfield, Iran
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Characterization of REE geochemistry of coals from the Sangrud coal mine, Alborz coalfield, Iran Kaveh Pazand
Received: 19 August 2014 / Accepted: 6 January 2015 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2015
Abstract The Sangrud underground mine is located in the west of the Alborz basin that has been mined since 1971. The concentrations and distribution patterns of rare earth elements (REEs) in coal samples from the Mazino mine were studied by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The concentrations of ∑REEs in coal samples range from 2.1 to 117.22 ppm with average of 34.74 ppm. The concentration and distribution of REEs in coal samples of Sangrud mine are effected by intrusive rocks. The coal samples from the nearer source rock have higher ash yield and REE contents than the other. The REE patterns of the coal samples exhibit two slightly different types. The differential relative enrichment patterns of light rare earth element (LREE) may have resulted in the high background LREEs in the primary mineral matter. Keywords Coal . REEs . Sangrud . ICP-MS
the earth’s surface and thus can be useful for identifying clastic sediment sources (Schatzel and Stewart 2012) and have been used as tracers to identify sources and epigenetic modification of coal mineral matter (Wang et al. 2008). In recent years, REEs in coal have received much attention owing to their potential economic value. Therefore, many researchers studied REE geochemistry of different coals (Rantitsch et al. 2003; Ketris and Yudovich 2009; Pazand 2014). There is little known about the geochemistry of Iranian coals. The coal-bearing deposits of Iran are spread, more or less, throughout the eastern, northern, and northwestern regions of the country and occupy a vast area of som e 100,000 km 2 (Zadehkabir 1992), and not enough studies have been conducted on the geochemistry of trace elements in Iranian coal (e.g., Goodarzi et al. 2006; Yazdi and Shiravani 2004; Ardebili et al. 2012; Pazand 2014). The aim of the present study is to investigate the geochemistry of REEs in Sangrud coal mine, located in western Alborz, northern Iran.
Introduction The high charge/radius ratio of the rare earth elements (REEs) means that these elements are relatively immobile during weathering, erosion, and deposition at
K. Pazand (*) Young Researchers and Elite Club, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran e-mail: [email protected]
Geological settings The main coalfields of Iran are Alborz in northern Iran and Tabas in central Iran. The coal-bearing strata in northern Iran occur in Upper Triassic to Lower-Middle Jurassic strata (Fig. 1) and are part of the Shemshak coal-bearing strata (Bragin et al. 1981) which was deposited in a fresh water environment (Razavi-Armagani and Moenoalsadat 1994).
Arab J Geosci Fig. 1 Coal-bearing strata of Iran and location of study area (Sangrud mine)
The Shemshak Formation was deposited on the limestone sequences of the Elika Formation and is overlained by Middle–Upper Jurassic limest
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