Spatial Variability of Rare Earth Elements in Groundwater in the Vicinity of a Coal-Fired Power Plant and Associated Health Risk

Vesković, Jelena; Lučić, Milica; Ristić, Mirjana; Perić-Grujić, Aleksandra; Onjia, Antonije

doi:10.3390/toxics12010062

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…For the SRM, all examined values were greater, namely 277 mg kg −1 , 88.4 mg kg −1 , and 12 mg kg −1 for light, medium, and heavy elements, respectively. The same abundance trend was recorded in the groundwater near the ash landfill [52].…”

Section: No Of Samplesupporting

confidence: 77%

Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly and Bottom Ashes by Ultrasonic Roasting Followed by Microwave Leaching

Stojković,

Ristić,

Đolić

et al. 2024

Metals

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Considering the rising demand for rare earth elements (REEs), researchers are looking for new sources for their extraction, thereby fostering economic and environmentally justified processing solutions. Among potential industrial sources, coal fly ash emerges as one of the most promising. The recovery of REEs from coal fly and bottom ashes derived from different thermal power plants was the main focus of this study. A dual-step methodology was conducted on ash samples, which involved an ultrasonic roasting process to disintegrate the silica matrix, followed by a microwave-assisted acid leaching step to extract REEs. The roasting procedure was studied using the Plackett–Burman design, and the Box–Behnken design was subsequently implemented to optimize the leaching procedure. The optimized ultrasonic roasting procedure was set up at 95 °C for 10 min with an ash-to-roasting agent (3M NaOH) ratio of 0.5:1 (m/V). For acid leaching, the optimal conditions were obtained at 174 °C for 30 min with an HCl ÷ HNO3 mixture (1:1 V/V). The standard reference material (NIST 1633c) was used in the conclusive experiments to estimate the average recovery (80%) of REEs. The green aspects of this methodology were evaluated using several metrics (atom economy, E-factor, and energy consumption). The proposed process outperforms high-temperature roasting procedures in terms of greenness; however, the REE recovery rate is lower.

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Section: No Of Samplesupporting

confidence: 77%

Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly and Bottom Ashes by Ultrasonic Roasting Followed by Microwave Leaching

Stojković,

Ristić,

Đolić

et al. 2024

Metals

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“…The correlation coefficients range from 0.806 (Tm vs. Pr) to 0.977 (La vs. Ce). These strong correlations suggest that the REYs have a mutual coexistence and likely share a common origin [ 70 ]. It highlights the potential for the simultaneous recovery of multiple REYs from CFA.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological and Health Risks Attributed to Rare Earth Elements in Coal Fly Ash

Slavković-Beškoski,

Ignjatović,

Ćujić

et al. 2024

Toxics

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The occurrence and distribution of yttrium and rare earth elements (REYs), along with major elements and heavy metal(loid)s (HMs) in coal fly ash (CFA) from five coal-fired power plants (CFPPs), were analyzed, and the REY-associated ecological and health risks were assessed. The individual REYs in CFA were abundant in the following order: Ce > La > Nd > Y > Pr > Gd > Sm > Dy > Er > Yb > Eu > Ho > Tb > Tm > Lu. The total REY content ranged from 135 to 362 mg/kg, averaging 302 mg/kg. The mean light-to-heavy REY ratio was 4.1, indicating prevalent light REY enrichment in CFA. Significantly positive correlations between the REYs suggested that they coexist and share similar origins in CFA. REYs were estimated to pose low to moderate ecological risks, with risk index (RI) values ranging from 66 to 245. The hazard index (HI) and target cancer risk (TCR) of REYs from CFA, estimated to be higher for children (HIc = 0.15, TCRc = 8.4 × 10−16) than for adults (HIa = 0.017, TCRa = 3.6 × 10−16), were well below the safety limits (HI = 1, TCR = 1.0 × 10−6). However, the danger to human health posed by HMs in the same CFA samples (HIc = 5.74, TCRc = 2.6 × 10−4, TCRa = 1.1 × 10−4) exceeded the safe thresholds (excl. HIa = 0.63). The mean RI and HI attributed to REYs in CFA were 14% and 2.6%, respectively, of the total risks that include HMs.

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“…The ILCR values exceeding 10 −4 indicate unacceptable levels of carcinogenic risk, whereas those falling between 10 −6 and 10 −4 signify tolerable risk. The ILCR values below 10 −6 indicate negligible carcinogenic risk [49].…”

Section: Health Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Common hand-to-mouth activities characterized in children could lead to a greater risk compared with adults. Furthermore, the higher non-carcinogenic risk observed in children may be attributed to their lower body weight [49]. Ingestion through drinking water was the main exposure route, and As was the main health risk contributor for both population groups (Figure S4 from the Supplementary Materials).…”

Section: Potential Human Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Implications of the Soil-to-Groundwater Migration of Heavy Metals in Mining Area Hotspots

Vesković,

Onjia

2024

Metals

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Groundwater contamination was studied at several hotspot sites in the Majdanpek copper mining area (Serbia). These sites include a milling facility, a metallurgical wastewater treatment plant, a heavy vehicle service area, and a waste disposal site. In addition to Cu, high concentrations of As and heavy metals (Cd and Pb) were detected in groundwater and soil at the same sampling points. Mining operations and heavy vehicle transport activities have been identified as the main sources of pollution. The migration of metals from soil to groundwater, expressed as a concentration ratio, were the highest for Co and the lowest for Mn. The environmental implications of groundwater pollution were studied using the heavy metal pollution index (HPI), Nemerov pollution index (NPI), hazard index (HI), and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR). HPI and NPI show the high potential of groundwater to have adverse environmental effects. HPI ranges in the following descending order of metals: Cd > Pb > As > Mn > Ni > Cr > Hg > Cu > Zn. NPI exceeds the threshold of 0.7 in 66.7% of the samples. Potential human exposure to the studied groundwater may cause severe health problems in adults, with HI ranging from 0.61 to 5.45 and ILCR from 1.72 × 10−4 to 1.27 × 10−3. Children were more susceptible to non-carcinogenic risk than adults, with HI ranging from 0.95 to 8.27. However, the results indicated that children were less prone to carcinogenic risks, with ILCR ranging from 5.35 × 10−5 to 3.98 × 10−4. Arsenic is the most contributing element to both risks. This research imposes the need for enhanced groundwater monitoring at hotspots in the mining area and the adoption of remediation plans and measures.

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Spatial Variability of Rare Earth Elements in Groundwater in the Vicinity of a Coal-Fired Power Plant and Associated Health Risk

Cited by 6 publications

References 75 publications

Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly and Bottom Ashes by Ultrasonic Roasting Followed by Microwave Leaching

Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Fly and Bottom Ashes by Ultrasonic Roasting Followed by Microwave Leaching

Ecological and Health Risks Attributed to Rare Earth Elements in Coal Fly Ash

Environmental Implications of the Soil-to-Groundwater Migration of Heavy Metals in Mining Area Hotspots

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