Diagnostics of Acid Sulfate Soils in a Coal Mining Area of the Taiga Zone

Technogenic soils result from the oxidation and hydrolysis of minerals in rocks extracted from mining areas and brought to the surface. Diagnostics of such soils involve a set of detailed tests, which can be both time-consuming and costly. In this study, the pH of sulfate soils in the Kizel Coal Bas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta Seriya Estestvennye Nauki
Main Authors: N. V. Mitrakova, E. A. Menshikova, E. A. Khayrulina, N. V. Poroshina
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Russian
Published: Kazan Federal University 2024
Subjects:
Q
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.26907/2542-064X.2024.2.324-341
https://doaj.org/article/730f9ad756bc45609737d6f96c9998ab
Description
Summary:Technogenic soils result from the oxidation and hydrolysis of minerals in rocks extracted from mining areas and brought to the surface. Diagnostics of such soils involve a set of detailed tests, which can be both time-consuming and costly. In this study, the pH of sulfate soils in the Kizel Coal Basin (Perm krai, Russia) was determined using hydrogen peroxide. Particularly, the soils affected by runoff from rock dumps, outflow, and mine water discharge were examined. The findings showed pH-H2O2 below 2.5 in certain horizons, indicating the presence of sulfides. Additionally, the soils exhibited significantly higher levels of mobile sulfur and iron, total sulfur, and sulfates, ranging from tens to hundreds of times above the background content. XRD analysis revealed that the soils contained goethite and jarosite, thereby confirming the efficacy of pH determination with hydrogen peroxide for the prompt diagnostics of acid sulfate soils.