The Environmentally Significant Element Contents of Eocene Coals in North Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract

The North Anatolia region in Turkey contains a large amount of high-calorie lignite coal deposits of the Eocene age. In this study, distribution of the environmentally significant element contents of Eocene coals, enrichment factors of these elements, and relation between total organic carbon and these elements were investigated. Contents of environmentally harmful elements, such as Mo, V, B, Se, and S contents of the Amasya-Boğaköy and Bolu-Salipazari, are found to be lower than that of average concentrations of Turkish coals, whereas Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, and S contents of the Kastamonu-Aspiras and Cu and Zn contents of Amasya-Yeniçeltek coals are higher than those of Turkish coals. Statistical evaluations were performed on environmentally significant elements and total organic matter values of coals from all the fields. In the Amasya-Kastamonu coals, Cr-V, As-S, and B-TOC element pairs show positive correlations, whereas Th-TOC, Cu-TOC, and B-Cu element pairs show negative correlations. Except for S-Cu element correlation resembling the Amasya field, the Bolu field does not display any similarity to any of the fields. On the basis of enrichment factor calculation, it is found that Eocene coals are enriched with Cr, Ni, Co, Cu, Mn, As, V, Hg, and Th.

Keywords:

• enrichment factor
• environmental effect
• Eocene coal
• geochemistry
• trace element

Notes

^a From Palmer et al. (2004).

^b From Valkovic (1983), after Beaton et al. (1991).