Native Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in Coals – a Hardly Recognized Source of Environmental Contamination
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 407 (2009) 2461– 2473 available at www.sciencedirect.com www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv Review Native polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in coals – A hardly recognized source of environmental contamination C. Achtena,b, T. Hofmanna,⁎ a University of Vienna, Department of Environmental Geosciences, Althanstr. 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria b University of Münster, Department of Applied Geology, Corrensstr. 24, 48149 Münster, Germany ARTICLE DATA ABSTRACT Article history: Numerous environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) sources have been Received 15 October 2008 reported in literature, however, unburnt hard coal/ bituminous coal is considered only Received in revised form rarely. It can carry native PAH concentrations up to hundreds, in some cases, thousands of 29 November 2008 mg/kg. The molecular structures of extractable compounds from hard coals consist mostly Accepted 5 December 2008 of 2–6 polyaromatic condensed rings, linked by ether or methylene bridges carrying methyl Available online 4 February 2009 and phenol side chains. The extractable phase may be released to the aquatic environment, be available to organisms, and thus be an important PAH source. PAH concentrations and Keywords: patterns in coals depend on the original organic matter type, as well as temperature and Native PAH pressure conditions during coalification. The environmental impact of native unburnt coal- Bituminous coal bound PAH in soils and sediments is not well studied, and an exact source apportionment is Hard coal hardly possible. In this paper, we review the current state of the art. Sediment © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Soil Contents 1. Introduction .........................................................2462 2. Reserves and production ..................................................2462 3.
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