{"title":"Impact of Humidity and Freeze–Thaw Cycles on the Disintegration Rate of Coal Gangue in Cold and Arid Regions: A Case Study from Inner Mongolia, China","authors":"Chuangang Gong, Liya Yang","doi":"10.3390/min14090911","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Coal extraction in China is increasingly moving towards colder regions such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. However, these mines face land restoration challenges due to a scarcity of fertile topsoil. This study explores the potential of coal gangue, a mining byproduct, as a viable substitute for topsoil. The study examines the effects of humidity fluctuations and freeze–thaw cycles, both individually and in combination, on the weathering disintegration of coal gangue. Coal gangue samples were subjected to controlled laboratory conditions simulating environmental factors. Fourteen interventions were analyzed, and the findings indicated that the combined application of humidity and freeze–thaw cycles significantly accelerated the disintegration process, outperforming the individual interventions. In addition, it was found that significant temperature variations caused the moisture and salts within the gangue to expand, which affected the rate of disintegration. The study showed that the rate of weathering disintegration was significantly higher in conditions of saturated humidity–freeze–thaw cycles compared to unsaturated humidity conditions. This highlights the essential role of ice crystals in accelerating the weathering process during temperature fluctuations. This study highlights the importance of humidity over temperature in the weathering and disintegration of coal gangue. It also suggests that freeze–thaw cycles can enhance this process. The study provides valuable insights for the management and utilization of coal gangue in cold and arid regions.","PeriodicalId":18601,"journal":{"name":"Minerals","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Minerals","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/min14090911","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Coal extraction in China is increasingly moving towards colder regions such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. However, these mines face land restoration challenges due to a scarcity of fertile topsoil. This study explores the potential of coal gangue, a mining byproduct, as a viable substitute for topsoil. The study examines the effects of humidity fluctuations and freeze–thaw cycles, both individually and in combination, on the weathering disintegration of coal gangue. Coal gangue samples were subjected to controlled laboratory conditions simulating environmental factors. Fourteen interventions were analyzed, and the findings indicated that the combined application of humidity and freeze–thaw cycles significantly accelerated the disintegration process, outperforming the individual interventions. In addition, it was found that significant temperature variations caused the moisture and salts within the gangue to expand, which affected the rate of disintegration. The study showed that the rate of weathering disintegration was significantly higher in conditions of saturated humidity–freeze–thaw cycles compared to unsaturated humidity conditions. This highlights the essential role of ice crystals in accelerating the weathering process during temperature fluctuations. This study highlights the importance of humidity over temperature in the weathering and disintegration of coal gangue. It also suggests that freeze–thaw cycles can enhance this process. The study provides valuable insights for the management and utilization of coal gangue in cold and arid regions.
期刊介绍:
Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X) is an international open access journal that covers the broad field of mineralogy, economic mineral resources, mineral exploration, innovative mining techniques and advances in mineral processing. It publishes reviews, regular research papers and short notes. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. There is no restriction on the length of the papers. The full experimental details must be provided so that the results can be reproduced.