QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia
Determining the physical and chemical properties of airborne dusts in occupational settings is essential for assessing their potential toxicity as well as the effectiveness of respiratory protective equipment and dust mitigation measures. Here, we report the first successful QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of potentially toxic PM4 and PM2.5 dust from deep coal mines in Poland and Slovenia. QEMSCAN® was setup to automatically delimit 100,000 ‘particles’ per sample, based on average atomic number contrast, subject these to X-ray elemental analysis at points in a grid pattern (0.5 µm spacing), assign a mineral name to each point and then output the results as particle size, shape, mineralogy and mineral associations data and as mineral maps. The dusts were prepared as dispersions on a polyethylene sheet so that coal particles, with a slightly higher BSE signal, could be recognized from their substrate. Samples were analyzed repeatedly and in different orientations to determine the effects of sample geometry and topography. QEMSCAN® mineral identifications were manually checked using standard SEM X-ray elemental analysis. From a pilot study of Polish and Slovenian coal dust samples, PM4 and PM2.5 contain varying proportions of coal, quartz and other silicates, sulphides, sulphates, carbonates, oxides and other minerals, and notable concentrations of fly-ash particles. That some of these components may be toxic when inhaled, particularly the quartz and fly-ash, highlights the need for larger scale and wider ranging studies. The further potential of the newly developed QEMSCAN® methodology is discussed.
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Frontiers Media
2022-09-21
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Subjects: | QEMSCAN ®, Automated mineralogy, Coal mining, Dust, PM 2.5, PM 4, |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/282588 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85140586078 |
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dig-idaea-es-10261-2825882024-05-19T20:46:15Z QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia Johnson, Diane Rollinson, Gavyn K. Arif, Ali Talib Moreno, Teresa Trechera, Pedro Lah, Robert Lubosik, Zbigniew Pindel, Thomas Gminsk, Richard Williamson, Ben J. QEMSCAN ® Automated mineralogy Coal mining Dust PM 2.5 PM 4 Determining the physical and chemical properties of airborne dusts in occupational settings is essential for assessing their potential toxicity as well as the effectiveness of respiratory protective equipment and dust mitigation measures. Here, we report the first successful QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of potentially toxic PM4 and PM2.5 dust from deep coal mines in Poland and Slovenia. QEMSCAN® was setup to automatically delimit 100,000 ‘particles’ per sample, based on average atomic number contrast, subject these to X-ray elemental analysis at points in a grid pattern (0.5 µm spacing), assign a mineral name to each point and then output the results as particle size, shape, mineralogy and mineral associations data and as mineral maps. The dusts were prepared as dispersions on a polyethylene sheet so that coal particles, with a slightly higher BSE signal, could be recognized from their substrate. Samples were analyzed repeatedly and in different orientations to determine the effects of sample geometry and topography. QEMSCAN® mineral identifications were manually checked using standard SEM X-ray elemental analysis. From a pilot study of Polish and Slovenian coal dust samples, PM4 and PM2.5 contain varying proportions of coal, quartz and other silicates, sulphides, sulphates, carbonates, oxides and other minerals, and notable concentrations of fly-ash particles. That some of these components may be toxic when inhaled, particularly the quartz and fly-ash, highlights the need for larger scale and wider ranging studies. The further potential of the newly developed QEMSCAN® methodology is discussed. This project was funded by the European Commission, Research Fund for Coal and Steel, 754205. The open access publication fee was provided by the University of Exeter. Peer reviewed 2022-11-08T17:38:48Z 2022-11-08T17:38:48Z 2022-09-21 artículo http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 Frontiers in Earth Science (2022) http://hdl.handle.net/10261/282588 10.3389/feart.2022.788928 2-s2.0-85140586078 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85140586078 en Frontiers in Earth Science Publisher's version https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.788928 Sí open Frontiers Media |
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QEMSCAN ® Automated mineralogy Coal mining Dust PM 2.5 PM 4 QEMSCAN ® Automated mineralogy Coal mining Dust PM 2.5 PM 4 |
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QEMSCAN ® Automated mineralogy Coal mining Dust PM 2.5 PM 4 QEMSCAN ® Automated mineralogy Coal mining Dust PM 2.5 PM 4 Johnson, Diane Rollinson, Gavyn K. Arif, Ali Talib Moreno, Teresa Trechera, Pedro Lah, Robert Lubosik, Zbigniew Pindel, Thomas Gminsk, Richard Williamson, Ben J. QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia |
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Determining the physical and chemical properties of airborne dusts in occupational settings is essential for assessing their potential toxicity as well as the effectiveness of respiratory protective equipment and dust mitigation measures. Here, we report the first successful QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of potentially toxic PM4 and PM2.5 dust from deep coal mines in Poland and Slovenia. QEMSCAN® was setup to automatically delimit 100,000 ‘particles’ per sample, based on average atomic number contrast, subject these to X-ray elemental analysis at points in a grid pattern (0.5 µm spacing), assign a mineral name to each point and then output the results as particle size, shape, mineralogy and mineral associations data and as mineral maps. The dusts were prepared as dispersions on a polyethylene sheet so that coal particles, with a slightly higher BSE signal, could be recognized from their substrate. Samples were analyzed repeatedly and in different orientations to determine the effects of sample geometry and topography. QEMSCAN® mineral identifications were manually checked using standard SEM X-ray elemental analysis. From a pilot study of Polish and Slovenian coal dust samples, PM4 and PM2.5 contain varying proportions of coal, quartz and other silicates, sulphides, sulphates, carbonates, oxides and other minerals, and notable concentrations of fly-ash particles. That some of these components may be toxic when inhaled, particularly the quartz and fly-ash, highlights the need for larger scale and wider ranging studies. The further potential of the newly developed QEMSCAN® methodology is discussed. |
format |
artículo |
topic_facet |
QEMSCAN ® Automated mineralogy Coal mining Dust PM 2.5 PM 4 |
author |
Johnson, Diane Rollinson, Gavyn K. Arif, Ali Talib Moreno, Teresa Trechera, Pedro Lah, Robert Lubosik, Zbigniew Pindel, Thomas Gminsk, Richard Williamson, Ben J. |
author_facet |
Johnson, Diane Rollinson, Gavyn K. Arif, Ali Talib Moreno, Teresa Trechera, Pedro Lah, Robert Lubosik, Zbigniew Pindel, Thomas Gminsk, Richard Williamson, Ben J. |
author_sort |
Johnson, Diane |
title |
QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia |
title_short |
QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia |
title_full |
QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia |
title_fullStr |
QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia |
title_full_unstemmed |
QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of PM2.5 and PM4: A preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from Poland and Slovenia |
title_sort |
qemscan® automated mineralogical analysis of pm2.5 and pm4: a preliminary study of underground coal mine dust from poland and slovenia |
publisher |
Frontiers Media |
publishDate |
2022-09-21 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/282588 https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85140586078 |
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