Home – Home – Jornals – Chemistry for Sustainable Development 2020 number 3

Black coal is formed by a carbon framework originating from metamorphism of condensed polycyclic organic compounds. This framework includes volatile organic substances, as well as a definite amount of mineral admixtures that form ash after coal combustion. The content of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in coal depends on the nature of initial plant material that participated in the stages of coal formation, and on thermodynamic conditions of this process. One of the major representatives of PAHs possessing a strong carcinogenic effect is benz(a)pyrene. The group of PAHs compounds also includes phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, which are the major components of emissions during coal production, transportation, storage, concentrating, gasification, coking and combustion, and serve as convenient tracers to evaluate the pollution of the atmosphere, surface waters, and soil. The latter plays the part of a special accumulator into which PAHs get as a result of the global transport of emissions from anthropogenic sources and arrival from natural sources into the atmosphere. Because of this, soil relates to the most representative objects to study PAHs accumulation. The presence of these compounds may play the role of indicators depicting the presence of pollution source. As a rule, PAHs are determined by means of gas and high-performance liquid chromatography. Gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry appears to be the most promising method. To obtain reliable data on PAHs content in various objects, special attention is paid to sample preparation (extraction, purification, concentrating). Methodically correct arrangement of this stage allows excluding a noticeable fraction of the possible error of quantitative determination. The paper presents a review of the methods of PAHs extraction from solid matrices, in particular from fossil coal. It is demonstrated that all ranks of coal may be the sources from which toxic and carcinogenic PAHs enter various environmental objects. A review of the scientific foundations and modern practical methods of PAHs extraction from black coal is presented, the data on the distribution of the representatives of this group of compounds and on the prediction of carcinogenic activity during coal mining, transportation and processing are assessed.