EVERGREEN

Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences and Green Asia Strategy

ISSN:2189-0420 (Print until Mar 2020)
ISSN:2432-5953 (Online)

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4.3
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1.192

Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Hazardous Compounds from NTPC Rihand, India

Pramod Kumar1, Manvendra Verma2,*, Pramod Kumar3, Pokhraj Sahu4, Shailendra Kumar Yadav5, Ganesh Chandra Kisku6,1
1Environmental Monitoring Laboratory, Environmental Toxicology Group,, CSIR- Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR),, India
2Civil Engineering, GLA University, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India., Mathura, India
3Department of Environmental Science,, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi,, India
4Division of Environment Science, School of Basic Sciences,, Babu Banarasi Das University, India
5Department of Environmental Science,, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, India
6Environmental Science, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
E-mail: mv075415@gmail.com (MV)
Evergreen, Vol. 12, Iss. 03, pp. 1402–1417, 2025
DOI: 10.5109/7388837
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Received: September 03, 2024 | Revised: June 13, 2025 | Accepted: August 15, 2025 | Published: September 2025
Abstract
Multiple hazardous compounds, including gases, heavy metals (HMs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are released during coal combustion in coal-fired power plants (C-FPPs). Pollutants impact environment and human health negatively. To understand hazardous pollutants, this study collected samples from a coal-fired thermal power station. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the coal and its residues. Ten HMs (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, As, Se, and Hg) were identified and measured. The highest concentration of Pb (90.41±6.41 mg/kg) was measured in coal, while 201.69±35.69 mg/kg and 178.80±73.22 mg/kg were noted for coal-fly ash (CFA) and bottom ash (BA) samples. PAHs contents ∑16PAHs were highest for Fluorene + Acenaphthene (33.81±2.56 mg/kg). Post-hoc test showed all analyzed HMs except Cu were significantly transferred from coal to CFA, whereas only Co, Cr, and Zn were significantly transferred to BA. ∑16PAHs were significantly transferred from CFA except for fluorene + acenaphthene and anthracene, while all PAHs were significantly transferred to BA except anthracene. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a statistically significant effect of p < 0.05. High quantities of HMs and PAHs in coal, CFA, and BA samples could cause air, soil, and water pollution.
Keywords
Heavy metals ; Pollutants ; Fly ash ; Polycyclic aromatic compounds ; Coal-fired power plant ; Toxic hazards
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