The non-participation of organic sulphur in acid mine drainage generation

Acid mine drainage is often linked to land disturbances that expose iron sulphides to atmospheric oxidation, leading to acidic conditions that can contaminate drinking water supplies with trace metals. Despite a consensus among researchers that coal organic sulphur does not contribute to acid mine drainage generation, there is a lack of scientific evidence to support this claim. This study employs various methodologies, including simulated weathering, kinetic analysis, mass balance calculations, petrographic analysis, and peroxide oxidation procedures, to investigate the role of coal organic sulphur. The results demonstrate that coal organic sulphur is indeed a nonparticipant in the process of acid mine drainage generation. Consequently, it is recommended that evaluations of sedimentary rocks' acid-generating potential exclude the organic sulphur content from their assessments. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms behind acid mine drainage and can assist in more accurate predictive models for environmental impact assessments associated with mining activities.