Nitrogen in coal gangue and its environmental effects in southeastern Shanxi and central Henan

Based on the analysis of samples from coal gangue,soil and leached water around gangue pile,it was found that the background content of total nitrogen in coal gangue is about 0.4%~0.8%,but the total nitrogen content in ammonium illite-bearing gangue is up to 1.0%~1.6%.So that,the existence of ammonium illite in the area of high metamorphic coal will contribute to the elevated nitrogen content.The leached water around coal gangue has high content of nitrogen,which shows that the nitrogen in the gangue is easy to be leached out by rain.The soil around the coal gangue has lower nitrogen content,which shows that leached water does not flow laterally,but possibly infiltres vertically,which may cause potential nitrogen pollution.