Distribution characteristics of mercury in coal and gangue from Mid-west China and its environment impact

Mercury(Hg) in 62 samples of coal,gangue from Shaanxi,Shanxi,Yunnan,Shandong and Henan Provinces was analyzed by AFS(atomic fluorescence spectrometry)in order to investigate its environment impact.The detection limit of this method is 0.01×10^-6.The results show that the average concentration of Hg is in the range of the data about coal published about the world and China,but higher than the mean of the world coal(0.02×10^-6~1.0×10^-6).And the concentration varied with its geologic origin.The concentration of Hg in coals from Shihezi Formation is higher than from Shanxi Formation,much higher than that from Taiyuan Formation;that in fly-ash is higher than the waster residue;According to these data and previous data,the situation of Hg in the coal is summarized and its environment impact is discussed.