Extensive FE-SEM/EDS, HR-TEM/EDS and ToF-SIMS studies of micron- to nano-particles in anthracite fly ash Original Research Article

The generation of anthropogenic carbonaceous matter and mixed crystalline/amorphous mineral ultrafine/nano-particles in the 1 to 100 nm size range by worldwide coal power plants represents serious environmental problems due to their potential hazards. Coal fly ash (CFA) that resulted from anthracite combustion in a Portuguese thermal power plant was studied in this work. The physico-chemical characterization of ultrafine/nano-particles present in the CFA samples and their interaction with environment are the aim of this study. The methodologies applied for this work were field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (HR-TEM/EDS) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Some hazardous volatile elements, C, N, S and Hg contents were also determined in the studied samples. Generally, the CFA samples comprise carbonaceous, glassy and metallic solid spheres with some containing mixed amorphous/crystalline phases. The EDS analysis coupled with the FE-SEM and HR-TEM observations of the fly ash particles with 100 to 0.1 nm demonstrates that these materials contain a small but significant proportion of encapsulated HVEs. In addition, the presence of abundant multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and amorphous carbon particles, both containing hazardous volatile elements (HVEs), was also evidenced by the FE-SEM/EDS and HR-TEM/EDS analysis. A wide range of organic and inorganic compounds was determined by chemical maps obtained in ToF-SIMS analysis.