Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Geology and Geography
Committee Chair
Dorothy J. Vesper.
Abstract
This study of the mode of occurrence and distribution of selenium in a rock core from southcentral West Virginia reveals that total selenium concentration varies by rock type. Rocks with total selenium >1 mg/kg were of circum-neutral pH based on acid base accounting data. No direct correlation was found between selenium concentration in the rocks and that of sulfur and/or total organic carbon. The distribution of total selenium was also controlled by stratigraphy. The amount of total selenium extracted from various rock types like coal, shale, sandstone, mudstone and "carbolith" materials ranged from 50%. Selenium extracted from coal was mostly from the sulfide fraction. Selenium extracted from shales averages approximately 40% by mass, mainly in the organic fraction. More selenium was extracted from shales in coal-proximate zones averaging about 50% by mass. Extraction conditions are rarely encountered in natural geochemical settings and are thus likely an overestimate of field conditions.
Recommended Citation
Roy, Mimi, "A detailed sequential extraction study of selenium in coal and coal-associated strata from a coal mine in West Virginia" (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 2307.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/2307