Discovery and ramifications of incidental Magnéli phase generation and release from industrial coal-burning

Yi Yang, Bo Chen, James Hower, Michael Schindler, Christopher Winkler, Jessica Brandt, Richard Giulio, Jianping Ge, Min Liu, Yuhao Fu, Lijun Zhang, Yuru Chen, Shashank Priya and Michael F. Hochella ()
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Yi Yang: East China Normal University
Bo Chen: Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems
James Hower: Center for Applied Energy Research
Michael Schindler: Laurentian University
Christopher Winkler: Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, Virginia Tech
Jessica Brandt: Duke University
Richard Giulio: Duke University
Jianping Ge: East China Normal University
Min Liu: East China Normal University
Yuhao Fu: Jilin University
Lijun Zhang: Jilin University
Yuru Chen: East China Normal University
Shashank Priya: Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems
Michael F. Hochella: Virginia Tech

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Coal, as one of the most economic and abundant energy sources, remains the leading fuel for producing electricity worldwide. Yet, burning coal produces more global warming CO2 relative to all other fossil fuels, and it is a major contributor to atmospheric particulate matter known to have a deleterious respiratory and cardiovascular impact in humans, especially in China and India. Here we have discovered that burning coal also produces large quantities of otherwise rare Magnéli phases (Ti x O2x–1 with 4 ≤ x ≤ 9) from TiO2 minerals naturally present in coal. This provides a new tracer for tracking solid-state emissions worldwide from industrial coal-burning. In its first toxicity testing, we have also shown that nanoscale Magnéli phases have potential toxicity pathways that are not photoactive like TiO2 phases, but instead seem to be biologically active without photostimulation. In the future, these phases should be thoroughly tested for their toxicity in the human lung.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00276-2

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