Less Coal Burned for Fuel Led to Lower Atmospheric Sulfur (IMAGE)

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

Less Coal Burned for Fuel Led to Lower Atmospheric Sulfur

Caption

Power plants burned coal that released sulfur into the atmosphere, but coal use has declined. Today, coal plants use scrubbers to remove sulfur, or burn low-sulfur western coal. This has led to a large decrease in sulfur emissions, and less atmospheric deposition of sulfate to agricultural fields--and consequently, declining sulfate concentrations in rivers. Groundwater can be another source of sulfur in rivers when it comes in contact with underground coal or pyrite seams. In this sample from an Illinois mine, pyrite is visible as gold flecks in the center of the coal.

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Debra Levey Larson

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