Hydrogeochemical Characteristics and Water Quality Evaluation of Carboniferous Taiyuan Formation Limestone Water in Sulin Mining Area in Northern Anhui, China

The Taiyuan formation limestone water in the Huaibei coalfield is not only the water source for coal mining, but also the water source for industry and agriculture in mining areas. Its hydrogeochemical characteristics and water quality are generally concerning. In this paper, conventional ion tests were carried out on the Taiyuan formation limestone water of 16 coal mines in the Sunan and Linhuan mining areas of the Huaibei coalfield. Piper trigram, Gibbs diagram and an ion scale coefficient map were used to analyze the hydrogeochemical characteristics of the Taiyuan formation limestone water. The water quality was evaluated in a fuzzy comprehensive manner. The results show that the main cation and anion contents in the Taiyuan formation limestone water were Na(+) > Mg(2+) > Ca(2+) > K(+), SO(4)(2)(−) > HCO(3)(−) > Cl(−). There were differences in the hydrogeochemical types of the Taiyuan formation limestone water in the two mining areas; HCO(3)-Na type water was dominant in the Sunan mining area and SO(4)·Cl-Na type water was dominant in the Linhuan mining area. The chemical composition of the Taiyuan formation limestone water is mainly affected by the weathering of the rock and is related to the dissolution of the evaporated salt and the weathering of the silicate. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation results show that the V-type water accounts for a large proportion of the Taiyuan formation limestone water in the study area and the water quality is poor. This study provides a basis for the development and utilization of the Taiyuan formation limestone water and water environmental protection in the future.