Trace Elements in West Virginia Coals

BISMUTH (Bi)

Bismuth in coal is of little environmental or economic concern.

Geologic Distribution: Bismuth may be associated with sulfides in coal ¹. Bismuth displayed no stratigraphic or geographic trends in whole coal abundance. With only 175 analyses available, average whole coal Bi was 0.32 ppm in West Virginia coals, and did not statistically correlate with ash yield, total sulfur, pyritic sulfur or other trace elements except a slight correlation with uranium (U).

Economic Impact: Bismuth alloys melt at low temperatures and are used in fire detection and fire extinguishing systems ².

Environmental Impact: Bismuth has no known adverse environmental impact with volcanoes contributing most of the Bi in the atmosphere ³.

References:
    1. Finkelman, R.B., (1981)
    2. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
    3. Swaine, D.J., (1990)

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Page last revised: March 2, 2002

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