Coal burning contributes up to 70 per cent of carbon in Yangtze River sediment, study finds

The environmental impact is not known, but researchers say carbon from fly ash will remain in the sediment for a long time

They analysed particles in the basin area of mega cities and industrial centres where a third of the coal in China is consumed

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Most coal-fired power plants in China capture the ash from burning coal, known as fly ash, but only half is recycled for construction materials like cement. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:30pm, 28 May 2021Updated: 11:35am, 1 Jun 2021

Up to 70 per cent of the organic carbon found in the sediment of Asia’s longest river, the Yangtze, could have come from the fine ash produced by burning coal, according to a new study.

Researchers said the environmental impact of so much man-made carbon potentially ending up in the world’s rivers and oceans was not yet clear, but it would remain in the sediment for a long time.

Their discovery “illustrates how human activities have significantly altered the carbon cycle at continental scales”, lead scientist Ji Junfeng of Nanjing University said in a paper published on Tuesday in peer-reviewed journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Coal, which powered the Industrial Revolution, is the biggest polluter of all fossil fuels but remains the backbone of the world’s energy supply. China, the United States and India together burn more than 70 per cent of the coal produced worldwide.

However, with more countries setting targets to become carbon-neutral in a bid to combat climate change, coal consumption is expected to be gradually phased out in the coming decades.

Coal is the biggest polluter of all fossil fuels. Photo: Imaginechina

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