Proceedings of 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Research and Innovation, Volume 5, 7th-9th May 2014
Efficient Removal of Cr (VI) from Aqueous Solution
with PPy-Fe3O4 Nanocomposite
A.M. Muliwa and M.S. Onyango
Abstract— Polypyrrole-magnetite (PPy-Fe 3 O 4 ) nanocomposite
(NC) was synthesized, characterized and tested for its ability to
remove hexavalent Cr (VI) from aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction
(XRD) analysis showed crystalline structure in the NC while
magnetic measurements revealed super-paramagnetic properties.
Batch adsorption kinetic studies indicated a strong influence of
quantity of Fe 3 O 4 and initial Cr (VI) concentration to the sorption
capacity. Kinetic data fitted well to pseudo-second order kinetic
model suggesting a chemisorption process. Finally, both intra-particle
and film diffusion mechanisms controlled the adsorption process.
Keywords—Adsorption, hexavalent chromium, polypyrrole-
magnetite
I. INTRODUCTION
The increasing contamination of industrial and urban
wastewater by toxic heavy metals is a worrying environmental
and public health problem. One of the toxic heavy metals is
chromium which is found in industrial effluents from
electroplating facilities, electrolytic refining plants, acid mine
plants, tanneries and textile plants among others [1][2].
Chromium primarily exists in trivalent Cr (III) and hexavalent
forms Cr (VI) in the aquatic environment. The public is more
concerned about Cr (VI) because its toxicity is 100 times
higher than Cr (III), and it can seriously damage people’s
health due to its teratogenicity, mutagenicity, and
carcinogenicity in biological systems. The proposed limit of
Cr (VI) in surface discharge and drinking water by the US
EPA is 0.10 mg/L and 0.05 mg/L, respectively [3]. Therefore,
Cr (VI) must be removed and recovered from polluted waste
streams so as to comply with the tight environmental quality
regulations [4].
The most commonly used methods for removal of Cr (VI)
from aqueous solutions include precipitation, ion-exchange,
reverse osmosis and electrocoagulation and adsorption [5].
Among these technologies, adsorption stands out as a
technically feasible, simple, socially acceptable, fast, and
economically viable method which does not generate
secondary waste [6]. However, the success of an adsorption
process depends very strongly on the quality of adsorbent.
This has led to design and development of nanostructured
adsorbents which offer large surface area to volume ratio, fast
kinetics and high adsorption capacity [7]. A major problem
with nanostructured sorbents is their separation from aqueous
A.M. Muliwa & M.S. Onyango, Department of Chemical, Metallurgical
and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology
(corresponding author phone: +27123823533; fax: +27123823533; e-mail:
OnyangoMS@tut.ac.za).
ISSN 2079-6226
environment because their small size limits their applications
in filtration and fixed bed mechanisms where high pressure
drops are often developed.
Recently, magnetic nanoadsorbents have emerged
strongly as candidates materials that could provide permanent
solutions to solid-liquid separation processes. This is because
after adsorption, they can be retrieved from aqueous media by
external magnetic field. The commonly used magnetic
nanoparticles are magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) because of their
simplicity in preparation and they possess super-paramagnetic
properties. However, naked Fe 3 O 4 NPs are prone to air
oxidation and easily aggregate in solution hence their
stabilization by surface modification is important [8].
Therefore, use of polypyrrole (PPy) to encapsulate Fe 3 O 4 NPs
would overcome these challenges materials because PPy and
its derivatives has been widely used for extraction of various
types of compounds. The encapsulation of Fe 3 O 4 NPs creates
an adsorbent with improved dispersion properties, and one
that can be separated magnetically thus it can be applied
selectively in adsorbing certain kinds of compounds from
different matrices.
In this study, we synthesized and characterized three
grades of PPy-Fe 3 O 4 NCs as a scavengers for mobile and
toxic Cr (VI) using our previously reported method [9]. The
sorption capacities of the NCs were explored through batch
adsorption kinetic experiments for different initial Cr (VI)
concentration. Thereafter, sorption kinetic data was fitted to
existing kinetic models to extract important parameters that
would aid in designing an adsorption system.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Materials: Pyrrole (Py) monomer (98%), anhydrous
ferric chloride (FeCl3) and potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7)
were purchased from Merck (Pty) Ltd (South Africa) while 1,
5-diphenylcarbazide were supplied by Sigma-Aldrich
(Germany). All other chemicals were of analytical reagent
(AR) grade and were used as received.
2.2 Preparation of the adsorption media: Magnetite (Fe3O4)
nanoparticles were prepared through standard co-precipitation
method [8] while PPy-Fe3O4 NCs with 40.3%, 50.4% and
58.5% Fe3O4 loadings were synthesized using our previous
method [9].
2.3 Characterization: The crystalline structure for the three
grades of PPy-Fe3O4 nanocomposite was analyzed using X-ray
diffraction (XRD) scans performed on specimens using
Panalytical X’pert PRO diffractometer 3060/60 with Cu Kα
(λ=0.154 nm) monochromated radiation source with variable
slits operated at 45 kV/40 mA. Magnetic measurements were
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 Proceedings of 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Research and Innovation, Volume 5, 7th-9th May 2014

done at room temperature (300 K) with superconducting confirms that the NCs is super-paramagnetic [13]. Therefore,
quantum interference devices (SQUIDs with applied field in the NCs meets the minimum criterion for successful magnetic
the range of -2T to 2T. separation of a material from a solution by use of conventional
2.4 Sorption dynamic studies. Adsorption kinetics
methods which requires a material to possess a value
experiments were conducted in the continuously stirred tank
reactor (CSTR) under varied conditions. In short, 4 g of each higher than 16 emu/g [14].
of 40.3 %, 50.4 % and 58.5% NCs were dispersed in 5 litres
containing 100 mg/L Cr (VI) aqueous solution at room
temperature. The solutions pH was adjusted to 2 (optimised
elsewhere [9]) using 0.1 M HCl or 0.1 M NaOH while stirring
the solution at 300 rpm. Samples (5 mL) were collected at
predetermined time intervals for a period of 6 hours. Analysis
of residual Cr (VI) ions in the collected samples was done
with UV-Vis spectrophotometer (1800-Shimadzu, Japan) at
wavelength of 542 nm using the standard diphenylcarbazide
method [10]. Finally, Cr (VI) removal percentage was
computed according to (1) below.
(1)
where and are initial and time, t, concentrations (mg/L)
of Cr (VI) ions, respectively. Experiments were repeated using
50 and 150 mg/L of Cr (VI) ions. Fig. 2 Magnetic measurements for 50.4% Fe 3 O 4 loaded PPy-Fe 3 O 4 NC.

3.2 Adsorption dynamic studies

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSION
3.1 Characterization
3.1.1X-ray Diffraction Analysis. Fig. 2 shows the XRD
measurements obtained for 40.3 %, 50.4 % (before and after
adsorption) and 58.5 % PPy-Fe3O4 NCs. Six characteristic
peaks are observed at 2 theta 30.13, 35.49, 43.13, 53.55,
62.63, and 57.03, which is attributed to (220), (311), (400),
(422), (440), and (511) planes of Fe3O4. The low intensities
and background noise observed are caused by the amorphous
polypyrrole shell [11].These observations demonstrate that all
the as-prepared PPy-Fe3O4 nanocomposites display crystalline
magnetite structure [12].
3.2.1Effect of Fe3O4 NPs loadings to Cr (VI) removal. Fig. 5
shows time dependent % Cr (VI) removal for 40.3 %, 50.4 %
and 58.5% PPy-Fe3O4 NCs. It is seen that 95% Cr (VI)
removal which corresponds to an uptake of 119 mg/g was
achieved with 50.4% NC, while 58.5% and 40.3% NCs
scavenged 87% (109 mg/g) and 82% (103 mg/g), respectively.
Moreover, a rapid adsorption process is observed initially
which later reduces between 150-180 minutes as the system
approaches equilibrium. Yen et al.[15] observed that
increasing Fe3O4 NPs in the PPy matrices alters the NCs
structure from spherical to tube-like. Therefore, this could be
the reason as to why 58.5% NC gave low capacity Cr (VI).

Fig. 1 X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization of PPy-Fe 3 O 4

nanocomposites (a) 40.3%, (b) and (c) is 50.4% (before and after adsorption)
and (d) 58.5%
3.1.2Magnetic Measurements. Figure 4 shows magnetization,
M vs applied field, T plot obtained for 50.4% PPy-Fe3O4 NC
as an example. The magnetizations saturation obtained is
30.20 emu/g which is low compared to that of bulk Fe3O4
nanoparticles ( = 84 emu/g). The absence of hysteresis
loops, remanance magnetism and coercivity as observed
Fig. 3 Time depended % Cr (VI) removal for 40.3% 50.4%, and 58.5% PPy-
Fe 3 O 4 NCs (100 mg/l of Cr (VI); Temp: 22oC; 300 rpm; Volume: 5 L and pH
2)
3.2.2Sorption concentration dependence. The effect of initial
concentration of Cr (VI) ions on adsorption efficiency using
50.4% NC is illustrated in Fig. 7. The sorption rate is seen to
increase with increase in initial Cr (VI) concentration and for
50 mg/l, the saturation is reached after 30 minutes, while
approximately 150 min was required for 100 and 150 mg/l.
The sorption uptake increases from 63 to 144 mg/g as the

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 Proceedings of 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Research and Innovation, Volume 5, 7th-9th May 2014
initial Cr (VI) concentration is increased from 50 to 150 mg/l,
respectively. This phenomenon is attributed to the increase in
rate of accumulation of Cr (VI) ions on PPy-Fe3O4 NCs
which is a function concentration gradient (driving force)
according to linear driving force law [3][9][16]. Also, the
improved ratio of total active sites to the total Cr (VI) ions in
solution which leads to full interactions of Cr (VI) ions with
the active sites contributes to these observations. Thus the
sorption capacities are significantly influenced by the initial
Cr (VI) concentrations.
Fig. 4 Time dependent Cr (VI) uptake on 50.4% PPy-Fe 3 O 4 NCs for different
initial concentrations (pH=2, 300 rpm, Volume = 5 liters)
Kinetic data was evaluated using linear pseudo first-order
kinetic model, pseudo second-order, and Elovich models as
per (2), (3) and (4).
(2)
(3)
(4)
where and represents the amount of Cr (VI) (mg/g)
sorbed at time t and at equilibrium, respectively, and is the
pseudo first-order rate constant (min-1). Linear relationships
were obtained by plotting against from where
the values of and were determined from the slope and
intercept, respectively. Pseudo first-order assumes that the rate
limiting step is physisorption which involves Van der Waal
forces, hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions between the
sorbate and the sorbent [17] is the rate constant for pseudo
second-order adsorption (g/mg/min). If the adsorption follows
a second model then a plot of versus t should yield a
linear relationship and parameters can be extracted
accordingly. Pseudo second-order assumes a chemisorption
process which involves exchange or sharing of electrons
between the sorbent and the sorbate takes place [18]. and
is the initial adsorption rate (mg/g.min) and desorption
constant (g/mg.min) for any one given experiment,
respectively. Parameters were calculated from the plot of
versus accordingly. Elovich equation is used to describe
chemisorption kinetics and it assumes that the sorbent surface
is heterogeneous in nature [19][20].
Fig. 6 shows plots for pseudo-second order linear kinetic
model predictions of the Cr (VI) sorption on 50.4% NC as an
ISSN 2079-6226
example. The correlation coefficient values, , obtained are
close to unity (above 0.9900) and the rate constants
decreased from 0.0071 to 0.0009 mg/g/min with increase in
concentration. Furthermore, the calculated equilibrium
sorption uptake, which were 63, 119 and 144 mg/g, for
linear pseudo second model closer to the experimental
equilibrium uptake, (63,122,147 mg/g) contrary to
linear pseudo first-order and Elovich models ( see parameters
in Table 1). These findings confirms that sorption of Cr (VI)
on PPy-Fe 3 O 4 NC is well described using linear pseudo
second order model which assumes that the rate limiting step
may be chemical adsorption involving valence forces through
sharing or exchange of electrons between adsorbent surface
and Cr (VI) [20].
Fig. 5 Linearised fits for pseudo second order kinetic model (100 mg/l of Cr
(VI), 4 g of 50.4% PPy-Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposite, 22oC, 300 rpm, 5 liters and pH
2)
The adsorption rate controlling step was investigated by intra-
particle diffusion model by Weber and Morris
(5) and film diffusion model (Boyd model) (6) [21] [22].
(5)
where is the amount of adsorption in mg/g at any time ,
is the intra-particle diffusion rate constant (mg/g/min0.5)
and (mg/g) is a constant that represents the boundary layer
thickness.
(6)
where is the adsorption rate constant. The intra-particle
exhibited a multi-linearity characteristic with two steps being
involved in the whole adsorption process [23]. The first step
represents external surface or instantaneous adsorption process
followed by the equilibrium step. Film diffusion model (plots
not shown) reveals the plots did not pass through the origin
and that lower correlation coefficients were obtained. These
findings confirms that the adsorption process is governed by
both intra-particle diffusion and external surface sorption. A
summary of calculated parameters is given in Table 1 below.
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 Proceedings of 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Research and Innovation, Volume 5, 7th-9th May 2014
Fig. 6. The intra-particle diffusion model plot
Table 1. Kinetic parameters for Cr (VI) sorption onto 50.4% PPy-
Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposite.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The as-synthesized PPy-Fe 3 O 4 NCs were found to be super-
paramagnetic with crystalline structure and good adsorption
capacities for Cr (VI). Sorption kinetic studies demonstrated that Cr
(VI) removal highly depends on Fe 3 O 4 NPs loadings in the NCs.
Chemisorption mechanisms well described the adsorption process
with kinetic data fitting well to pseudo-second-order kinetic model.
Consequently, adsorption is governed by both intra-particle and film
diffusion. These findings demonstrated that the sorbent can be used
to scavenge Cr (VI) and thereafter can be separated magnetically with
external magnetic field
V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge The National Research Foundation
(NRF), South Africa for supporting this Project.
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ISSN 2079-6226
[2] Y. Zhao, S. Yang, D. Ding et al., “Effective adsorption of Cr (VI) from
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 Proceedings of 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Research and Innovation, Volume 5, 7th-9th May 2014

Coal Handling and Equipment Selection In Mui

Basin, Kitui County, Kenya
Muthui, Richard K, Kabugu, M., Akisa, David M. and Rop, B. K.

in Mui Basin which will optimize the coal production as

well as minimize the overall operating cost.
1Abstract: This research work is related to selection of mining

equipment, which is a function of mine plan. Proper choice of

mining equipment is critical for technological, economical and
safety criteria that must be satisfied during mining and material
handling; which rely mainly on mobile drill rigs, hydraulic shovels,
front-end loaders, scrapers and haul trucks to extract ore and
initiate ore processing. Large mining operation, such as coal
mining in Mui Basin, requires larger equipment capacity to
maintain the mine plan while simultaneously considering mining
constraints that often influence mining operations. The research
goes on to give a detailed way on how the production/output of the
selected equipment should outweigh its capital outlay before such
equipment is purchased and this must be factored in advance by a
mining engineer before selecting and calculating the cost
effectiveness of any mining equipment.
Keywords: mining equipment, mining engineer, material handling.
I. INTRODUCTION
III. LITERATURE REVIEW
Mui Basin is located in Kitui County. The Ministry of
energy started exploration for coal in the Mui Basin of Kitui
and Mwingi Districts in 1999 [6].
Luxuriant vegetation on land, swampy grounds, humid
climate and good rainfall were some of the then prevailing
environmental conditions [2, 3]. Layer upon layer of these
plants died, got buried, compressed and then covered with
soil (overburden). As the layers were successively covered,
their access to the air was limited, thus full decomposition
process was not allowed to take place hence creating
something called peat [1].
LOCALITY MAP OF MUI BASIN IN KITUI & MWINGI DISTRICTS

U Basement rocks (Mozambiquan Belt)

Coal is said to be a combustible black or brownish- TS
EIK
UR

Fluvial Sediments (Mui Basin Deposits)

A
AK
black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in T HA
R
MIVUKONI

NGOMENI
Kyuso

layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The hardest KATSE
KYUSO

Wamwathi
forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as ENDAU UKASI

Mwingi
metamorphic rock because of later exposure to very high INDEX 1
NI
MIG WA

NUU
I
MIWAN

MUI

elevated temperatures and pressure. It is mainly composed Mutwang’ombe

YATTA

MUTUNGONI
MIAMBANI

Mutitu ENDAU
YANI
Isekele
of carbon along with variable quantities and qualities of MATIN
Kitui
MUTI
TU
NZ

ZOMBE
Karunga
AM

other elements, chiefly hydrogen, with smaller quantities of

BA
NGO

Mathuki
NI

KISASI
MULA
YATTA
LO

SOMALIA

VOO
ISIO

sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen [1, 2]. ME

RU
IKANGA

OM
O
Mui
SA

UT
RIS
EMBU

M o
GA

Mutom
The development and the exploitation of the coal in KANZIKU

Yoonye
ER

IKU
R IV

ATHI
TH A

Mui basin has commenced and will act as energy source to

NA
TA

Mutitu
S
HAKO

LAMU

support iron and steel plants, cement making, chemical MUTHA

MAC

industries and ornamental industries among others. The

EA
OC

Kabati
IFI

IAN
KIL

TAITA TAVETA

Kenya vision 2030 as expressed in the National Industrial

IND

KWALE Mombasa
Zombe
Policy, correctly places the industrial sector as the potential TANZANIA INDEX 2
0 2 4 6 Km

growth area because it expands job creation thus INDEX 3

employment in a fast and stable rate. The industrial sector

comprises mainly of manufacturing, quarrying, mining and GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA REVISED EDITION OCTOBER 2008 MINISTRY OF ENERGY

construction sectors. Industrialization of any nation is Figure 1 Locality map of Mui basin [6].
largely dependent on the availability and affordability of
energy source [6]. The Mui Basin has been sub-divided into four
Coal in Mui basin is mined/extracted before being blocks [6]:
processed. Thus selection of equipment and machinery has 1. Block A (Zombe – Kabati), measuring 121.5
to be done in efficient way possible. km2
2. Block B (Mutito – Itiko), measuring
II. MAIN OBJECTIVES 117.5 km2
3. Block C (Kateiko – Yoonye), measuring 131.5
The main objective is to select and calculate the most km2
efficient equipment for exploitation/extraction of coal mine 4. Block D (Karung’a – Isekele), measuring
120.5 km2

1
Muthui, Richard K, Kabugu, M., Taita Taveta University College(Email:
somoka.kasomo@gmail.com)
Rop, B. K., Akisa, David M., Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology

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 Proceedings of 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Research and Innovation, Volume 5, 7th-9th May 2014

Figure 2 Mui basin coal blocks A, B,C and D [6].

Block C is estimated to have a proven deposit amounting to

450m metric tons [6].
EXPLORED PART AREA OF BLOCK C, SHOWING COAL BEARING ZONE
C
K
OC

M2 M1
0410000

0413000
BL

098 83 000

Block C boundary outline T8

M3
Ng
o
o ri
ve
rr

K1 M ui Mkt

098 80 000 K4 Shop s

80

K2 K3

10 T4

10
T3
14
Mui R

Inferred coal Boundary Ktz 3

ive

Ktz 4
r

Sch
M ui
Chief ’s

T2 Cam p
Disph
Ktz 1

Com.1
75

T5

Ktz 2
C

T6
K

Y4 T7
T9
Mui Riv
OC

Y9
Y11
e

Y7
r

Y1
Y2 Y8 Y6
BL

Yoonye
Sch
Ma rket

098 70 000 T1
70
0410000

0414000

0 1 2 3 4

Kilometres

Figure 3 Coal bearing zone.

IV. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

The equipment selection and calculations of capacities

were determinate to project initial capital outlay and the Figure 4 Coal seams at various depths [6].
operating cost of the mining operation. The different results TABLE 1
obtained in various equipment calculations were then SOME WELLS DRILLED IN BLOCK C
compared before costing was made in order to select No Name No. of wells
appropriate equipment based on these results. From the data 1 Kateiko 1-4 4
analysis using Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4, the best 2 Mathuki 1-3 3
recommendations were given depending on the best cost 3 Kathonzweni 1-4 &4B 5
effective equipment obtained from the calculations using
4 Yoonye 1-11 11
different equations. Payback period model [4, 5, 7] was also
analyzed to ascertain whether the project was able to make 5 Tome1 1-11 11
return on the invested capital. 6 FP 1-3 3
Total 37

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TABLE 2 WELLS WITH COAL SEAM INTERSECTION

No. Well Name Drilled Depth Coal Seam Cumulative Coal Seam
T (metres) Depths (metres)
a
1 b
Zombe 1 81.2 19.8 – 20.1 0.30
l
2 Yoonye
e 2 65.4 19.0 – 25.5 6.50
3 Kateiko 2 201.0 20.5 – 23.0 & 5.80
2 147.0 – 150.3

4 W
Kateiko 3 75.5 20.5 – 24.0 3.50
e
5 Kateiko
l 4 180.3 137.8 -142.1 & 7.80
l 154.0 – 157.5
s
6 Kathonzweni 1 135.5 127.0 – 128. 8 1.80
7 w
Kathonzweni 2 157.2 137.5 – 141.0 3.50
i
8 Kathonzweni
t 3 324.0 134.4 -141.1,
h 146.97-149.48, 18.84
154.51-154.96,
C 210.0-211.98,
o 213.36-218.28,
a 221.00-222.13,
l 311.22-311.75,
313.5-313.80 &
S 315.00– 315.32
9 Kathonzweni
e 4B 240 239.0-240.0 1.0
10 a
Mathuki 1 201.5 23.0 – 27.0 & 8.46
m 82.0 - 86.46
11 Comm. Well 320.6 176.1 – 178.4 & 12.6
I 250.5 – 260.8
12 n
Yoonye 7 232.0 217.5 – 220.0 2.50
13 t
Yoonye 8 170.0 124.0 – 125.0 1.00
14 e
Yoonye 9 194.0 188.0 – 192.5 4.50
15 r
Yoonye 11 116.5 18.50-18.70, 2,72
s 55.85-56.35,
e 104.90-106.62 &
c 110.57-110.87
16 t
Yoonye 12 222.00 213.0-214.4 1.4
17 i
TOME 1 90.8 11.5 – 14.0 2.50
o
18 TOME 4 264.0 23.84- 24.27, 62.10-63.20 & 14.2
n
166.10-178.77
19 TOME 6 247.0 246.0 – 247.0 1.00
20 TOME 7 186.0 58.65-59.00, 3.84
122.55 – 124.00,
126.32-127.24,
132.65-133.50 &
138.73-139.00
21 TOME 8 136.0 22.5 – 25.0 & 3.75
76.5 – 77.75
22 TOME 9 125.5 114.8 – 117.5 &
121.8 – 123.5 4.4
23 TOME 10 171.00 18.46-19.72, 5.50
37.70-38.47,
84.08-86.41,
87.51-87.76,
89.75-90.04 &
170.13-170.73
24 TOME 11 61.15-61.65 0.5
25 FP 01 92.00 29.10-29.35 & 0.52
40.84-41.11
26 FP 02 198.55 109.94-111.47, 6.12
150.45-154.40,
156.01-156.65,
27 FP 03 263.47 90.20-91.02, 6.67
91.61-94.63,
95.23-95.60,
109.36-109.75,
181.27-183.00 &
208.80-209.14

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 Proceedings of 2014 International Conference on Sustainable Research and Innovation, Volume 5, 7th-9th May 2014

TABLE 3
COAL SEAMS DELINEATED IN BLOCK C REFERENCES
SEAMS VOLUME(M3) MASS(Tonnes)
Seam 1 14,279,195 18,277,369 [1] A. L. Bloom, Geomorphology. Third Edition, Prentice-Hall India Pvt.
Ltd., New Delhi, 2002, p.482.
Seam 2 56,032,440 71,721,523 [2] B. K. Rop, Petroleum potential of the Chalbi basin, NW Kenya. Journal
Seam 3 32,846,220 42,043,161 of the Geological Society of India, Volume 81, 2013, pp. 405-414.
Seam 4 108,891,815 139,381,523 [3] Rop, B. K. Oil and Gas Prospectivity: Northwestern Kenya, 2013, p
152, Verlag/Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing.
Seam 5 42,053,774 53,828,831
Seam 6 9,372,179 127,196,390 [4] B.S. Dhillion, Mining Equipment Reliability, Maintainability and safety,
2008, Berlin Germany: Springer link, ISBN 978-1-84800-288-3.
TOTAL 452,448,797 [5] H. L. Hartman, SME Mining Engineering, 2nd Edition, 1992, Colorado:
Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. Littleton, Colorado.
[6] Brochure from the ministry of energy: coal potential and investment
TABLE 4 opportunities in Kenya (October 2011)
DATA [7] R. L Peurifoy, Construction planning, equipment and method 1976,
USA, Mcgraw-Hill Book Co
Mine life 32 years
Overburden depth 20m
Total ore tonnage 400m metric tons
Overburden tonnage 30m metric tons
Ore density 1.2
Overburden density 1.6

V. RECOMMENDATIONS
The project covered material handling and equipment
selection right from the exploration stage down to the
haulage of ore to the crushing unit. The project further tried
to analyze the various approaches in selecting equipments
including selection by tonnage and loading respectively.
Based on the coal to be mined in Mui basin, the project
work recommends the use of mechanical boring rigs
because the coal seams are found at shallow depths – about
20m and above.
Since coal in Mui basin ranges from lignite to
bituminous, with hardness ranging from 1 to 3, it is
advisable that the company buys bucket wheel excavators
with cutting blades made of either iron (hardness 4) or steel
(hardness 7+) to help in reducing friction resistance which
usually affects machine productivity.
The mining company should also plan to acquire 13-
120tons-trucks in order to meet its annual productivity
(1.2Mt). Buying trucks of less capacity could mean having
many units (trucks), which could increase operating costs
(e.g. fuel, operators, maintenance).

VI. CONCLUSION

In the light of the above findings from the data analysis

in this project, and subsequent recommendations, we hope
Fenxi Company will find this research-related work helpful
as they plan to embark on mining coal in Mui basin. Due to
limited data, this project is not all inclusive but the company
is advised to make the necessary adjustments from this
research work once the mining operations in the Mui Basin
commence.
This work will trigger further research in future for
other students, researchers and professionals.

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