CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND MINERALOGICAL PHASE STUDIES OF ASHFALL FROM POPOCATÉPETL VOLCANO IN PUEBLA, MÉXICO, 2024
The Popocatépetl volcano is located in central México and it has been actively erupting since 1994, with frequent emissions of ash, steam, and gas, because such status, the volcano is constantly monitored by the Mexican government’s monitoring agency, CENAPRED. From time to time, it has had major disruptions to everyday life as happened on March 5th, 2024 that the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) had to suspend outdoor sports activities due to the ash fall from the Popocatépetl volcano to protect the health of the BUAP community. University authorities request that classes and other academic and research activities be conducted virtually (online). Ash emission from volcanic eruptions is a big problem to the society because affects the environment, and human health. Because of that, it is important to study the chemical composition and the mineralogical phases as well as the determination of morphology and particle size distribution by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM/EDS) and optical microscopy techniques. For such study, five samples of volcanic ash were collected at different specific locations and used the in tablets and powder form, as needed. Chemical composition results by EDS showed the presence of elements such as C, O, Si, Al and Ca in major at% while there are small amounts of Na, Mg, K, Ti and Fe mainly in the form of metal oxides. Particle size distribution shows a broad range from 1 – 200 micrometers.