The use of differential scanning calorimetry to identify coals susceptibleto spontaneous combustion

Non-isothermal oxidation enthalpies have been measured for three Colombian coals which have been weathered under ambient conditions for period up to 1 05 days. It was found that although the total oxidation enthalpies decrease d with increasing oxidation the decrease was not systematic. It was thought that the random behaviour was due to weight losses during the course of th e experiments. It was noted that the onset temperature of oxidation increas ed with oxidation in a more systematic way and also increased with increasi ng coal rank. It was therefore proposed that the onset temperatures was a b etter indicator of the propensity of the coals to oxidation. (C) 1999 Publi shed by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.