S. Pusz et al., INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ORGANIC-MATTER AND MINERALS IN 2 BITUMINOUS COALS OF DIFFERENT RANK, International journal of coal geology, 33(4), 1997, pp. 369-386
Citations number
36
Categorie Soggetti
Mining & Mineral Processing","Geosciences, Interdisciplinary","Energy & Fuels
The association between specific mineral and organic constituents in t
wo Asturian bituminous coals of different rank was studied. For this,
raw coals were fractionated by density and the variation of a number o
f parameters was followed in parallel. Results of coal chemical analys
es, including analyses for 22 elements, were used to establish the ele
mental association with coal organic matter. Petrographic analyses det
ermined the distribution of macerals among densimetric fractions, vitr
inite reflectance being at a minimum in the intermediate density fract
ions. Mineral species were identified by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spec
troscopy and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Comparison of trends for differen
t parameters determined using this set of techniques allowed classific
ation of the various minerals according to their association with orga
nic matter. Carbonates seem to be specifically associated with the org
anic matter of the low-volatile bituminous coal whereas sulfides conce
ntrate in the organic matter of the high-volatile bituminous coal. Vit
rinite is the maceral exhibiting the most probable association with in
organic matter. The possibility of a merely physical association of fi
ne-grained detrital minerals with organic matter cannot be excluded; n
evertheless, one must bear in mind that even this type of interaction
is important due to its effect on various coal preparation and utiliza
tion processes.