Superposed deposits of thick coal on the eastern edge of the Illinois Basin and their association with underlying geologic features

Comparison of maps produced from publicly available data (drillers' logs, electrical logs and mine maps) provides a basis for inferring a deep-seated influence on the distribution of superposed deposits of thick coal (>1.4 m) in four Middle Pennsylvania (Desmoinesian Series) coal beds in three mining districts of west-central Indiana. Thick sandstone (>18 m) is common in areas between and around the mining districts, but less than 3 percent of the study area (consisting of 3200 km²) is underlain by both thick coal and thick sandstone. Only thick sandstone associated with the Survant Coal Member (Linton Formation), and informally referred to by us “Survant sandstone”, exists in all of the thin-coal areas. After comparison with published maps by other authors, it is inferred that distribution of the Survant sandstone, which was deposited immediately after a long period of slow deposition associated with the Colchester Coal Member (Linton Formation), may reflect topographic expression of long-term subsidence associated with differential thinning of much deeper Silurian strata (580 m below).Although the findings of this study provide the basis for a conceptual geologic model with a hypothetical structure that is amenable to statistical testing, such analysis should be undertaken only after the data are analyzed for randomness, spatial autocorrelation, linearity and normality.     

山西沁水煤层气田煤层气成藏条件分析

沁水煤层气田单层煤层厚，分布在1～12m之间，一般大于6m，热演化程度高，R0分布在2．6％～3．7％之间，含气量大于14m^3／t，煤层气资源丰富。煤层气组分和碳同位素组成特征表明：沁水煤层气田热成因的煤层气在煤层中经历了解析-扩散-运移等作用，在构造高部位富集成藏，成藏期后的煤层气藏保存条件好，在上述3个因素的作用下．使得沁水煤层气田煤层气成藏条件较好，富含煤层气资源。     

Coal resources of the Sonda coal field, Sindh Province, Pakistan

Approximately 4.7 billion t of original coal resources, ranging from lignite A to subbituminous C in rank, are estimated to be present in the Sonda coal field. These resources occur in 10 coal zones in the Bara Formation of Paleocene age. The Bara Formation does not out crop in the area covered by this report. Thin discontinuous coal beds also occur in the Sonhari Member of the Laki Formation, of Paleocene and Eocene age, but they are unimportant as a resource of the Sonda coal field.The coal resource assessment was based on 56 exploratory drill holes that were completed in the Sonda field between April 1986 and February 1988. The Sonda coal field is split into two, roughly equal, areas by the southwestward flowing Indus River, a major barrier to the logistics of communications between the two halves. As a result the two halves, called the Sonda East and Sonda West areas, were evaluated at different times by slightlydifferent techniques; but, because the geology is consistent between the two areas, the results of both evaluations have been summarized in this report. The resource estimates for the Sonda East area, approximately 1,700 million t, were based on the thickest coal bed in each zone at each drill hole. This method gives a conservative estimate of the total amount of coal in the Sonda East area. The resource estimates for the Sonda West area, approximately 3,000 million t, were based on cumulative coal bed thicknesses within each coal zone, resulting in a more liberal estimate. In both cases, minimum parameters for qualifying coal were a thickness of 30 cm or greater and no more than 50% ash; partings thicker than 1 cm were excluded. The three most important coal zones in the Sonda field are the Inayatabad, the Middle Sonda and the Lower Sonda. Together, these three coal zones contain 50% of the total resources. Isopachs were constructed for the thickest coal beds in these three coal zones and indicate large variations in thickness over relatively small distances. Coal beds in the Sonda coal field were difficult to correlate because of poor core recovery in some intervals and abrupt lateral thinning and thickening. Most coal zones are separated by 5–10 m of interburden, although in some places the interburden between zones is over 100 m thick. More closely spaced drill holes should clarify and significantly improve coal zone correlations in the Bara Formation.Coal resources in the Sonda coal field were calculated for three reliability categories; measured, indicated, and inferred. The most reliable estimates are those for the measured category. Measured coal resources are approximately 91 million t, or about 2% of the total resource; indicated resources are 681 million t, or about 14% of the total; and inferred resources, the least reliable resource category, are 3,931 million t, or 84% of the total resources. The distribution of resources by reliability category is due to the relatively wide spacing (approximately 5 km) between core holes.Analyses of 90 coal samples, on an as-received basis, indicate average ash and sulfur contents of 13.7% and 3.6%, respectively, and a range in rank from lignite A to subbituminous C. Calorific values for these samples range from 6,000 to 8,000 Btu/lb (1 Btu = 1055J; 1 lb = 4536 kg).     

Syngas production from South African coal sources using Sasol–Lurgi gasifiers

Sasol has been operating the Sasol–Lurgi fixed bed coal gasification process for more than fifty years, and with ninety seven units in operation still remains the world's largest commercial application of this technology. The combined operational and engineering expertise vested in Sasol represents a formidable capability in the field of coal and gasification science. Coal is a crucial feedstock for South Africa's unique synfuels and petrochemicals industry, and is used by Sasol as a feedstock to produce synthesis gas (CO and H₂) via the Sasol–Lurgi fixed bed dry bottom gasification process.South Africa, as well as many other countries in the world, will for many years to come rely on its abundant coal resources for energy and specifically for the production of petrochemical products. Synthesis gas production through gasification is growing at a rate of approximately 10% per annum [Office of Fossil Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory and the Gasification Technologies Council, 2000. Gasification: Worldwide use and acceptance. Contract DE-AMO1-98FE65271], indicating that gasification is definitely not a dying technology. The Sasol plants located in Secunda and Sasolburg (South Africa) gasify > 30 million tons per annum of bituminous coal to synthesis gas, which is converted to fuels and chemicals via the Fischer–Tropsch process. The production of chemicals is currently the dominant application for synthesis gas, followed by power generation, Fischer–Tropsch synthesis and gaseous fuels.Sasol–Lurgi gasifiers are extremely robust devices, and coal from sources with widely varying properties (e.g. ash content < 10% to as high as 35% or “brown coal” with moisture content of approximately 30%) can be gasified provided that certain operational changes are implemented. Other properties, like high caking propensity for example, require blending to acceptable levels and /or mechanical modifications. Interpretation of coal characterization data gives an indication of expected gasifier performance and the suitability of a specific coal source for Sasol–Lurgi Fixed Bed Gasification process. It is therefore critically important to gain an accurate and fundamental understanding of the properties and expected behavior of the targeted coal feedstock in order to (1) prepare a suitable conceptual flow scheme and (2) to maximize the eventual probability of success in any proposed gasification venture and (3) to optimize the operation and profitability of existing plants and (4) effectively address the environmental aspects.It is the view of the authors that fixed bed gasification technology has a bright future in the areas mentioned above and that Sasol has a unique role in the future application and commercialization of gasification technology globally. The unique skills of Sasol could however be complementary to those of other parties who share our view on the future of gasification and related technologies.     

The Devonian–Lower Carboniferous succession in Northwest Peninsular Malaysia

A new stratigraphic nomenclature is proposed for the approximately 600 m thick, mainly clastic transitional sequence between the underlying Mempelam Limestone and overlying Kubang Pasu/Singa Formation in northwest Peninsular Malaysia. This sequence represents shallow marine deposits of the continental margin of the Sibumasu Terrane during the Middle Palaeozoic (Devonian–Carboniferous). It is separated into several formations. The Timah Tasoh Formation is an approximately 76 m sequence consisting of 40 m of laminated tentaculitid shales at the base, containing Monograptus yukonensis Jackson and Lenz and Nowakia (Turkestanella) acuaria Alberti, giving an Early Devonian (Pragian–Emsian) age, and about 36 m of rhythmically interbedded, light coloured argillo-arenites. The Chepor Formation is about 90 m thick and consists mainly of thick red mudstone interbedded with sandstone beds, of Middle to Late Devonian age. A new limestone unit is recognized and named the Sanai Limestone, which contains conodonts of Famennian age. The Binjal Formation consists of red and white mudstone interbedded with sandstone beds showing Bouma sequences. The Telaga Jatoh Formation is 9 m thick and consists mainly of radiolarian chert. The Wang Kelian Formation is composed of thick red mudstone beds interbedded with silty sandstone, and contain fossils indicative of an Early Carboniferous (Visean) age. The succession was deposited on the outer shelf, with depositional environments vertically fluctuating from prodelta to basinal marine. The Devonian–Carboniferous boundary is exposed at Hutan Aji and Kampung Guar Jentik, and indicates a major regressive event during the latest Devonian.     

Organic petrology of Paleocene Marcelina Formation coals, Paso Diablo mine, western Venezuela: Tectonic controls on coal type

About 7 Mt of high volatile bituminous coal are produced annually from the four coal zones of the Upper Paleocene Marcelina Formation at the Paso Diablo open-pit mine of western Venezuela. As part of an ongoing coal quality study, we have characterized twenty-two coal channel samples from the mine using organic petrology techniques. Samples also were analyzed for proximate–ultimate parameters, forms of sulfur, free swelling index, ash fusion temperatures, and calorific value.Six of the samples represent incremental benches across the 12–13 m thick No. 4 bed, the stratigraphically lowest mined coal, which is also mined at the 10 km distant Mina Norte open-pit. Organic content of the No. 4 bed indicates an upward increase of woody vegetation and/or greater preservation of organic material throughout the life of the original mire(s). An upward increase in telovitrinite and corresponding decrease in detrovitrinite and inertinite illustrate this trend. In contrast, stratigraphically higher coal groups generally exhibit a ‘dulling upward’ trend.The generally high inertinite content, and low ash yield and sulfur content, suggest that the Paso Diablo coals were deposited in rain-fed raised mires, protected from clastic input and subjected to frequent oxidation and/or moisture stress. However, the two thinnest coal beds (both 0.7 m thick) are each characterized by lower inertinite and higher telovitrinite content relative to the rest of Paso Diablo coal beds, indicative of less well-established raised mire environments prior to drowning.Foreland basin Paleocene coals of western Venezuela, including the Paso Diablo deposit and time-correlative coal deposits of the Táchira and Mérida Andes, are characterized by high inertinite and consistently lower ash and sulfur relative to Eocene and younger coals of the area. We interpret these age-delimited coal quality characteristics to be due to water availability as a function of the tectonic control of subsidence rate. It is postulated that slower subsidence rates dominated during the Paleocene while greater foreland basin subsidence rates during the Eocene–Miocene resulted from the loading of nappe thrust sheets as part of the main construction phases of the Andean orogen. South-southeastward advance and emplacement of the Lara nappes during the oblique transpressive collision of the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates in the Paleocene was further removed from the sites of peat deposition, resulting in slower subsidence rates. Slower subsidence in the Paleocene may have favored the growth of raised mires, generating higher inertinite concentrations through more frequent moisture stress. Consistently low ash yield and sulfur content would be due to the protection from clastic input in raised mires, in addition to the leaching of mineral matter by rainfall and the development of acidic conditions preventing fixation of sulfur. In contrast, peat mires of Eocene–Miocene age encountered rapid subsidence due to the proximity of nappe emplacement, resulting in lower inertinite content, higher and more variable sulfur content, and higher ash yield.     

浅议川南石屏井田SPMT-1号煤层气参数井采煤技术问题

SPMT—1号煤层气参数井位于川南煤田古叙矿区石屏井田。该井田煤层普遍较薄，且为粉煤和粉煤夹块煤，取心较难。本文主要阐述了采好煤心的技术措施，通过认真的分析研究和技术措施的运用，煤样采取率高，质量好，保证了参数井对煤层的取样要求。     

Mineralogical and elemental variation of coal from Alberta, Canada: an example from the No. 2 seam, Genesee Mine

Mineralogy and elemental contents were determined on 18 samples from a vertical profile of the No. 2 seam, Genesee mine, AB. The samples analyzed consist of coal, coaly shale, shaly coal, carbonaceous shale, shale, mudstone and siltstone. Proximate analysis was determined on all samples. Elemental analyses were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) for all elements except As, B, Cd, Hg, Mo, Pb, Se (Atomic Absorption) and B, Ba, Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Nb, Sr and V (inductively coupled plasma-emission spectroscopy, ICP-ES). Samples were low temperature ashed (LTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) were used to determine quantitative major mineralogy. Accessory mineralogy was determined with Scannining Electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM/EDX) on four samples. In general, the coals in the Genesee mine are within the low end of the range for trace element contents given by Swaine [Swaine, D.J., 1990. Trace Elements in Coal. Butterworths, London, 278 pp.] for most coals. High contents of Cr (9–2620 ppm) and Ni (1–1440 ppm) can be related to an increased amount of a Cr–Ni–Fe oxide (chromite–magnetite?) likely derived from ultrabasic diatremes in the Golden-Columbia Icefields, BC area. The No. 2 seam of the Genesee mine can be divided into two geochemical cycles on the basis of mineralogy, trace element contents and rare earth element (REE) behavior. Cycle I consists of quartz, calcite and kaolinite, lower trace element contents, REE slightly enriched in high rare earth elements (HREE), and thick coal with few partings. Cycle II consists of quartz, calcite, kaolinite, illite, mixed layer and/or expandable lattice clays, feldspar, gypsum, calcium aluminum sulfate hydrate, clinoptilolite, calcite and diopside, higher trace element contents, REE slightly enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE) and thin coal with a greater frequency of partings. The differences between the two geochemical cycles can be accounted for by a decreasing stability of the peat-forming environment resulting from an increasing fluvial influence and volcanogenic input.     

Mineral assemblages of the Francisco I. Madero Zn–Cu–Pb–(Ag) deposit, Zacatecas, Mexico: Implications for ore deposit genesis

The Francisco I. Madero deposit, central Mexico, occurs in the Mesozoic Guerrero Terrane, which hosts many ore deposits, both Cretaceous (volcanogenic massive sulfides) and Tertiary (epithermal and skarn deposits). It is hosted by a 600 m-thick calcareous-pelitic unit, of Lower Cretaceous age, crosscut by porphyritic dikes that strike NW–SE. A thick felsic volcanic Tertiary sequence, consisting of andesites and rhyolitic ignimbrites, unconformably overlies the Cretaceous series. At the base, the mineralization consists of several mantos developed within calcareous beds. They are dominantly composed of sphalerite, pyrrhotite and pyrite with minor chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite and galena. At the top of the orebody, there are calcic skarns formed through prograde and retrograde stages. The resulting mineral assemblages are rich in manganoan hedenbergite (Hd_75–28Di_40–4Jh_40–20), andraditic garnets (Adr_100–62Grs_38–0), epidote (Ep_95–36Czo_60–5Pie_8–0), chamosite, calcite and quartz. The temperature of ore deposition, estimated by chlorite and arsenopyrite geothermometry, ranges from 243° to 277 °C and from 300° to 340 °C, respectively. The pressure estimated from sphalerite geobarometry averages 2.1 kbar. This value corresponds to a moderately deep skarn and agrees with the high Cu content of the deposit. Paragenesis, P–T conditions and geological characteristics are compatible with a distal, dike-related, Zn skarn deposit. Its style of mineralization is similar to that of many high-temperature carbonate replacement skarn deposits in the Southern Cordillera.     

Deep-penetrating geochemistry for sandstone-type uranium deposits in the Turpan–Hami basin, north-western China

The Turpan–Hami basin, covering an area of approximately 50,000 km² in NW China, contains concealed sandstone-type U deposits in a Jurassic sequence of sandstone, mudstone and coal beds. Sampling of soil profiles over the Shihongtan concealed U deposit in this basin shows that fine-grained soil collected from the clay-rich horizon contains U concentrations three times higher than similar soils at background areas. Selective leaching studies of these soils show that U is mainly associated with clay minerals, which comprise from 17.9% to 40% (average 30.4%) of the total mineral content. This may indicate that U is converted to uranyl ions [UO₂]²⁺ under oxidizing conditions and is sorbed on clay minerals to accumulate in anomalous concentrations. Fine-grained soil (<120 mesh, <0.125 mm) from the clay-rich horizon, generally occurring at a depth of 0–40 cm, is shown to be an effective sampling medium for deep-penetrating geochemical surveys. A wide-spaced geochemical survey at a density of approximately 1 site per 100 km² was carried out throughout the whole basin using this sampling medium. Samples were analyzed for 30 elements by ICP-MS following a 4-acid extraction. Three large-scale geochemical anomalies of U and Mo were delineated over the whole basin. One of the anomalies is consistent with the known U deposit at Shihongtan in the western part of the basin. A new potential target in the eastern part of the basin was selected for a follow-up survey at a density of 1 sample per 4 km². A drilling exploration programme at the center of the geochemical anomaly delineated by this follow-up survey discovered a new U deposit.     

Inertinite-rich Tertiary coals from the Zeya–Bureya Basin, Far Eastern Russia

Selected Tertiary coals from the Zeya–Buryea Basin, Far Eastern Russia, were investigated for aspects of their coal type, rank, depositional environment and post-depositional history. The coals have been examined in outcrop (lithotype logging), microscopically (maceral, reflectance and fluorescence), and geochemically (proximate analysis).Two laterally extensive coal-bearing horizons occur: one of Palaeocene age and the other of early Miocene age. The Palaeocene coals were investigated in active open-cut mines at Raichikhinsk and Yerkovtsi and the early Miocene deposit in an abandoned open-cut mine at Cergeyevka.Palaeocene coals at Raichikhinsk and Yerkovtsi were indistinguishable from each other macroscopically, microscopically, and geochemically. The deposits were sufficiently coalified that brightness logging could be undertaken. Dull coals, with numerous fusainous wisps, were dominant. Four dulling-up sequences, which represent stacked peat deposits, were observed at Raichikhinsk. At Yerkovtsi, only a small section of the middle of the seam, which was mostly dull and muddy coal, was investigated. Petrographically, these coals were dominated by inertinite group macerals, which is unusual in non-Gondwanan coals and rare in the Tertiary. Rank classification was problematic with volatile matter (VM) content of vitrain (daf), macroscopic appearance, and microscopic textures suggesting subbituminous B rank, but carbon content, moisture content and specific energy indicating a lignite rank.Notwithstanding complications of rank, estimates of the maximum-range burial depths were calculated. Taking the VM (daf) content of vitrain as 48%, burial depth estimates range from 900 m for a high geothermal gradient and long heating time to a maximum of 3300 m for a low geothermal gradient and short heating time. These estimates are maxima as the coal rank may be lower than implied by the VM.The Cergeyevka deposit is a soft brown coal. Limited sampling of the upper-most portion indicated a high moisture content (75% daf) and an unusual, hydrogen-rich geochemistry. Lack of identifiable liptinites using either reflected light or fluorescence microscopy suggested a significant bituminite component. Otherwise, the coals appear to be typical for the Tertiary. An estimate of 125 m maximum burial depth was obtained using the bed-moisture content of the coal, which is around the present burial depth.Comparison of present-day thicknesses with inferred burial depths suggests that at least 500 m of section is missing between the Palaeocene coals and the early Miocene coals.Palaeoenvironmental considerations suggest that fire played a significant role in the accumulation of the peats at Raichikhinsk and Yerkovtsi. At Cergeyevka, peat accumulation ended by drowning of the mire.Two tuff beds were recognised within the seam at Raichikhinsk and one in the seam at Yerkovtsi. Correlation of the tuff beds is uncertain but they should prove useful in regional coal seam correlation and interpreting coal depositional environments. Geochemical analysis by XRF was complicated by high loss-on-ignition (LOI) values. Despite extensive alteration, an acid igneous source is implied from the presence of free quartz and TiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios of 0.02 to 0.05.     

神东矿区煤的煤岩特征及热解生烃潜力研究

通过系统研究神东矿区主要可采煤层的煤岩特征,以及神木煤的热解试验结果,探讨了不同煤岩组成的生烃性能。研究认为,神东煤有机质含量高;热解液态烃产率低,气态烃产率较高;镜质组含量与生烃潜量具有明显的正相关关系,煤中丰富的镜质组是主要的成烃母质。不同煤岩成分和类型的研究结果表明,亮型煤生烃性能最好,母质最优;暗型煤生烃性能及母质较差。      

Depositional history of the Fire Clay coal bed (Late Duckmantian), Eastern Kentucky, USA

More than 3800 coal thickness measurements, proximate analyses from 97 localities, and stratigraphic and sedimentological analyses from more than 300 outcrops and cores were used in conjunction with previously reported palynological and petrographic studies to map individual benches of the coal and document bench-scale variability in the Fire Clay (Hazard No. 4) coal bed across a 1860 km² area of the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. The bench architecture of the Fire Clay coal bed consists of uncommon leader benches, a persistent but variable lower bench, a widespread, and generally thick upper bench, and local, variable rider benches. Rheotrophic conditions are inferred for the leader benches and lower bench based on sedimentological associations, mixed palynomorph assemblages, locally common cannel coal layers, and generally high ash yields. The lower bench consistently exhibits vertical variability in petrography and palynology that reflects changing trophic conditions as topographic depressions infilled. Infilling also led to unconfined flooding and ultimately the drowning of the lower bench mire. The drowned mire was covered by an air-fall volcanic-ash deposit, which produced the characteristic flint clay parting. The extent and uniform thickness of the parting suggests that the ash layer was deposited in water on a relatively flat surface without a thick canopy or extensive standing vegetation across most of the study area. Ash deposits led to regional ponding and establishment of a second planar mire. Because the topography had become a broadly uniform, nutrient-rich surface, upper-bench peats became widespread with large areas of the mire distant to clastic sources. Vertical sections of thick (>70 cm), low-ash yield, upper coal bench show a common palynomorph change from arborescent lycopod dominance upward to fern and densospore-producing, small lycopod dominance, inferred as a shift from planar to ombrotrophic mire phases. Domed mires appear to have been surrounded by wide areas of planar mires, where the coal was thinner (<70 cm), higher in ash yield, and dominated by arborescent lycopods. Rectangular thickness trends suggest that syndepositional faulting influenced peat accumulation, and possibly the position of the domed mire phase. Faulting also influenced post-depositional clastic environments of deposition, resulting in sandstone channels with angular changes in orientation. Channnels and lateral facies were locally draped by high-ash-yield rider coal benches, which sometimes merged with the upper coal bench. These arborescent-lycopod dominant rider coal benches were profoundly controlled by paleotopography, much like the leader coal benches. Each of the benches of coal documented here represent distinctly different mires that came together to form the Fire Clay coal bed, rather than a single mire periodically split by clastic influx. This is significant as each bench of the coal has its own characteristics, which contribute to the total coal characteristics. The large data set allows interpretation of both vertical and lateral limits to postulated domed phases in the upper coal bench, and to the delineation of subtle tectonic structures that allow for meaningful thickness projections beyond the limits of present mining.     

Supergene and hypogene alteration in the dual-use kaolin-bearing coal deposit Angren, SE Uzbekistan

The Jurassic Angren coal–kaolin deposit, Uzbekistan, is one of the largest producers of coal and kaolin suitable for refractories and industrial ceramics in central Asia. The Major coal seam, attaining a thickness between 4 and 24 m, is encased by kaolin-bearing bedsets which have been derived from supergene pre- and hypogene post coal kaolinization. Joint clay-mineralogical and coal petrographic analyses formed the basis of the environment analysis of this coal–kaolin series and constrained the physico-chemical conditions existing during the Triassic through Jurassic period of time. Massive kaolin I underneath the coal seam is a typical residual kaolin or underclay with arsenic Fe-disulfides and siderite indicative of a reducing swampy depositional environment developing under moderately hot climatic conditions. Towards the top, kaolin I became reworked fluvial by processes. The Major coal seam developed in swamps interfingering with a fluvial drainage system of suspended to mixed-load deposits. The maximum temperature for the post-depositional alteration of the carbonaceous material is 70 °C. Post-coal kaolinization (kaolin II) affecting trachyandesites and trachytes is of low-temperature origin and low-sulphidation-type. The temperature of formation was well below 200 °C, deduced from the absence of dickite in the clay mineral assemblage. Basaltic dykes intersected the coal–kaolin series and account for contact metamorphic reactions in the proximal parts of the aluminum-bearing wall rocks reaching sanidinite-facies conditions with temperatures around 1000 °C.     

Place vs. time and vegetational persistence: a comparison of four tropical mires from the Illinois Basin during the height of the Pennsylvanian Ice Age

Coal balls were collected from four coal beds in the southeastern part of the Illinois Basin. Collections were made from the Springfield, Herrin, and Baker coals in western Kentucky, and from the Danville Coal in southwestern Indiana. These four coal beds are among the principal mineable coals of the Illinois Basin and belong to the Carbondale and Shelburn Formations of late Middle Pennsylvanian age. Vegetational composition was analyzed quantitatively. Coal-ball samples from the Springfield, Herrin, and Baker are dominated by the lycopsid tree Lepidophloios, with lesser numbers of Psaronius tree ferns, medullosan pteridosperms, and the lycopsid trees Synchysidendron and Diaphorodendron. This vegetation is similar to that found in the Springfield and Herrin coals elsewhere in the Illinois Basin, as reported in previous studies. The Danville coal sample, which is considerably smaller than the others, is dominated by Psaronius with the lycopsids Sigillaria and Synchysidendron as subdominants.Coal balls from the Springfield coal were collected in zones directly from the coal bed and their zone-by-zone composition indicates three to four distinct plant assemblages. The other coals were analyzed as whole-seam random samples, averaging the landscape composition of the parent mire environments. This analysis indicates that these coals, separated from each other by marine and terrestrial-clastic deposits, have essentially the same floristic composition and, thus, appear to represent a common species pool that persisted throughout the late Middle Pennsylvanian, despite changes in baselevel and climate attendant the glacial–interglacial cyclicity of the Pennsylvanian ice age. Patterns of species abundance and diversity are much the same for the Springfield, Herrin, and Baker, although each coal, both in the local area sampled, and regionally, has its own paleobotanical peculiarities. Despite minor differences, these coals indicate a high degree of recurrence of assemblage and landscape organization. The Danville departs dramatically from the dominance–diversity composition of the older coals, presaging patterns of tree–fern and Sigillaria dominance of Late Pennsylvanian coals of the eastern United States, but, nonetheless, built on a species pool shared with the older coals.     

含煤岩系层序地层学研究进展

层序地层学是分析聚煤规律的一种有效方法。层序地层学应用于含煤地层的分析始于20世纪90年代,Diessel最先在经典层序地层格架中建立了煤层的聚集模式;之后,Bochacs和Stuer通过讨论可容纳空间的变化速率和泥炭聚集速率之间比值的变化,具体分析了不同可容纳空间的煤层厚度、连续性及形态。通过对层序地层中煤层发育和分布的研究,多数煤田地质学家们认为,厚煤层主要发育于低位体系域晚期至海侵体系域早期及海侵体系域晚期至高位体系域早期。由于巨厚煤层往往是许多次级层序及界面的复合体,因此巨厚煤层不能简单地作为成因层序地层的界面,但可以通过煤岩学和地球化学方面的指标对其进行精细划分确定。我国煤田地质学家通过对国内海相煤层的研究,提出了海侵事件聚煤和海相层滞后时段聚煤等观点,从而大大促进了含煤岩系层序地层学的发展。      

蒙古国胡硕图井田含煤地层及煤质特征

蒙古国煤炭资源丰富,但地质基础工作薄弱。位于蒙古国西部的胡硕图井田含煤地层为二叠系胡硕图组,为陆相三角洲体系沉积,含M1、M2巨厚煤层。根据煤质资料分析,区内煤类复杂,M1煤层以低灰、低挥发分、特低硫、高-特高热值、强黏结-特强黏结的焦煤（JM）为主;M2煤层以低灰、低挥发分、低硫、高-特高热值、中黏结-中强粘结的瘦煤（SM）为主;煤的变质作用类型以深成变质作用为主,同时存在动力变质作用。     

Comparison of the Eastern and Western Kentucky coal fields (Pennsylvanian), USA—why are coal distribution patterns and sulfur contents so different in these coal fields?

More than 130 Mt of Pennsylvanian coal is produced annually from two coal fields in Kentucky. The Western Kentucky Coal Field occurs in part of the Illinois Basin, an intercratonic basin, and the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field occurs in the Central Appalachian Basin, a foreland basin. The basins are only separated by 140 km, but mined western Kentucky coal beds exhibit significantly higher sulfur values than eastern Kentucky coals. Higher-sulfur coal beds in western Kentucky have generally been inferred to be caused by more marine influences than for eastern Kentucky coals.Comparison of strata in the two coal fields shows that more strata and more coal beds accumulated in the Eastern than Western Kentucky Coal Field in the Early and Middle Pennsylvanian, inferred to represent greater generation of tectonic accommodation in the foreland basin. Eastern Kentucky coal beds exhibit a greater tendency toward splitting and occurring in zones than time-equivalent western Kentucky coal beds, which is also inferred to represent foreland accommodation influences, overprinted by autogenic sedimentation effects. Western Kentucky coal beds exhibit higher sulfur values than their eastern counterparts, but western Kentucky coals occurring in Langsettian through Bolsovian strata can be low in sulfur content. Eastern Kentucky coal beds may increase in sulfur content beneath marine zones, but generally are still lower in sulfur than mined Western Kentucky coal beds, indicating that controls other than purely marine influences must have influenced coal quality.The bulk of production in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field is from Duckmantian and Bolsovian coal beds, whereas production in the Western Kentucky Coal Field is from Westphalian D coals. Langsettian through Bolsovian paleoclimates in eastern Kentucky were favorable for peat doming, so numerous low-sulfur coals accumulated. These coals tend to occur in zones and are prone to lateral splitting because of foreland tectonic and sedimentation influences. In contrast, Westphalian D coal beds of western Kentucky accumulated during low differential tectonic accommodation, and therefore tend to be widespread and uniform in characteristics, but exhibit higher sulfur values because they accumulated in seasonally drier paleoclimates that were unfavorable for peat doming. Hence, basin analyses indicate that many differences between the mined coals of Kentucky's two coal fields are related to temporal changes in paleoclimate and tectonic accommodation, rather than solely being a function of marine influences.     

Coal petrographical characterization of the Mecsek bituminous coal basin, with special reference to the contact metamorphism of coal seams

The bituminous coals of the Mecsek Mountains were formed during the Early Lias and are of paralic origin. The limnic complex of the layers consists of sandstone, aleurite and coal, and the upper layer contains marl of marine origin. The 9–15 minable coal seams have a thickness of 1.2–14.0 m. The Mecsek Coal Field and the coal complex within it show a folded and fractured structure, and with regard to their mechanical behaviour, are strongly stressed.75–90% of the coal material is vitrinite, and 1–14% is inertinite. The quantity of liptinite is smaller than 9%. The coal rank is that of gas coal and fat coal with a reflectivity of 0.85–1.5%, respectively. The coal rank differences and variations according to zones are the consequence of forces of various magnitude that occurred in the course of orogenic movements.During the Early Cretaceous, there was some under-sea-bed volcanic activity in this field, the diabasic material of which appeared in the form of a bed vein along the coal seams, and this has exerted a strong metamorphic influence on the coal. It has resulted in thermo-contact alteration, i.e. in the appearance of natural coke and semicoke of various degrees of metamorphism. This alteration badly affected the quality and technological characteristics, especially the cokability of the coal.     

法国典型聚煤盆地厚煤层独特的沉积条件分析

从法国典型的断陷聚煤盆地具有重要经济价值的厚煤层的成因标志和沉积特征出发,对这些厚煤层独特的沉积条件进行了剖析,指出了厚煤层均发育于盆缘、盆内断层活动强烈的构造背景下。煤层内大量的重力流沉积物——碎屑流、稀性泥石流、重力滑塌、变形构造和再搬运—再堆积的记录等特征,均表明了这些厚煤层在堆(沉)积时为较深覆水、且水体动荡的湖泊沉积环境,部分厚煤(泥炭)层在初次堆积后经过了再搬运而在异地堆积。