From in-situ coal to fly ash: a study of coal mines and power plants from Indiana

This paper presents data on the properties of coal and fly ash from two coal mines and two power plants that burn single-source coal from two mines in Indiana. One mine is in the low-sulfur (<1%) Danville Coal Member of the Dugger Formation (Pennsylvanian) and the other mines the high-sulfur (>5%) Springfield Coal Member of the Petersburg Formation (Pennsylvanian). Both seams have comparable ash contents (11%). Coals sampled at the mines (both raw and washed fractions) were analyzed for proximate/ultimate/sulfur forms/heating value, major oxides, trace elements and petrographic composition. The properties of fly ash from these coals reflect the properties of the feed coal, as well as local combustion and post-combustion conditions. Sulfur and spinel content, and As, Pb and Zn concentrations of the fly ash are the parameters that most closely reflect the properties of the source coal.     

Quality of selected coal seams from Indiana: implications for carbonization

The chemical properties of two high-volatile bituminous coals, the Danville Coal Member of the Dugger Formation and the Lower Block Coal Member of the Brazil Formation from southern Indiana, were compared to understand the differences in their coking behavior. It was determined that of the two, the Lower Block has better characteristics for coking. Observed factors that contribute to the differences in the coking behavior of the coals include carbon content, organic sulfur content, and oxygen/carbon (O/C) ratios. The Lower Block coal has greater carbon content than the Danville coal, leading to a lower O/C ratio, which is more favorable for coking. Organic sulfur content is higher in the Lower Block coal, and a strong correlation was found between organic sulfur and plasticity. The majority of the data for both seams plot in the Type III zone on a van Krevelen diagram, and several samples from the Lower Block coal plot into the Type II zone, suggesting a perhydrous character for those samples. This divergence in properties between the Lower Block and Danville coals may account for the superior coking behavior of the Lower Block coal.     

Progression in sulfur isotopic compositions from coal to fly ash: Examples from single-source combustion in Indiana

Sulfur occurs in multiple mineral forms in coals, and its fate in coal combustion is still not well understood. The sulfur isotopic composition of coal from two coal mines in Indiana and fly ash from two power plants that use these coals were studied using geological and geochemical methods. The two coal beds are Middle Pennsylvanian in age; one seam is the low-sulfur (< 1%) Danville Coal Member of the Dugger Formation and the other is the high-sulfur (> 5%) Springfield Coal Member of the Petersburg Formation. Both seams have ash contents of approximately 11%. Fly-ash samples were collected at various points in the ash-collection system in the two plants. The results show notable difference in δ³⁴S for sulfur species within and between the low-sulfur and high-sulfur coal. The δ³⁴S values for all sulfur species are exclusively positive in the low-sulfur Danville coal, whereas the δ³⁴S values for sulfate, pyritic, and organic sulfur are both positive and negative in the high-sulfur Springfield coal. Each coal exhibits a distinct pattern of stratigraphic variation in sulfur isotopic composition. Overall, the δ³⁴S for sulfur species values increase up the section in the low-sulfur Danville coal, whereas they show a decrease up the vertical section in the high-sulfur Springfield coal. Based on the evolution of δ³⁴S for sulfur species, it is suggested that there was influence of seawater on peat swamp, with two marine incursions occurring during peat accumulation of the high-sulfur Springfield coal. Therefore, bacterial sulfate reduction played a key role in converting sulfate into hydrogen sulfide, sulfide minerals, and elemental sulfur. The differences in δ³⁴S between sulfate sulfur and pyritic sulfur is very small between individual benches of both coals, implying that some oxidation occurred during deposition or postdeposition.The δ³⁴S values for fly ash from the high-sulfur Springfield coal (averaging 9.7‰) are greatly enriched in ³⁴S relative to those in the parent coal (averaging 2.2‰). This indicates a fractionation of sulfur isotopes during high-sulfur coal combustion. By contrast, the δ³⁴S values for fly-ash samples from the low-sulfur Danville coal average 10.2‰, only slightly enriched in ³⁴S relative to those from the parent coal (average 7.5‰). The δ³⁴S values for bulk S determined directly from the fly-ash samples show close correspondence with the δ³⁴S values for SO₄^− 2 leached from the fly ash in the low-sulfur coal, suggesting that the transition from pyrite to sulfate occurred via high-temperature oxidation during coal combustion.     

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.     

Organic geochemical study of sequences overlying coal seams; example from the Mansfield Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian), Indiana

Roof successions above two coal seams from the Mansfield Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian) in the Indiana portion of the Illinois Basin have been studied with regard to sedimentary structures, organic petrology and organic geochemistry. The succession above the Blue Creek Member of the Mansfield Formation is typical of the lithologies covering low-sulphur coals (< 1%) in the area studied, whereas the succession above the unnamed Mansfield coal is typical of high-sulphur coals (>2.%). The transgressive-regressive packages above both seams reflect the periodic inundation of coastal mires by tidal flats and creeks as inferred from bioturbation and sedimentary structures such as tidal rhythmites and clay-draped ripple bedforms. Geochemistry and petrology of organic facies above the Blue Creek coal suggest that tidal flats formed inland in fresh-water environments. These overlying fresh water sediments prevented saline waters from invading the peat, contributing to low-sulphur content in the coal. Above the unnamed coal, trace fossils and geochemical and petrological characteristics of organic facies suggest more unrestricted seaward depositional environment. The absence of saline or typically marine biomarkers above this coal is interpreted as evidence of very short periods of marine transgression, as there was not enough time for establishment of the precursor organisms for marine biomarkers. However, sufficient time passed to raise SO₄²⁻ concentration in pore waters, resulting in the formation of authigenic pyrite and sulphur incorparation into organic matter.     

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.     

Coals of the Brazil Formation (Pennsylvanian) in Indiana: observations of correlation inconsistencies and their implications

The coals of the upper part of the Mansfield, Brazil, and the lower part of the Staunton Formations (Atokan and Desmoinesian, Pennsylvanian) in Indiana (Illinois Basin) are characteristically thin and discontinuous. As a result, problems with correlation and identification of the seams have persisted for both researchers and industry. These discrepancies affect coal exploration, mine planning, and subsequently coal-fired utilities. This study presents exploration and operational examples demonstrating some of the correlation problems associated with the coals of the Brazil Formation, and the Upper Block and Lower Block, in particular, and the surrounding upper part of the Mansfield Formation and lower part of the Staunton Formations. Based on exploration boreholes, mine scale observations, and coal quality and petrographic data, this study suggests that (1) the coal mapped as the Upper Block Coal Member of Clay County may, in fact, be the same seam as the Lower Block Coal Member of Daviess County; and (2) the Lower Block coal of Clay County is not present south of the Switz City area of central Greene County, IN.     

Greta Coal Measures in the Muswellbrook Anticline area,New South Wales

The Greta Coal Measures are the lower of two main coal‐bearing intervals in the Permian northern Sydney Basin. High quality outcrop and continuous core data are available from the Muswellbrook Anticline area in the Hunter Valley, enabling a sequence‐stratigraphic interpretation of the Greta Coal Measures to be presented for the first time. Age and core relationships indicate an unconformity at the base and the top of the Greta Coal Measures. A correlation between dated tuffs in the upper Greta Coal Measures in the Muswellbrook area and the Maitland Group in the Cessnock area establishes a clear diachronous upper boundary for the Greta Coal Measures resulting from a northwest‐ward marine transgression. The Greta Coal Measures are interpreted to occupy a single sequence in which the lower fluvial and lacustrine Skeletar Formation makes up a transgressive systems tract, the Ayrdale Sandstone Member is an estuarine unit around the maximum flooding surface, and the upper fluvial to deltaic Rowan Formation occupies a highstand systems tract. The overlying Jasdec Park Sandstone Member of the Maitland Group infills incised valleys above a sequence boundary and then occurs as a transgressive shoreline system before passing into the glacial marine Branxton Formation. The Greta Coal Measures represent high accommodation where subsidence and sediment supply were approximately balanced over more than 100 m of accumulation, and the development of 14 recognisable coal seams occurred in a single sequence.     

新密煤田翟沟井田山西组煤层特征及聚煤环境分析

以新密煤田翟沟井田勘探资料为基础,对井田区域特征、山西组煤层特征和沉积环境进行分析。研究表明：山西组下段为以泥坪＋泥炭沼泽＋泥坪沉积序列为主的潮坪沉积,山西组上段为以弱还原环境河流作用为主的三角洲沉积体系,山西组聚煤环境为滨岸潮坪环境;山西组二。煤层层位稳定,煤层结构简单,煤层厚度为0．82-12．20m,一般3—5m,平均厚度3．84m,煤层厚度的变化是受沉积环境、后期冲刷作用及构造作用综合作用的结果。     

湖南省资汝煤田上三叠统沉积环境及聚煤特征

湘东南地区资汝煤田上二三叠统为一套灰黑色砂质泥岩、细砂岩、中粗粒砂岩以及煤层等沉积组合,具有砂泥薄互层层理、斜波状层理、水平层理及大型交错层理等沉积结构。该地区沉积环境为渴湖三角洲,煤层主要发育于渴湖淤浅而成的泥炭沼泽。研究区西南方向发育煤层层数比北东向多,盆地边缘煤的灰分比盆地中心的高,而硫分含量却比盆地中心低,盆地中心煤质较好。     

美国印第安纳州宾夕法尼亚系含煤地层和煤层简介

美国中部伊利诺伊煤田(跨伊利诺伊、印第安纳、肯塔基等三个州)的含煤地层为上石炭统宾夕法尼亚系。美国印第安纳地质研究所2006年编制的印第安纳州基岩综合地层柱状图建立了宾夕法尼亚系含煤地层的岩相层序,现将此岩相层序介绍到国内,对我们了解美国晚古生代煤田地质及阅读国外文献资料颇有帮助。     

贵州金沙木孔煤矿可采煤层常量元素特征及沉积环境分析

对金沙木孔煤矿可采煤层的常量元素分析,利用硫分、C/S值、灰成分作为参照指数,讨论金沙木孔煤矿可采煤层的沉积环境.金沙木孔煤矿上煤组2、3和4号煤层形成于陆源物质供给较丰富,盐度低、弱还原的下三角洲泥炭沼泽环境;而5和7号煤层形成于盐度中等,弱还原受到海水影响较大的泻湖相泥炭沼泽环境.     

Block coals from Indiana: inferences on changing depositional environment

Significant differences in coal petrography, palynology and coal quality were found between the Lower Block and Upper Block Coal Members (Brazil Formation, Pennsylvanian) in Daviess County, Indiana. The Lower Block Coal Member ranges in thickness from 51 to 74 cm and the Upper Block Coal Member ranges from 20 to 65 cm. Average sulfur content and ash yield of the Lower Block coal (0.98%, 7.65%) are lower than in the Upper Block coal. Megascopically, the coals show distinct differences. The Lower Block is a banded coal with numerous thin fusain horizons and a thin clay parting in the lower third of the seam. The Upper Block coal has a dulling-upward trend, with a bright clarain found at the base that grades into a clarain and then into a durain in the upper portion of the seam. Vitrinite content of the Lower Block coal ranges from 63% to 78%, with the highest vitrinite content found in the middle portion of the seam. In the Upper Block coal, vitrinite content ranges from 40% to 83%, with the highest values found in the lower part of the seam. Ash yield is higher in the upper part of the Upper Block coal, reaching up to 40%. The Lower Block coal is dominated by lycopod trees and tree ferns. The Upper Block coal shows marked differences in spore assemblages between lower and upper parts of the seam. The lower half is dominated by large lycopod trees and tree ferns, similar to the Lower Block coal. The upper half is dominated by small lycopods, mainly Densosporites and Radiizonates. These differences between the Lower Block and Upper Block Coal Members are significant correlation tools applicable to mining exploration and chronostratigraphy.     

Facies analysis of coal seams from the Cracow Sandstone Series of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin, Poland

The main purpose of this study was to recognise the variability of petrographical structure of two coal seams occurring in the Cracow Sandstone Series (Upper Carboniferous/Pennsylvanian, Upper Westphalian), being exploited in the Siersza mine. This mine is located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin (USCB). The chemical analyses and petrographical features allow the inclusion of these coals to the group of hard brown coals belonging to subbituminous class.Two coal seams (207 and 209/210) of a considerable thickness (7.44 and 6.54 m, respectively), representative of the Cracow Sandstone Series (CSS), were chosen for the petrographic studies. Dominant macroscopic constituents of both seams are banded bright coal and banded coal.The coal seams were sampled in 284 intervals using a channel profile sampling strategy. The microscopical examinations revealed the majority of macerals from the vitrinite group (55%), followed by inertinite (21%), liptinite (11%), and mineral matter (13%). Low values of the vitrinite reflectance (R_o=0.46%) confirm very low coalification of the coal in both seams. Facies analysis indicates that in the course of a mire development, in which the studied coal seams originated, wet forest swamp conditions dominated characterized by a high degree of flooding and gelification as well as by a prevalence of arborescent plants. In such conditions, lithotypes with a large content of bright coal were mainly formed. Petrographic and facies data point to the rheotrophic character of these peatbogs. Frequent changes of the conditions in the peatbog, as it is shown by the variability of petrographic structure of the studied profiles, as well as by lateral changes of the phytogenic sedimentary environment within the coal seams, indicate a strong influence of a river channel on the adjoining peatbogs. An accretion of clastic sediments within the wide river channel belts was balanced mainly by the peatbog growth on the areas outside channels. Frequency and rate of avulsion of the river channels influenced the size, continuity and variability of the peatbogs.     

广西煤炭资源状况及其找煤潜力分析

广西境内早石炭世、晚二叠世以海相成煤为主,早侏罗世、古近纪、新近纪为陆相成煤。煤多属高灰、中-高硫、低热值的“二高一低”煤,已查明的资源总量21.36亿t,保有量18．56亿t。以古近纪-新近纪的煤田最多．其次为晚二叠世煤田。煤类以褐煤、贫煤为主。煤炭资源主要分布于百色-南丹以东、钦州-来宾-柳城-融水以西的区域内。在168个探（矿）区中,仅38％达到勘探程度。根据资源条件及勘查程度,指出在老矿区（井）的外围和深部（如红山矿区西南部、中北部深部、罗城煤田深部、宜山煤田中部、扶绥煤田中段北部、百色煤田中东部）、桂西地区（如凤山-大化、隆林-乐业相对隆起区域、大新古隆起周边）、桂东南和桂南地区（如大洲盆地、钦灵盆地、江平盆地、十万大山盆地）等处有找煤前景,并预测了勘查潜力。     

Coal combustion by-product quality at two stoker boilers: Coal source vs. fly ash collection system design

Fly ashes from two stoker boilers burning Pennsylvanian Eastern Kentucky high volatile A bituminous coal blends were examined for their petrology and chemistry. The source coals have similar trace element contents. One of the ash collection systems was retrofitted with a baghouse (fabric filter) system, collecting a finer fly ash at a cooler flue gas temperature than the plant that has not been reconfigured. The baghouse ash has a markedly higher trace element content than the coarser fly ash from the other plant. The enhanced trace element content is most notable in the As concentration, reaching nearly 9000 ppm (ash basis) for one of the collection units. Differences in the ash chemistry are not due to any substantial differences in the coal source, even though the coal sources were from different counties and from different coal beds, but rather to the improved pollution control system in the steam plant with the higher trace element contents.     

Variation of Hg content in low sulfur coals in relation to the coal-forming environment: a case study from Zhuji Coal Mine,Huainan Coalfield,North China

Twenty-nine low sulfur coal samples were selected to determine the magnitude and variability of mercury (Hg) content in a well-documented stratigraphy system including ten continuous coal seams in Zhuji Coal Mine, Huainan Coalfield, Anhui Province, North China. Mercury content of samples was measured on a direct mercury analyzer and confident results were obtained as evaluated by standard references, sample replicates and procedural blanks. The calculated overall mine average Hg content is 71.19?±?9.28 ng/g based on seam averages and weighting by the estimated reserve of each coal seam. The estimated Hg emission potential for Huainan coalfield is obviously lower than that calculated from coal emission factor in industrial use. An increasing trend of Hg content with the evolution of depositional environment was observed from Nos. 3 to 11-2 coal seams. Combining the evidence of sedimentology and paleontology, a better understanding was gained of the mechanism of Hg sequestration in specific coal benches. A large portion of Hg residing in the low sulfur coals presumably integrated to the functional groups of organic constitution, whereas pyrite was generally abundant in the high sulfur coals.     

Factors controlling the vegetation distribution and coal‐forming environments in a strike‐slip basin. The Pennsylvanian Peñarroya‐Belmez‐Espiel Basin,southern Spain

Coal‐forming environments require humid to perhumid conditions. Tectonics governs the size, location and availability of coal seams developed in such environments. While large Pennsylvanian paralic basins generated thick and continuous coal seams, many other small coeval basins, which were tectonically active, developed a puzzling succession, with carbonaceous deposits that varied in size, thickness and the nature of the coal‐forming flora. This study, conducted in the Peñarroya‐Belmez‐Espiel coalfield, a Variscan strike‐slip basin in the south of Spain, provides insights into this subject. The coal seams analysed, generated in different depositional environments, have quantitatively different palynological assemblages. Lacustrine coals are dominated by lycopsids; distal alluvial plain/marginal lacustrine coals are dominated by sphenophytes and tree ferns, and middle alluvial fan coals are dominated by sphenophytes, tree ferns and lycopsids. This means that when conditions were favourable for peat accumulation, peat accumulated regardless of the nature of the available flora.     

超厚煤层分布与成因模式

煤厚的分级主要是从煤炭开采的角度来确定的,大于8m的厚煤层一概以巨厚煤层来称之。世界上,煤层总厚最大的是澳大利亚的吉普斯兰盆地,总厚达到700多米;加拿大哈溪煤田二号露天区则为单层煤厚最大的矿区,煤厚达510m;中国内蒙古自治区胜利煤田胜利东二号露天煤矿,单层（6煤层）厚达244.7m,总煤厚达320.65m。从沉积、层序地层与构造诸角度出发,依据现代泥炭堆积与阴沉木堆积等现象进行厚煤层的成因研究,对异地成煤及一些超厚煤层的成因模式进行了介绍和初步评价。