The application of FAMM (Fluorescence Alteration of Multiple Macerals) analyses for evaluating rank of Paraná Basin coals, Brazil

Combining vitrinite reflectance (VR) and fluorescence alteration of multiple macerals (FAMM) analyses provide insights into the chemical nature of vitrinites (i.e., perhydrous vs. orthohydrous vs. subhydrous compositions) in Permian Gondwana coals of the Paraná Basin, Brazil. The FAMM-derived equivalent VR (EqVR) values and relationships with VR can be determined according to calibration curves based largely on Permian Gondwana coals of eastern Australia.The analytical results indicate that vitrinites in the Paraná Basin coals studied generally range from orthohydrous to perhydrous, with interpreted VR suppression ranging up to 0.2% absolute for the most perhydrous case. The EqVR values of the Santa Catarina coals, which range from about 0.85% to 0.95% differ from VR values by about 0.10–0.15% absolute, potentially having significant implications on coal utilization.The causes of vitrinite reflectance suppression in the Paraná Basin coals are as yet poorly understood, but are likely to be related to a combination of factors.     

AN IMPROVED ALGORITHM FOR THE GENERALIZED RANK ANNIHILATION METHOD

An improved algorithm for the generalized rank annihilation method(GRAM)is presented.GRAM isa method for multicomponent calibration using two-dimensional instruments,such as GC-MS.In thispaper an orthonormal base is first computed and used to project the calibration and unknown sampleresponse matrices into a lower-dimensional subspace.The resulting generalized eigenproblem is thensolved using the QZ algorithm.The result of these improvements is that GRAM is computationally morestable,particularly in the case where the calibration sample contains chemical constituents not present inthe unknown sample and the unknown contains constituents not present in the calibration(the mostgeneral case).