Influence of environments of coal deposition on phosphorous accumulation in a high latitude, northern Alaska, coal seam

Although phosphorus is a very important biogenic element, its concentration in coal is generally low. Phosphorus (P) concentrations typically range from 0.001% to 0.229% in raw coals of the contiguous 48 states [Glick, D.C., Davis, A., 1984. Variability in the inorganic content of United States coals—a multivariate statistical study of final report, Part 10 (DOE-30013-Flo) to the US Dept. of Energy under contract no. DE-AC22-80PC 30013, 404 pp.]. Some Alaskan coal seams contain horizons that are unusually high in phosphorus. The present paper focuses on a bituminous coal from northern Alaska, where 0.15 m subsections of this coal seam have shown high phosphorous in certain subsections. In order to investigate the lateral extent of such high phosphorous bands in coal, the authors obtained three drill cores up to 3 km apart from the coal seam. A detailed investigation of the cores was undertaken to determine the nature and mode of occurrence of phosphorous minerals. Maceral composition allowed interpretation of environments of coal deposition. Acid-extractable phosphorous analysis of the subsections identified the high phosphorous horizons. Electron microprobe analyses identified the phosphorous mineral as crandallite. Correlation of high phosphorous intervals with corresponding environments of deposition suggests that phosphorous precipitation is promoted by an oxidizing environment with a lowered water table during the peat stage. A study of thin sections from high phosphorous samples showed that crandallite is associated with structured vitrinite and as cell fillings in fusinite. The study confirms the potential for using high phosphorous horizons for the correlation of coal seams, as noted in previous work by the authors (Rao and Walsh, 1997). A high phosphorous horizon is found at 0.45 m above the bottom of the seam in all of the drill holes, indicating a uniformity of the coal forming environment and the availability of crandallite constituent elements over the entire 3 km. The uniformity of high phosphorous concentrations through the top 2 m of the three drill holes also shows a distinct correlation.     

纤磷钙铝石类化合物:来自地球具工艺用途的材料(英文)

纤磷钙铝石类化合物系由自纤磷钙铝石CaAl3 (OH) 6(HPO4) (PO4)本身、经磷钙铝石CaAl3 (OH) 6(SO4) (PO4)到钾明矾石KAl3 (OH ) 6(SO4) 2 等的天然矿物族所组成的。它们表现出具有很大范围的阳离子置换系列 ,其中以Sr2 +和Ba2 +置换Ca2 +,REEs3 +置换Ca2 +和H+,As5 +置换P5 +,S6+/Se6+置换H+P5 +最为重要。随着置换的进行 ,其热动力学稳定性也逐渐增加。由此 ,纤磷钙铝石类化合物成为很能抗风化的矿物 ,在红土中尤其如此。厚的纤磷钙铝石层形成在闪长岩 (富Sr) ,碳酸盐岩 (富REEs)和含金石英脉 (富As)之上 ,从而保护整个磷酸盐红土 ,使之免受风化。以此方式 ,形成了桌状山脉或岛屿 ,他们具有未受覆盖的表面。这些“纤磷钙铝”石化合物为上述及其它元素形成一有效的地球化学障。“纤磷钙铝石”的这种天然地球化学固定作用可以用适当的母体或人工合成晶体来进行模拟 ,即通过金属阳离子交换或就地反应来模拟。这种固定作用还可用于处理天然和人造的放射性裂变产物、有毒的重金属元素、砷酸盐和硒酸盐、硫酸盐等。