The Coal
It is an organoclastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of lithified plant remains
and containing more than 50% by weight or 70% by volume, carbonaceous
material
and inherent moisture. It is one of the primary fossil fuels.
Coalification process is the conversion of peat (altered plant remains) into lignite-
subbituminous coal-semi-anthracite-anthracite.
The banded and humic coal are formed due to diagenesis associated with burial
and
tectonic activity. The non-banded and sapropelic coals are formed from algae,
spores and finely divided plant materials. During the coalification process the
percentage of carbon, calorific value and reflectance of vitrinite contents increase
whereas volatiles and moisture gradually eliminated.
The macerals
These are the coalfield remains of plant material that existed at the time of peat
formation. They differ from each other in their morphology, hardness, optical
properties and chemical characteristics. Maceral nomenclature has been applied
differently by some European coal petrologists. They are studied in polished
sections
under reflected light. The North American petrologists who studied very thin slices
(thin sections) of coal using transmitted-light microscopy. Following three major
macerals groups are generally recognized.
Vitrinite:
The most abundant maceral in most coals formed of remains of land plants
including
trunks, branches, stems, roots and leaves (woody materials). It contributes as much
as 50 to 90 percent of many North American coals. Several varieties are
recognized—e.g., telinite (the brighter parts of vitrinite that make up cell walls)
and collinite (clear vitrinite that occupies the spaces between cell walls). It is
medium grey.
Inertinite:
The inertinite group makes up 5 to 40 percent of most coals. It consists oxidized
(strongly altered and decomposed) plant materials. The most common inertinite
maceral is fusinite, which has a charcoal-like appearance with obvious cell texture.
This group is light grey in color when compared with vitrinite. They are harder
than
the other macerals thus have high relief in polished sections. They have higher
carbon and lower hydrogen contents. They are relative inert during coke formation
and other industrial process.
Liptinite (formyl called exinite):
The liptinite group makes up 5 to 15 percent of many coals. It is composed of
organic
particles such as algae (alginite), spores (sporinite), cuticles (cutinite) and resin
(resinite). The most common member of this group in banded coal is sporinite,
formed from spores and pollens. This is common in low rank coals with high
hydrogen and volatile contents.
The alginite variety contains coalfield algal remains and is characteristic of
boghead
and cannel coal. It is also abundant in oil shales but rare in banded coals.
In addition to the assemblages of macerals, the general appearances, chemical
composition and petrographical properties of coal are affected by post-depositional
increases in pressure and temperature. A coal little affected by burial or tectonism
would result in brown, soft and low ranked coal, where as the one that have been
modified by these processes would form hard or high rank coal.
Coalification
It is the alteration of vegetation to peat, succeeded by the transformation of peat
through lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous, semi-anthracite and meta-anthracite
coal. The degree of transformation or coalification is termed as the coal rank.
During coalification the three maceral groups (Vitrinite, exinite and inertinite)
become rich in carbon and each maceral group follows a distinct coalification path.
Causes of Coalification/factors affecting coalification process
The coalification process is mainly governed by rise in temperature, time during
which it occurs, and the pressure.
a) Temperature
The temperature changes can be achieved through
i) Direct contact of the coal with igneous intrusion. The coal exhibits loss of
volatiles, oxygen, methane and water and will result in local development of high
rank coal. (Anthracite-metamorphic coal)
ii) The increasing depth of burial increases temperature associated with
decreased
oxygen of the coals and increase in the ration of fixed carbon to volatile matter,
thereby increasing the coal rank. The rate of the rank increase (rank gradient) is
dependent on the geothermal gradient and the heat conductivity of the rocks.
b) Time
To attain higher rank, higher temperatures are required with more rapid rate of
heating (contact metamorphism) rather than with slower heating rates (subsidence
and depth of burial). Thus, the degree of coalification is less where sediments have
subsided rapidly and the “cooking time” was short and the time only has a real
effect when the temperature is sufficiently high to allow chemical reaction to occur.
Where, very low temperatures occur over a very long period, little coalification
takes place. Therefore, the influence of time is all the greater, the higher the
temperature.
Formation of peat from plant material takes a few million years and 200-300
million years to form bituminous or anthracite coal.
c) Pressure
The influence of pressure is at its greatest during compaction and is most evident,
from the peat to sub-bituminous coal stages, in the decrease of porosity and the
reduction of moisture content with depth. The pressure causes “physio-structural
coalification” while rise of temperature accelerates “chemical coalification” with
gradual subsidence of coal.
Vitrinite reflectance
The optical properties of vitrinite can be used as an indicator of rank. Ward (1984)
suggested coal ranks in terms of vitrinite reflectance.
Coal Classification
Properties such as percentage of carbon, hydrogen and volatiles, calorific value and
the coking and agglomerating are used to classify coals. The much used
classification was given by Seyler (1933). It is based on hydrogen Vs carbon plots
or volatile matters Vs calorific value.
Low rank (lignite) coals have lower carbon and higher hydrogen contents than high
rank coals. The carbonaceous coals (anthracites) have very low hydrogen contents.
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is based on variations in
the fixed carbon content and calorific values and is widely used north America
International coal classification by UN Economic Commission for Europe uses a
series of numbers based on the chemical and physical properties of the coal. UK
and
Australia use similar ones.
