Applied Coal Petrology

This book is an integrated approach towards the applications of coal (organic) petrology and discusses the role of this science in the field of coal and coal-related topics. Coal petrology needs to be seen as a continuum of organic (macerals) and inorganic (minerals and trace elements) contributions to the total coal structure, with the overprint of coal rank. All this influences the behavior of coal in utilization, the coal by-products, the properties of coal as a reservoir for methane or a sequestration site for carbon dioxide, and the relationships of coal utilization with health and environmental issues. The interaction of coal properties and coal utilization begins at the mine face. The breakage of the coal in mining influences its subsequent beneficiation. Beneficiation is fundamental to the proper combustion of coal and is vital to the preparation of the feedstock for the production of metallurgical coke. An understanding of basic coal properties is important for achieving reductions in trace element emissions and improving the efficiency of combustion and combined-cycle gasification. The production of methane from coal beds is related to the properties of the in situ coal. Similarly, coal bed sequestration of carbon dioxide produced from combustion is dependent on the reservoir properties. Environmental problems accompany coal on its way from the mine to the point of utilization and beyond. Health aspects related with coal mining and coal utilization are also included because, in planning for coal use, it is impossible to separate environmental and health issues from the discussion of coal utilization. The book is aimed at a wide audience, ranging from researchers, lecturers and students to professionals in industry and discusses issues (such as the environmental, and health) that are of concern to the general public as a whole. This book focuses on the applications of coal (organic) petrology to our modern society It is an integrated approach to help the reader appreciate the importance of coal quality and coal utilization. Coal composition (macerals, mineral, trace elements) and the overprint of coal rank are treated together The book synthesises all the possibilities of the organic petrology as a tool for coal utilization in conventional applications (mining and beneficiation, coal combustion, gasification, liquefaction, carbonization), as a precursor of carbon materials and as a petroleum source and reservoir rock The role of applied petrology in the characterization of solid by-products from coal utilization is also discussed In addition, this book describes the present status of environmental and health problems linked to coal utilization and the ways in which such problems might be overcome in the future

Organic petrology is a discipline of geology which integrates multidisciplinary approaches for the exploration and evaluation of fossil fuel resources by conventional and unconventional procedures. Organic petrology has brought forth new, powerful analytical tools for the characterization of geological hydrocarbon systems, thus providing information where previous analytical techniques prove to be less effective. The reference provides a broad, comprehensive source of information about the application of organic petrology in the investigation of geological formations related with the production and accumulation of oil and gas. Eleven chapters cover a variety of topics (kerogens, dispersed organic matter systems, sedimentary organic matter systems, oil and gas shales, etc.). Additional information in chapters referring to examples in specific geographical locations provides a global perspective of hydrocarbon exploration. The book is an introductory reference for all scholars involved in applied organic petrology of hydrocarbon systems including graduate and undergraduate geology students, engineers and lab technicians. [Series intro] Geology: Current and Future Developments is a book series that brings together the latest contributions to geological research. Each volume features chapters contributed by academic scholars / professional experts from around the world. The scope of the book series includes (but is not limited to) topics such as plate tectonics, climate science, hydrocarbon exploration, mineral exploration, and environmental science. This series is intended as a useful compendium of scholarly reference material for geology students and professionals.

Coal petrology has undergone extremely rapid development since the appearance of the Second Edition of the "Textbook of Coal Petrology" in 1975. The advances have been not only in the techniques and methods used but also in applications to geological and industrial problems. The surprisingly rapid depletion of all available stocks of the Second Edition can be attributed, among other things, to the fact that those now keenly interested in the techniques and results of coal petrology include not only coal scientists but also geologists, geophysicists and petrologists in neighbouring fields. Much new information has become available on matters relating to coal facies and the origin of macerals as a result of studies on North American peat occurrences and of fluorescence microscopy of coals and oil shales. As with petroleum research, some of the most significant advances have come from the integration of coal petrographic and organic geochemical studies. Computers have led to technical advances in maceral analysis, reflectance measurement and the characterization of fluorescence spectra. Reflected light fluorescence microscopy has been notably productive of new results for both coals and petroleum source rocks. It is for this reason that the Third Edition of the "Textbook" includes two colour plates to illustrate fluorescence. Microscopic techniques for the determination of rank have been of special value since measurements of vitrinite reflectance in different rocks are applied to the assessment of the degree of diagenesis and metamorphism, to unravelling the tectonic history of sedimentary basins and to estimating palaeogeothermal gradients. In petroleum geology the reflectance of vitrinite is now widely accepted as the best measure of maturity of source rocks. The use of fluorescence microscopy has become indispensable to the petroleum industry because it enables oil-generating macerals to be recognized and their abundance estimated. "Coal petrology" in a narrow sense has given way to the much broader pursuit of "organic petrology". Coal petrographic studies now provide insights into the process of carbonization and liquefaction. The formation of coke has been shown to be influenced (amongst other things) by the way in which the reactive macerals and inertinite are associated with each other in the coal. Comparative studies of maceral composition and rank with those of the relevant hydrogenation residues enable conversion rates and efficiencies to be assessed for the various coals. Numerous additions (109 pages with 5 plates, 2 of which coloured, 45 figures and 10 tables) to the previous second edition appear after the original relevant sections. New references will be found separately at the end of the previous literature section.