Petrology and chemistry of sized Pennsylvania anthracite, with emphasis on the distribution of rare earth elements

James C. Hower, Shifeng Dai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sized samples of anthracite were obtained from three preparation plants (breakers), several beneficiating multiple coals, in the Pennsylvania Anthracite Fields. Vitrinite reflectance spans 5.07% Rmax (anthracite, approaching meta-anthracite) in the east to 2.36% Rmax (semi-anthracite) in the west. Maceral distributions do not show the size partitioning observed in many bituminous coals. All sites showed distinct Gd anomalies, possibly a function of hydrothermal metamorphism of the coals. The rare earth distribution pattern (L-, M-, and H-type) within the products from each breaker are similar. Principal components analysis confirmed an observation from the latter assessment that coals from the same breaker tend to cluster together, but distinct from the clusters of the other breakers.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)305-315
Number of pages11
JournalFuel
Volume185
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We wish to thank Tom Lowe, Boyd Kreglow, and Greg Driscoll (Blaschak Coal) and Harold Schobert (consultant to Blaschak Coal) for their assistance in acquiring samples and for their guidance in the preparation of this manuscript. Matt Weisenberger (CAER) and Peipei Wang (CUMT-B) reviewed the draft manuscript. The ICP-MS analysis carried out in the Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining & Technology (Beijing) was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41420104001 ) and the National Key Basic Research Program of China (No. 2014CB238902 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Coal rank
  • Macerals
  • Rare earth elements
  • Sized coal samples

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemical Engineering (all)
  • Fuel Technology
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Organic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Petrology and chemistry of sized Pennsylvania anthracite, with emphasis on the distribution of rare earth elements'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this