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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Advanced NMR-based techniques for pore structure analysis of coal. Quarterly report No. 3, July 1, 1992--September 30, 1992

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10109552· OSTI ID:10109552

One of the main problems in coal utilization is the inability to properly characterize its complex pore structure. Coals typically have micro/ultra-micro pores but they also exhibit meso and macroporosity. Conventional pore size techniques (adsorption/condensation, mercury porosimetry) are limited because of this broad pore size range, microporosity, reactive nature of coal, samples must be completely dried, and network/percolation effects. Small angle scattering is limited because it probes both open and closed pores. Although one would not expect any single technique to provide a satisfactory description of a coal`s structure, it is apparent that better techniques are necessary. We believe that measurement of the NMR parameters of various gas phase and adsorbed phase NMR active probes can provide the resolution to this problem. We now have two suites of well-characterized microporous materials including oxides (zeolites and silica gel) and activated carbons from our industrial partner, Air Products in Allentown, PA. Our current work may be divided into three areas: small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), adsorption, and NMR.

Research Organization:
New Mexico Univ., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for Micro-Engineered Ceramics
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
FG22-91PC91296
OSTI ID:
10109552
Report Number(s):
DOE/PC/91296--4; ON: DE93006012
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English