Abundances of sulfur, chlorine, and trace elements in Illinois Basin coals, USA

Conference · Wed Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:324605

Chou, C L ^[1]

---

1. Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States)

Abundances of sulfur, chlorine and 52 trace elements in 220 channel and drill-core samples of high volatile bituminous coals (Pennsylvanian age) from the Illinois Basin, USA, are evaluated for the purpose of better understanding geologic processes affecting trace element variation in the coal seams. Mean elemental abundances in Illinois Basin coals are listed in a table. Most Illinois Basin coals are high-sulfur (> 3% total sulfur). Peat was influenced by seawater during early diagenesis. However, low-medium sulfur coal (<3% total sulfur) occurs in restricted areas along the Walshville Channel, which is a contemporaneous river in the peat swamp. A comparison of trace element abundances between high-sulfur and low-medium sulfur coals showed that only seven elements (boron, sulfur, iron, molybdenum, mercury, thallium, and uranium) are clearly more abundant in high-sulfur coal than in low-medium sulfur coal. Apparently, boron, sulfur, molybdenum, and uranium in high-sulfur coals were derived from seawater that inundated the peat swamp and terminated peat accumulation. Iron, mercury, and thallium had a terrestrial source and were incorporated in pyrite during diagenesis. Their enrichment in high-sulfur coal is related to pyrite formation in a reducing environment. The chlorine content in Illinois Basin coals, including channel and drill core samples, varies from 0.01% to 0.8% (on a dry basis). Coal samples from surface mines (< 50 meter depth) are usually low in chlorine content (<0.1%). Samples from underground mines (> 50 meter depth) have a chlorine content ranging between 0.1% to 0.5%. Variation of chlorine content in each of the two coal seams shows that chlorine content increases with depth because the chloride in coal is in equilibrium with the chloride in the groundwater, which is also depth dependent. A low chlorine content in shallow regions of a coal seam is a result of leaching by fresh groundwater.

• OSTI ID: 324605
• Report Number(s): CONF-970931--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
BITUMINOUS COAL
CHLORINE
COAL SEAMS
DIAGENESIS
ELEMENTS
GEOCHEMISTRY
ILLINOIS BASIN
SEAWATER
SULFUR CONTENT
TRACE AMOUNTS