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

Diffusion of gases in coals and chars. Technical progress report No. 3, March 15-June 14, 1986

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5788846

Surfaces areas of 13 PSOC coals have been measured by nitrogen adsorption at 77 K and carbon dioxide adsorption at 273 K. Surfaces areas were extracted from nitrogen adsorption isotherms using the BET theory. Mercury intrusion experiments have been conducted for all eight Group A PSOC coals. Traditional analysis of this pressure-volume data would indicate that there is substantial pore volume with average pore radius greater than approx.0.1 ..mu..m. However, this low pressure intrusion is more likely the result of mercury filling the regions were coal particles are touching. This view is supported by the observed differences between intrusion in the large and fine particles. The application of NMR spin-lattice relaxation measurements of water in porous solids is investigated as a possible tool for the determination of pore size distributions. NMR methods have several potential advantages over conventional porosimetry/adsorption techniques including the study of wet porous solids, a wide range of sample sizes may be studied, and the fact that no pore shape assumption is required. In principle, water contained in a pore will relax faster than bulk water. This decrease in the observed relaxation rate decay constant, T/sub 1/, is directly related to the pore volume to surface area ratio (i.e., hydraulic radius) according to the two-fraction, fast exchange model. However, the suitability of this model and NMR spin-lattice relaxation measurements for the determination of pore size distribution has not been previously demonstrated. 23 refs., 11 figs., 4 tabs.

Research Organization:
New Mexico Univ., Albuquerque (USA). Powders and Granular Materials Lab.
DOE Contract Number:
FG22-85PC80519
OSTI ID:
5788846
Report Number(s):
DOE/PC/80519-3; ON: DE86012785
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English