Photoacoustic microscopy of coal macerals. Final report, January 1982-August 1984

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:5833364

Johnson, K W; Telschow, K L; Crelling, J C

The overall objective of the project was to develop photoacoustic microscopy as a new, in situ technique for delineating the thermal properties of coal macerals. This petrographic information is expected to play a role in the characterization of coal for any process where the properties of the coal determine the behavior of the process. To characterize coal properly, both its chemical composition and its thermal properties must be known. Photoacoustic microscopy offers a useful technique for probing the thermal-conductance and thermal-elastic properties of coal macerals. Coupled with the traditional reflectance measurements, which yield information about the optical properties of macerals, photoacoustic microscopy can be used to produce a more comprehensive classification of the properties of macerals. The major result achieved has been the development of a photoacoustic/reflectance microscope capable of obtaining thermal and optical data from the same coal macerals. The data on Appalachian-basin coals shows that their thermal properties vary considerably with rank, from Hi-Vol C bituminous to anthracite. These changes in thermal properties with rank have been explained using known properties of coal. In addition, there are significant differences between the thermal properties of vitrinite and pseudovitrinite macerals. The differences are especially prominent for low rank coals, such as Hi-Vol C, and gradually disappear in the higher rank coals beginning with semi-anthracite.

• Research Organization: Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5833364
• Report Number(s): PB-85-149839/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010600* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Properties & Composition
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
COAL
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MACERALS
MATERIALS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PETROGRAPHY
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES