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Alaska has 4. 0 trillion tons of low-sulfur coal: Is there a future for this resource

Conference · · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA)
OSTI ID:6684144
 [1]
  1. Geological Survey, Denver, CO (USA)
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The demand for and use of low-sulfur coal may increase because of concern with acid rain. Alaska's low-sulfur coal resources can only be described as enormous: 4.0 trillion tons of hypothetical onshore coal. Mean total sulfur content is 0.34% (range 0.06-6.6%, n = 262) with a mean apparent rank of subbituminous B. There are 50 coal fields in Alaska; the bulk of the resources are in six major fields or regions: Nenana, Cook Inlet, Matanuska, Chignik-Herendeen Bay, North Slope, and Bering River. For comparison, Carboniferous coals in the Appalachian region and Interior Province have a mean total sulfur content of 2.3% (range 0.1-19.0%, n = 5,497) with a mean apparent rank of high-volatile A bituminous coal, and Rocky Mountain and northern Great Plains Cretaceous and Tertiary coals have a mean total sulfur content of 0.86% (range 0.02-19.0%, n = 2,754) with a mean apparent rank of subbituminous B. Alaskan coal has two-fifths the total sulfur of western US coals and one-sixth that of Carboniferous US coals. Even though Alaska has large resources of low-sulfur coal, these resources have not been developed because of (1) remote locations and little infrastructure, (2) inhospitable climate, and (3) long distances to potential markets. These resources will not be used in the near future unless there are some major, and probably violent, changes in the world energy picture.
OSTI ID:
6684144
Report Number(s):
CONF-900605--
Conference Information:
Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA) Journal Volume: 74:5
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000 -- Geosciences
ALASKA
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
COAL
COAL DEPOSITS
CRETACEOUS PERIOD
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPLOITATION
FEDERAL REGION X
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MATERIALS
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
PALEOZOIC ERA
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
RESOURCES
SUBBITUMINOUS COAL
USA