Some aspects of the structure and reactions of Northern Great Plains lignites

Conference · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983 · Prepr. Pap., Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6744206

Kube, W R; Benson, S A; Kraner, F R; Schobert, H H

The lignites of the Northern Great Plains are in the Fort Union Region, which contains the largest reserves of lignite of any coal basin in the world. The Fort Union Region encompasses areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Saskatchewan. The identified resources of lignite in this region amount to 422 Gt (465 billion short tons), of which 24 Gt (26 billion short tons) constitute the demonstrated reserve base. Until about 1970, the utilization of lignite was limited, accounting for no more than 1-2% of the total annual U.S. coal production. In recent years the production of low-rank coals has increased dramatically, so that by 1980 production represented about 24% of the total national coal production. It has been estimated that in another ten years, low-rank coals could amount to half the total coal production. It has long been recognized that lignites possess unusual properties which can have profound effects on utilization. Such properties include high moisture content, high quantities of oxygen functional groups in the carbon structure, an alkaline ash, and inorganic cations attached to carboxylic acid groups. The rapid expansion of lignite utilization in recent years has brought with it an increasing realization of the importance of developing a better understanding of the organic and inorganic structures in lignite and of how those structural features influence lignite reactivity or processing behavior. Here we present results from some current studies in progress in our laboratories on lignite structure and reactivity.

• Research Organization: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota
• OSTI ID: 6744206
• Report Number(s): CONF-830814-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Prepr. Pap., Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem.; (United States) Journal Volume: 28:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010600* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Properties & Composition
ACTIVATION ENERGY
ASHES
BROWN COAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
COAL
COAL DEPOSITS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GREAT PLAINS
LIGNITE
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MOISTURE
NONMETALS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN
RESIDUES
RESOURCES
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS