Results are presented of a study of the distribution and fate of 34 trace elements in the Solvent Refined Coal Process at the pilot plant located at Fort Lewis, Washington. Neutron activation analysis was used to determine Ti, V, Ca, Mg, Al, Cl, Mn, As, Sb, Se, Hg, Br, Co, Ni, Cr, Fe, Na, Rb, Cs, K, Sc, Tb, Eu, Sm, Ce, La, Sr, Ba, Th, Hf, Ta, Ga, Zr, and Cu in feed coals, process solvent, Solvent Refined Coal (SRC), mineral residues, wet filter cake, by-product solvents, process and effluent waters and by-product sulfur. The sample points were chosen
more » such that the major process streams were adequately described and that the major input and output materials were included. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used to measure the toxic elements Pb, Cd, and Be in plant-derived solvents, effluent water and Hamer Marsh water. Specific methods were developed for analysis of a wide range of material compositions. The neutron activation analysis procedures were divided into short and long irradiation procedures for elements with short half lives (less than 3 hours) and intermediate to long half lives (8 hours to 5.2 years). A material balance (or budget) was calculated for each element from the concentration data and the yields of each process fraction for each equilibrium set in the SRC process. The SRC and insoluble residue account for more than 95% of the input of each element (except for Hg and Co in Equilibrium Set 1) with other process fractions contributing little to the trace element balance. Except for Cl, Br, and Ti, each element was substantially lower in the SRC compared to the original feed coal.« less