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Changes in the pore structure of coal with progressive extraction

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7365889· OSTI ID:7365889

Adsorption of four gases (CO/sub 2/, CF/sub 4/, N/sub 2/, and Ar) on Wyodak mine, Roland seam coal, Illinois No. 6 high-sulfur coal, and 4A and 5A Linde molecular sieves has been studied. The results strongly suggest that coals possess a molecular sieve structure. The Roland seam coal is found to resemble the 4A sieve in its microporous structure (in which a majority of the pores are 4 angstroms in diameter), whereas the Illinois No. 6 coal closely resembles the 5A seive (with a majority of the pores just under 5 angstroms). To interpret these measurements the molecular cross-sectional areas of argon at 77/sup 0/K and of carbon dioxide and carbon tetrafluoride at 196/sup 0/K were determined by comparison to nitrogen adsorptions at 77/sup 0/K on two Harshaw catalysts. Values of 17.0, 23.4, 17.3 angstroms/sup 2/ were obtained for the argon, carbon dioxide, and carbon tetrafluoride molecules, respectively. Comparisons between surface areas determined by both the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and Dubinin-Polanyi equations for the low-temperature adsorptions of N/sub 2/, Ar, and CO/sub 2/ on the catalysts, molecular sieves, and raw coals indicate that either equation gives similar surface areas. (auth)

Research Organization:
California Univ., Berkeley (USA). Lawrence Berkeley Lab.
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
7365889
Report Number(s):
LBL-4439
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English