Concentration, distribution and occurrence of mercury in Chinese coals

Mercury in coals is one of the important sources of atmospheric mercury, which is potentially harmful to the ecological environment. Based on the data of 970 coal samples, the concentration, spatial distribution and occurrence of mercury in Chinese coals were analyzed. The main conclusions are as follows: The distribution of mercury concentration in Chinese coalfields is uneven; medium and high mercury coals are mainly distributed in southwest China and eastern Inner Mongolia. The mercury concentrations in various coal-forming periods are as follows: K (0.320 mg/kg) > P2 (0.220 mg/kg) > C3 (0.179 mg/kg) > J (0.177 mg/kg) > D (0.165 mg/kg) > P1 (0.136 mg/kg) > C1 (0.090 mg/kg) > E (0.086 mg/kg) > T3 (0.066 mg/kg). The mercury concentrations in different coal ranks are as follows: Lignite (0.164 mg/kg), long flame coal (0.078 mg/kg), non-caking coal (0.256 mg/kg), weakly caking coal (0.086 mg/kg), gas coal (0.151 mg/kg), fat coal (0.122 mg/kg), coking coal (0.171 mg/kg), lean coal (0.393 mg/kg), meagre coal (0.161 mg/kg), anthracite (0.160 mg/kg). Sulfide bound state is the main form of mercury in coals, and pyrite is the main occurrence medium.

Specific Features of the Structure of Various Coal Ranks at the Nano Level

Structural factors and functions of radial distribution of atoms of different coal ranks have been calculated by X-ray diffraction analysis. This made it possible to establish that the main structural component is the clusters with graphite-like packing of atoms. The predominant size of these clusters (calculated from the peaks of small-angle X-ray scattering at 5° in CoKα-radiation) for coals with a carbon content of 83--95 % is within 2--3 nm. Fossil coal is an amorphous carbonaceous substance consisting of polymorphic modifications in the sp2- and sp3-states. According to the results obtained using Raman scattering spectroscopy, the physical properties of amorphous natural coals are strongly dependent on the ratio of sp2- and sp3-hybridization of atomic orbitals. Moreover, studies have shown that the carbon atoms of the coal matrix in the sp2-state are represented by both aromatic and aliphatic conjugated chain fragments. It was found that the degree of ordering in rank LF coals is higher than in coals of a higher stage of metamorphism. This is possible if the hydrocarbon matrix in rank LF coals can be represented as a polymer consisting of conjugated chains with periodicity. With an increase in the stage of coal metamorphism, starting with coal rank G, the transformation of the coal structure occurs with a violation of the periodicity of the conjugated fragments of the polymer matrix connecting graphite-like clusters, a decrease in their length, and an increase in randomness in their arrangement

The Influence of Sorption Pressure on Gas Diffusion in Coal Particles: An Experimental Study

Gas pressure changes during the process of coal mine gas drainage and CBM recovery. It is of great importance to understand the influence of sorption pressure on gas diffusion; however, the topic remains controversial in past studies. In this study, four samples with different coal ranks were collected and diffusion experiments were conducted under different pressures through the adsorption and desorption processes. Three widely used models, i.e., the unipore diffusion (UD) model, the bidisperse diffusion (BD) model and the dispersive diffusion (DD) model, were adopted to compare the applicability and to calculate the diffusion coefficients. Results show that for all coal ranks, the BD model and DD model can match the experimental results better than the UD model. Concerning the fast diffusion coefficient Dae of the BD model, three samples display a decreasing trend with increasing gas pressure while the other sample shows a V-type trend. The slow diffusion coefficient Die of BD model increases with gas pressure for all samples, while the ratio β is an intrinsic character of coal and remains constant. For the DD model, the characteristic rate parameter kΦ does not change sharply and the stretching parameter α increases with gas pressure. Both Dae and Die are in proportion to kΦ, which reflect the diffusion rate of gas in the coal. The impacts of pore characteristic on gas diffusion were also analyzed. Although pore size distributions and specific surface areas are different in the four coal samples, correlations are not apparent between pore characteristic and diffusion coefficients.