Chemical analysis of 659 coal samples from the eastern United States

Abstract

This report includes the analytical data on 659 coal samples from 8 States east of the Mississippi River. The number of samples from each State are: Pennsylvania, 132; Ohio, 101; Maryland, 25; West Virginia, 254; Virginia, 33; Indiana, 49; Massachusetts, 5; and Rhode Island, 10. The analytic data are filed in the National Coal Resource Data System of the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Geological Survey has quantitatively determined 35 major, minor, and trace elements in each sample. Tests were also made for 35 other trace elements using semi-quantitative spectrographic methods. In addition, the Coal Analysis Section of the U.S. Department of Energy has determined proximate and ultimate analyses, 3cu, forms of sulfur, free-swelling indexes, and ash-fusion temperatures on 563 of the 659 samples. Comparison of the geometric means of the 644 bituminous coal samples of this report with an additional 968 bituminous coal samples of the eastern United States reported by Swanson and others in 1976 and by Zubovic and others in 1979 is shown in tables 2a-c. As shown by the means for ultimate and proximate analyses, small differences exist between the two sets of data; however, only the moisture and oxygen contents are significantly different. The forms of sulfur, ash-fusion temperature and heat of combustion are similar. The means for the major and minor oxides in ash are similar for SiO 2 , K 2 O, Fe 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , MgO, and P 2 O 5 are lower, whereas, MnO is higher in the analyses of the samples of this report. Eighteen of the means for the trace elements in the coal are about equal for the two sets of samples. Only As, Co, La, Li, and Pb are significantly higher, whereas, Ag, B, Ba, Be, Cd, Cs, F, Ge, Mo, Nb, and Nd are lower in the in the 64L,bituminous coal samples of this report.