Assessment of coal quality — the nuclear option

✍ Scribed by S.D. Robertson; S.T. Holding; G.R. Gilmore; K.W.D. Ledingham

• Book ID: 103093333
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 717 KB
• Volume: 62
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-2361
• DOI: 10.1016/0016-2361(83)90138-2

✦ Synopsis

Neutron (NAA) and photon (PAA) activation analysis have been applied to several coal quality activities of Shell. NAA has revealed marked variations in the sodium content of low rank coals in an Indonesian area. NAA/acid extraction correlation studies established that the major part of this element was associated with the coal in ion-exchangeable form. This high mobility of sodium was also substantiated by a field survey for this element (based on NAA). The observed depletion of sodium in the shallower deposits was throught to arise from the leaching effects of rain and ground water. NAA and PAA have also been used for multi-element measurements in reference coal and ash materials where their complementary nature to other analytical techniques is demonstrated.