Coal

Definition
 Stratified, compact, mass of plant debris modified

chemically and physically by natural agencies
 Plant debris mainly but not exclusively from terrestrial
plants
 Natural agencies causing physical and chemical changes:
bectaria & fungi, oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis,
condensation; effect of heat and pressure in presence of
water
 Physical changes: reduction in strength of woody cell
structure, development of colloidal properties, increase in
depth and brightness of color, increase in hardness and
brittleness
 Chemical properties of a coal depends upon properties of
the different constituents of the vegetable matter, the
nature and extent of the changes
 Inorganic matter proportion in coal is
small, oil shales and carbonaceous shales
which differ from coal only in having
inorganic matter as their major
component, are not classed as coal
 Cannel coals, bogheads and similar
products are classed as coal which in
addition to plant products contain
microscopic animal life such as
zooplanktons of lakes and pools
 Peat, although of no industrial use as fuel,
is classed as coal. But it is of scientific
importance as its constituents and mode
of formation provides information on the
nature of coals as well as physiochemical
changes occurring in the course of its
development, or change of rank
Origin of Coal
In-situ Theory
 As important coal deposits have been formed almost
entirely from terrestrial plants, it appears that in-situ
material grew and accumulated under conditions similar to
those existing in modern peat deposits
 Accumulation of debris stops as conditions become
unfavourable for growth or accumulation of vegetable
matter for one or more of the following causes
a) Flooding and covering with a sedimentary
cover
b) Change of climate to extreme dryness or cold
c) Sudden storm of graet intensity causing destruction of
living matter and erosion or disruption of plant debris
 For major in-situ coal deposits, changes of the surface level
of the land are necessary, successively repeating the
favourable conditions for accumulation
 Major in-situ coalfields are formed in brackish or fresh
water, from massive plants growing in swamps or in
swamps interspersed with shallow lakes
 A modern equivalent of coal formation under deltaic
conditions is in the Ganges delta where plant debris is
accumulating as layers of peat, alternating with sediments
deposited during flooding
 Suitable conditions for growth and accumulation of plant
matter in this manner have existed throughout most of the
geological time during which life on land existed
 From Devonian onwards in-situ coal deposit have been
formed whenever geological conditions and time have
allowed the full cycle required for their formation
 While large vegetable masses are widespread all over
world, conditions for their preservation are limited. A peat
deposit may remain uncovered for a long time and may be
sooner or later denudated
 Burial under a cover of sediments within a reasonable time
is essential for effective preservation and this normally
means submergence below water
 Formation of large in-situ coalfields required extensive
accumulation of vegetable matter which are subjected to
widespread submergence by sedimentary deposits
 The area where coal deposit is to be formed must be near
water level
 When it is submerged by subsidence or through rise in
water level, the entire area must be covered by sediments
in a reasonable span of time
 If the land surface is to be reformed for growth and
accumulation of another peat deposit, the entire area must
become silted with sediments
 Therefore, extensive sedimentation and subsidence must
characterize the region
 During large-scale in-situ coal forming periods,
accumulation of vegetable matter and associated mineral
matter, generally clay and sand, is balanced by the
subsidence of the area
 If the area is near the sea such as delta or coastal swamp,
and the rate of subsidence exceeds the rate of
accumulation, the area sinks below the sea level by the
invading sea covering the deposit with sand and calcareous
muds
 If the area is inland with excessive subsidence, the area is
flooded by fresh water and debris is covered with soil or
clay
 When the rate of subsidence and deposition are about
equal plant debris continues to accumulate and deposit is
substantially free from extraneous mineral matter
 When no subsidence occurs, the area rises gradually due to
continued growth of plant life, but accumulation of plant
debris ceases due to rapid decay by microbial agencies and
erosion by wind and rain
 Examples of in-situ deposits include most of the coalfields
of N.W. Europe and North America.
Drift Theory
 Drift material forming coal consists mainly of land plants
transported by fresh or sea water
 Those transported by fresh water would not generally
travel far but would be transported by floods during heavy
rains from nearby forests and deposited in basins or lakes
when flood velocity is reduced
 Such lakes and basins may contain much plant debris
growing in-situ which will form coal deposits of mixed origin
or the drift material may be deposited in places where
vegetation had not previously accumulated forming a
purely drift deposit
 Drift material carried by sea may travel far. Here also some
drift material may be deposited upon material growing and
accumulating as a peat deposit resulting in a mixed deposit
(British Coal Measures, Rhur Coalfield of Germany)
 ‘Autochthonous’ used for deposits or portions of deposits of
in-situ origin and ‘Allochthonous’ for portion of deposits or
complete deposits of drift material
 Allocthonous portions of a deposit differs from
autochthonous not only in the nature of organic
components but also in the nature and proportion of
inorganic content
 Invariably finely divided portions of organic material form
large proportions of drift material often associated with fine
clay and silt. This drift material form bands or pockets of
high ash materials in the coal deposits and have widely
different properties form that of the associated material,
which is formed form more massive portions of the plant
debris and are free from extraneous inorganic matter.
 Indian coals are almost entirely of drift origin. Two main
coal forming periods in Indian Peninsula: a) Gondwana
period (Permo-Carboniferous) in which deposits are of fresh
water origin accumulating in four great basins or lakes and
b) Lower Eocene (Laki Stage) having Punjab, Salt Range,
Rajputana and Baluchistan coals of gulf (marine origin)
Rank of Coals
 On the basis of physical and chemical properties of coal, it
can be divided in to several characteristic classes
 In a classification based on the proportions of carbon
present, the greater the carbon proportion, higher the rank
 Term Rank is thus an indication of chemical development of
coal
 ‘Increase in rank’ denotes the natural processes due to
which carbon content of a coal is increased at the expanse
of hydrogen and oxygen contents
 It may be noted that differences in rank of various coals do
not necessarily signify differences in geological age and
apparent differences in rank (i.e., C/H ratios) may be due
to presence of different proportions and types of chemical
compounds in the coals as a result of variations in the
original plant debris
 Principal changes related to increase in rank:
1. Progressive and uniform increase
in carbon
2. Decrease in hydrogen, at first gradually,
until carbon content reaches 89% and
then more rapidly
3. Decrease in proportion of volatile matter
4. Increase in calorific value until hydrogen
decreases to below 4.5%
5. Decrease in moisture content until anthracitous
rank is reached
6. Increase in absolute density
7. Decrease in solubility in alkaline solution
8. Increase in depth of colour, lusture, and reflectivity
9. Decrease in reactivity towards oxidizing or hydrogenating
agents
 It is generally agreed that all coal has been
derived from peat and that it has assumed its
present state as a result of various geological
processes
 Peat: an accumulation of vegetable matter which
has suffered varying degree of disintegration and
decomposition, contains high percentage of water
(80-90%) and oxygen (33%), physical character
varies from a distinctly fibrous and woody, light
brown material to dark brown jelly brown
substance, seldom sufficiently compact to make a
good fuel without compressing
 Lignite and Brown Coal: Amorphous or woody,
brown colour
 Sub-bituminous coal: intermediate stage
between lignite and bituminous coal, parts along a
surface nearly parallel to bedding plane and
breaks into thin slabs irregularly and does not
disintegrates into cubes like bituminous coal
 Bituminous Coal: burns with a long yellow
flame and gives off a suffocatiing smell, more or
less laminated, lusture of different layers varies
greatly and may be resinous, silky, pitchy, or dull
and earthy, soils the hands, colour from pitch
black to dark grey, fracture irregular and
splintery but almost roughly cubical, it is
conchoidal in cannel coal, includes varieties like
caking or coking coal, non-caking and non-coking
coal, cannel coal, and boghead coal
 Anthracite: iron-black colour, dull to brilliant
and even submetallic lusture, does not soil finger
like bituminous coal, burns with a short pale blue
flame with little smell, breaks with conchoidal
fructure, hardest coal.
Carboniferous Coal Swamp
Modern Swamp
Coalification
Modern Peat Deposit
Coalification and Coal Types

Coal

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Definition

 Stratified, compact, mass of plant debris modified

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