Coal analysis is crucial to ensure effective use of different types of coal. Proximity analysis measures moisture, volatility, ash, and carbon content, while final analysis measures oxygen, carbon, sulfur, and hydrogen. Results classify coal as lignite, bituminous, anthracite, or graphite. Laboratory tests and laser techniques are used to evaluate coal properties.
To most people, coal is coal: black lumps of dusty, combustible stuff that double as Christmas presents for naughty kids. To experts, however, every piece of coal is different, with a wide range of properties and qualities. Proper assessment of these traits is critical to ensuring that a particular supply of coal is being used most effectively, and coal analysis is the sophisticated and scientific way it is done.
Much like diamonds, there is a grading system for coal that depends on various factors. Unlike diamonds, which are graded based on criteria such as clarity, cut, and color, charcoal analysis is done in two ways. Proximity analysis is based on factors such as the presence of moisture, volatility and carbon content. These are derived from the four main ingredients in a lump of charcoal, which are moisture, volatile matter, ash, and carbon. The final analysis, in contrast, measures the building blocks of coal: oxygen (O), carbon (C), sulfur (S), and hydrogen (H), among others.
Based on the results of one of two types of coal analysis, a sample can be classified as lignite, bituminous, anthracite, or graphite. Each of these types has a different specific purpose in the coal industry. Brown coal is also known as brown coal, and bituminous is the classic black coal that most people are familiar with.
The various parts of a proximity analysis can be performed in a laboratory and involve a variety of tests and measurements. Coming from underground, the coal is wet when mined. Groundwater and other liquids add to the moisture level within the coal, known as intrinsic moisture. Carbon analysis attempts to measure the amount of intrinsic moisture in a particular sample. As logic would have it, the less moisture in a lump of coal, the better.
The volatility of coal is measured by the proportion of volatile matter, which includes various types of hydrocarbons and sulfur, in a sample. This measurement basically indicates how completely a piece of coal burns when no air is present. It is tested by heating a sample up to 1740°F (950 C).
Subtracting what is left after a volatility test from the original mass of a sample also provides a measure of what is known as the fixed carbon content. This generally makes up about half of the overall mass of any given coal sample. The ash measurement in a coal analysis simply determines how much material remains after burning. Since virtually all carbon, sulfur and moisture are burned off when ignited, the ash that is left is only a small percentage of the original amount of charcoal.
The final analysis also includes various laboratory tests. However, a technique known as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) increasingly offers a simpler approach to evaluate the elemental composition of coal. Other laser techniques have also been adopted in 21st century coal analysis that eliminate the need for the traditional battery approach to testing, while improving accuracy.
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