Coal Geology by Larry Thomas
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Coal Geology Coal Geology Second Edition Larry Thomas Dargo Associates Ltd A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication This edition first published 2013 © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Wiley-Blackwell is an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, formed by the merger of Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical and Medical business with Blackwell Publishing. Registered office: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial offices: 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, USA For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. 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No warranty may be created or extended by any promotional statements for this work. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damages arising herefrom. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thomas, Larry (Larry P.) Coal geology / Larry Thomas. – 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-119-99044-4 (cloth) 1. Coal – Geology. I. Title. TN802.T47 2002 553.24–dc23 2012025908 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Typeset in 9.25/11.5pt Minion by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, India First Impression 2013 Contents Preface To First Edition, ix Preface, xi 1 Preview, 1 1.1 Scope, 1 1.2 Coal geology, 1 1.3 Coal use, 1 1.4 Background, 2 2 Origin of Coal, 3 2.1 Introduction, 3 2.2 Sedimentation of coal and coal-bearing sequences, 3 2.3 Structural effects on coal, 33 3 Age and Occurrence of Coal, 53 3.1 Introduction, 53 3.2 Plate tectonics, 53 3.3 Stratigraphy, 54 3.4 Age and geographical distribution of coal, 58 4 Coal as a Substance, 87 4.1 Physical description of coal, 87 4.2 Coalification (rank), 103 4.3 Coal quality, 111 4.4 Classification of coals, 125 5 Coal Sampling and Analysis, 137 5.1 Coal sampling, 137 5.2 In situ sampling, 137 5.3 Ex situ sampling, 142 5.4 Coal analysis, 145 6 Coal Exploration and Data Collection, 151 6.1 Introduction, 151 6.2 Field techniques, 151 6.3 Drilling, 165 6.4 Geotechnical properties, 173 6.5 Computer applications, 178 7 Coal Resources and Reserves, 185 7.1 Introduction, 185 7.2 Classification of coal resources and reserves, 185 7.3 Reporting of resources and reserves, 198 7.4 World coal reserves and production, 205 v vi Contents 8 Geophysics of Coal, 211 8.1 Introduction, 211 8.2 Physical properties of coal-bearing sequences, 211 8.3 Surface geophysical methods, 213 8.4 Underground geophysical methods, 231 8.5 Geophysical borehole logging, 233 9 Hydrogeology of Coal, 253 9.1 Introduction, 253 9.2 The nature of groundwater and surface flow, 253 9.3 Hydrogeological characteristics of coals and coal-bearing sequences, 255 9.4 Collection and handling of hydrogeological data, 258 9.5 Groundwater inflows in mines, 259 9.6 Groundwater rebound, 269 10 Geology and Coal Mining, 271 10.1 Introduction, 271 10.2 Underground mining, 271 10.3 Surface mining, 287 11 Coal as an Alternative Energy Source, 303 11.1 Introduction, 303 11.2 Gas in coal, 303 11.3 Underground coal gasification (UCG), 322 11.4 Coal as a liquid fuel, 330 11.5 Coal as an oil-prone source rock, 332 12 Coal Use and the Environment, 339 12.1 Introduction, 339 12.2 Coal mining, 339 12.3 Coal use, 354 12.4 Health, 362 12.5 Carbon capture and storage (CCS), 363 12.6 Environmental regulations, 364 12.7 Future implications, 368 13 Coal Marketing, 369 13.1 Introduction, 369 13.2 Coal quality, 369 13.3 Transportation, 371 13.4 Coal contracts, 379 13.5 Coal price and indexing, 381 References, 385 Appendix 1 List of International and National Standards used in Coal and Coke Analysis and Evaluation, 399 Appendix 2 Tables of True and Apparent Dip, Slope Angles, Gradients and Per Cent Slope, 415 Appendix 3 Calorific Values Expressed in Different Units, 417 Contents vii Appendix 4 Units of measurement, 421 Appendix 5 Methane Units Converter, 423 Glossary, 425 Index, 431 Preface The first edition of Coal Geology has provided the coal Appendix 1, have been updated and expanded to include geologist and those associated with the coal industry P. R. China, India and Russia. with the background to the origins and characteristics I would like to thank all those colleagues and friends of coal together with exploration techniques including who have helped and encouraged me with the second geophysics and hydrogeology. Details of coal mining edition. In particular, special thanks are due to Steve techniques, resource calculations, alternative uses of coal Frankland of Dargo Associates Ltd, Rob Evans for his and environmental issues were also described. invaluable help with coal geophysics, Paul Ahner in the Although broadly following the layout of the first USA for providing data on underground coal gasification, edition, additional information has been added to coal and to the following for their contributions and support: origins, geographical distribution of coal and coal explo- Professor Vladimir Pavlovic of Belgrade University, Mike ration. The chapter on coal resources and reserves has Coultas, Dave Pearson of Pearson Coal Petrography, been brought up to date with current resource classifi- Oracle Coalfields plc and Robertson Geologging, as well cations together with recent world reserves/production as the staff at John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. figures. The chapter on geophysics of coal has been I also thank those authors and organisations whose enlarged and the alternative uses of coal, in particular, permission to reproduce their work is gratefully acknowl- methane extraction and underground coal gasification edged. have been expanded to reflect the increase in activity Finally I would like to thank my wife Sue for her in these areas. Developments in environmental require- support, forbearance and assistance with the manuscript. ments have also been updated. Again, numerous sources of information have been Larry Thomas consulted, the majority of which are listed in the bibliog- Dargo Associates Ltd raphy. International Standards relating to coal, listed in ix Preface To First Edition The Handbook of Practical Coal Geology (Thomas 1992) Also covered is the development of computer tech- was intended as a basic guide for coal geologists to use nology in the geological and mining fields, and the final in their everyday duties, whether on site, in the office or chapter is a condensed account of the marketing of coal, instructing others. It was not intended as a definitive work its uses, transportation and price. on all or any particular aspect of coal geology, rather as Many sources of information have been consulted, the a handbook to use as a precursor to, or in conjunction majority of which are listed in the reference section. A set with, more specific and detailed works.