Chemical Analyses of Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian Coals from Southeastern Kansas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/cres.v0i240.11779Abstract
Elemental and chemical analyses and physical tests were conducted on 36 samples of Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian coals from southeastern Kansas. Concentrations of 35 minor and trace elements in these coals were statistically compared with concentrations in coals of similar rank and age from other areas in the western region of the Interior Coal Province, showing that Kansas coals have significantly higher concentrations of copper, arsenic, and lead. The zinc content in Kansas coal samples ranges from 160 to 51,000 ppm (whole-coal basis), the maximum value being the highest zinc value reported for U.S. coals. Cadmium content also has an extreme range, from less than 1.0 to 160 ppm (whole-coal basis), the maximum value being one of the highest cadmium values reported in U.S. coals. The apparent ranks of these coal samples range from high-volatile B to high-volatile A bituminous coal. Most samples of Middle Pennsylvanian coals from the major coal-mining area in Bourbon, Crawford, and Cherokee counties are high-volatile A bituminous coal. Arithmetic mean values for proximate analyses of coals (as-received basis; n = 25) show these coals to be 15.5% ash, 35.3% volatile matter, 45.9% fixed carbon, and 3.3% moisture and to have a heat of combustion of 11,910 Btu/lb. Arithmetic mean values for ultimate analyses of the coals show these coals to be 4.9% hydrogen, 65.3% carbon, 1.2% nitrogen, 5.5% sulfur, and 7.7% oxygen. The geometric mean values of these Kansas coals are 3.03% pyritic sulfur, 1.25% organic sulfur, and 0.2% sulfate sulfur.
References
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McKnight, E. T., and Fischer, R. P., 1970, Geology and ore deposits of the Picher field, Oklahoma and Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 588, 162 p. [available online]
Miesch, A. T., 1967, Methods of computation for estimating geochemical abundances: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 574-B, 15 p. [available online]
Pierce, W. G., and Courtier, W. H., 1938, Geology and coal resources of the southeastern Kansas coal field: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 24, 122 p. [available online]
Schleicher, J. A., 1959, Germanium in Kansas coals: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 134, part 4, p. 161-179. [available online]
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Swanson, V. E., Medlin, J. H., Hatch, J. R., Coleman, S. L., Woodruff, S. D., and Hildebrand, R. T., 1976, Collection, chemical analysis, and evaluation of 799 coal samples in 1975: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 76-468, 503 p. [available online]
Tewalt, S. J., and Finkelman, R. B., 1990, Analytical data from bituminous coals and associated rocks from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 90-669, 51 p. [available online]
U.S. Office of Coal Research, 1967, Methods of analyzing and testing coal and coke: U.S. Bureau of Mines, Bulletin 638, 85 p.
Wedge, W. K., Bahatia, D. M. S., and Rueff, A. W., 1976, Chemical analyses of selected Missouri coals and some statistical implications: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Report of Investigations no. 60, 40 p.
Wedge, W. K., and Hatch, J. R., 1980, Chemical composition of Missouri coals: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Report of Investigations 63, 102 p.
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Zubovic, P., Sheffey, N. B., and Stadnichenko, T., 1967, Distribution of minor elements in some coals in the western and southwestern regions of the Interior Coal Province: U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 1117-D, 33 p. [available online]
American Society for Testing and Materials, 1993, Gaseous fuels—Coal and coke; in, Petroleum Products, Lubricants, and Fossil Fuels: Annual Book of ASTM Standards, vol. 05.05, sec. 5, 526 p.
Bowsher, A. L., and Jewett, J. M., 1943, Coal resources of the Douglas Group in east-central Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 46, 94 p. [available online]
Brady, L. L., 1990, Kansas coal resources, production, and potential use in the near future; in, Coal Geology of the Interior Coal Province—Western Region: Coal Geology Division Fieldtrip Guidebook—1990 Annual meeting of Geological Society of America, Environmental and Coal Associates, Reston, VA, p. 107-127.
Brady, L. L., Adams, D. B., and Livingston, N. D., 1976, An evaluation of the strippable coal reserves in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Mineral Resources Series 5, 40 p. [available online]
Brady, L. L., and Livingston, N. D., 1989, Deep coal resources in the Cherokee Group (Middle Pennsylvanian) in eastern Kansas (abstract): American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 73, p. 336-337.
Brockie, D. C., Hare, E. H., and Dingess, P. R., 1968, The geology and ore deposits of the Tri-State District of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma; in, Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933-1967 (Graton Sales Volume 1): New York, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc., p. 400-430.
Burchett, R. R., 1977, Coal resources of Nebraska: Nebraska Geological Survey, Resource Report no. 8, 185 p.
Cobb, J. C., 1981, Geology and geochemistry of sphalerite in coal: Illinois Geological Survey Report to U.S. Geological Survey for Grant no. 14-08-0001-G-496, 203 p.
Cohen, A. C., 1959, Simplified estimators for the normal distribution when samples are singly censored or truncated: Technometrics, v. 1, no. 3, p. 217-237.
Conner, J. J., Keith, J. R., and Anderson, B. M., 1976, Trace-metal variation in soils and sagebrush in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana: U.S. Geological Survey, Journal of Research, v. 4, no. 1, p. 49-59.
Finkelman, R. B., Bragg, L. J., and Dulong, F. T., 1990, Chemical and mineralogical analyses of selected samples from the Interior Coal Province, Western Region; in, Petrographic, Chemical, and Mineralogical Analyses of Selected Samples from the Interior Coal Province, Western Region: Supplement to Coal Geology Division Fieldtrip Guidebook—1990 Annual Meeting of Geological Society of America, p. 27-45.
Finkelman, R. B., and Tewalt, S. J., 1990, Summary of analytical data for coals from the Western Region of the Interior Coal Province; in, Coal Geology of the Interior Coal Province—Western Region: Coal Geology Division Fieldtrip Guidebook—1990 Annual Meeting of Geological Society of America, Environmental and Coal Associates, Reston, VA, p. 200-228.
Gluskoter, H. J., Ruch, R. R., Miller, W. G., Cahill, R. A., Dreher, G. D., and Kuhn, J. K., 1977, Trace elements in coal: Occurrence and distribution: Illinois State Geological Survey, Circular no. 499, 154 p.
Hagni, R. D., 1982, The influence of original host rock character upon alteration and mineralization in the Tri-State District of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, U.S.A.; in, Ore Genesis—The State of the Art, G. C. Amstutz, A. El Goresy, G. Frenzel, C. Kluth, G. Moh, A. Wauschkuhn, and R. A. Zimmermann, eds.: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, p. 97-107.
Hambleton, W. W., 1953, Petrographic study of southeastern Kansas coals: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 102, part 1, 76 p. [Available online]
Hamilton, P. A., White, D. H., Jr., Matson, T. K., 1975, 1, The reserve base of U.S. coals by sulfur content; 2, The western states: U.S. Bureau of Mines, Information Circular 8693, 322 p.
Hatch, J. R., 1983, Geochemical processes that control minor and trace element composition of United States coals: in Unconventional Mineral Deposits—Cameron volume, W. C. Shanks, ed.: New York: American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc., p. 89-98.
Hatch, J. R., Avcin, M. J., Wedge, W. K., and Brady, L. L., 1976, Sphalerite in coals from southeastern Iowa, Missouri, and southeastern Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 76-796, 26 p. [Available online]
Hatch, J. R., Avcin, M. J., and Van Dorpe, P. E., 1984, Element geochemistry of Cherokee Group coals (Middle Pennsylvanian) from south-central and southeastern Iowa: Iowa Geological Survey, Technical Paper no. 5, 108 p.
Hatch, J. R., Gluskoter, H. J., and Lindahl, P. C., 1976, Sphalerite in coals from the Illinois Basin: Economic Geology, v. 71, p. 613-624.
Hildebrand, R. T., 1981, Chemical analyses of coal from the Krebs Group (Pennsylvanian), Arkoma basin, eastern Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 81-894, 42 p. [Available online]
Howe, W. B., 1956, Stratigraphy of pre-Marmaton Desmoinesian (Cherokee) rocks in southeastern Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 123, 132 p. [available online]
McKnight, E. T., and Fischer, R. P., 1970, Geology and ore deposits of the Picher field, Oklahoma and Kansas: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 588, 162 p. [available online]
Miesch, A. T., 1967, Methods of computation for estimating geochemical abundances: U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 574-B, 15 p. [available online]
Pierce, W. G., and Courtier, W. H., 1938, Geology and coal resources of the southeastern Kansas coal field: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 24, 122 p. [available online]
Schleicher, J. A., 1959, Germanium in Kansas coals: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 134, part 4, p. 161-179. [available online]
Schleicher, J. A., and Hambleton, W. W., 1954, Preliminary spectrographic investigation of germanium in Kansas coal: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 109, pt. 8, p. 113-124. [available online]
Schoewe, W. H., 1958, The geography of Kansas—Part IV, Economic geography-mineral deposits: Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, v. 61, no. 4, p. 359-468.
Swanson, V. E., and Huffman, C., Jr., 1976, Guidelines for sample collecting and analytical methods used in the U.S. Geological Survey for determining chemical composition of coal: U.S. Geological Survey, Circular 735, 11 p. [available online]
Swanson, V. E., Medlin, J. H., Hatch, J. R., Coleman, S. L., Woodruff, S. D., and Hildebrand, R. T., 1976, Collection, chemical analysis, and evaluation of 799 coal samples in 1975: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 76-468, 503 p. [available online]
Tewalt, S. J., and Finkelman, R. B., 1990, Analytical data from bituminous coals and associated rocks from Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-file Report 90-669, 51 p. [available online]
U.S. Office of Coal Research, 1967, Methods of analyzing and testing coal and coke: U.S. Bureau of Mines, Bulletin 638, 85 p.
Wedge, W. K., Bahatia, D. M. S., and Rueff, A. W., 1976, Chemical analyses of selected Missouri coals and some statistical implications: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Report of Investigations no. 60, 40 p.
Wedge, W. K., and Hatch, J. R., 1980, Chemical composition of Missouri coals: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Geological Survey Report of Investigations 63, 102 p.
Welch, J. E., and Brady, L. L., 1982, Coal; in, Environmental Effects of Coal Surface Mining and Reclamation on Land and Water in Southeastern Kansas, J. E. Welch and W. W. Hambleton, eds.: Kansas Geological Survey, Mineral Resources Series no. 7, p. 19-37. [available online]
Wood, G. H., Jr., and Bour, W. V., III, 1988, Coal map of North America; in, Economic Geology, U.S., H. J. Gluskoter, D. D. Rice, and R. B. Taylor, eds.: Geological Society of America, v. P-2, pl. 9, scale 1:5,000,000.
Zeller, D. E., ed., 1968, The stratigraphic succession in Kansas: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 189, 81 p. [available online]
Zubovic, P., Sheffey, N. B., and Stadnichenko, T., 1967, Distribution of minor elements in some coals in the western and southwestern regions of the Interior Coal Province: U.S. Geological Survey, Bulletin 1117-D, 33 p. [available online]
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Brady, Lawrence L., and Joseph R. Hatch. 1997. “Chemical Analyses of Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian Coals from Southeastern Kansas”. Current Research in Earth Sciences, no. 240 (September): 43-65. https://doi.org/10.17161/cres.v0i240.11779.
