MOSSBAUER STUDY OF THE DECOMPOSITION OF IRON-BEARING CLAY-MINERALS DURING THE ASHING OF 5 COALS

Five coals, two British and three South American, of differing ash content were studied using Fe-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy to identify iron-bearing minerals. The ashed coals (750-degrees-C) were also examined by Mossbauer spectroscopy, and the parameters of those resonances attributable to the decomposition products of iron-bearing illite were compared with those obtained from studies of the 'pure' mineral. It is suggested that the 'paramagnetic' phases of the ash may be more positively identified and, when observed, may give information about the thermal history of the ash.