Correlation of coal calorific value and sulphur content with 57Fe Mossbauer spectral absorption

Coal is the most abundant, most economical and widely distributed fossil fuel in the world today. It is also the principal form of reductant in the iron and steel industry. This study was undertaken to not only add to the growing use of Mossbauer spectroscopy application in industry but also to increase the chemistry and physics knowledge base of coal. Coal is 40 to 80 percent carbon with small amounts of sulphur and iron as pyrite and ferrous sulphate. The environmental concern associated with mining and burning of coal has long been a subject of investigation with emphasis on the sulphur content. We examined five ranks of coal: anthracite, Eastern bituminous, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite. Relationships were investigated between the Calorific Value ( CV) of coal and inorganic sulphur content, (57)FeMossbauer absorption, and ratio of pyrite (FeS2) to FeSO4. Twenty-eight samples of the five different types of coal had CVs ranging from 32,403 to 16,100 kJ/kg and sulphur concentrations ranging from 0.28 to 2.5 percent. CV appeared to be positively correlated with concentrations of sulphur and of iron - sulphur salts, although there appears to be little connection with the distribution of their oxidation states.