FLORENCE J. TANUI

SGL 413

I13/3168/2008

PRESENTATION OUTLINE• TITLE• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM• AIMS AND OBJECTIVES• INTRODUCTION• LITERATURE REVIEW• METHODOLOGY• PROCEDURE FOR ANALYSIS• RESULTS• SIGNIFICANCE• DISCUSSION• CONCLUSION• RECOMMENDATION

PROJECT TITLE

GEOCHEMISTRY, CLASSIFICATION AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF COAL IN MUI BASIN,

SOUTHEASTERN KENYA

AREA OF STUDY: MUI BASIN

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Coal is carbonized vegetable. Its physical characteristicsand chemical elements contained in it determines itsusage and behavior during utilization. There is thereforeneed to determine the type and amount of elementspresent in the coal from the Mui Basin so as to evaluateits economic viability.

JUSTIFICATION

There is need to identify the elements present in coal so as determine the various processes to be carried out during coal utilization.

INTRODUCTION: AIMS

• To utilize the geochemical data obtained from various analyses of the coal sample obtained from the Mui Basin to rank and to evaluate its economic viability.

INTRO CONT’: OBJECTIVES• To determine the economic extent of the coal in the Mui

Basin in terms of quantity

• To determine the composition of coal in relation to moisture content, volatile value, calorific value of fixed carbon and other materials present in coal.

• To classify the coal based on ranks using the results of the proximate analysis of the coal sample

• To determine the potential applications of coal in Kenya and its economic significance

INTRO CONT’ : LOCATION

• The Mui Coal Basin is located 180km northeast of Nairobi and covers an area of 500km².

• Divided into four, blocks A, B, C and D

LOCATION OF THE AREA

INTRO CONT’: CLIMATE

RAINFALL TEMPERATURE

GEOLOGY OF THE AREA

ROCKS IN THE AREA

. (1) Metamorphic rocks of biotitegneiss, biotite granulites. They are presumed to be of Archeanin age, Tuner (1949)

(2) Post Archean ultra-basic intrusive rocks composed of acid porphyrite and Lamprophytes, Tuner (1949)

(3). Superficial deposits consisting mainly of red-brown sandy soils, sands, clays and shales, talus and sandy alluvium, Tuner (1949)

GEOLOGICAL MAP

LITERATURE REVIEW

• Data from ministry of Energy• Library Resources• Internet Resources• Consultation

ESTIMATED AMOUNT OF COAL COAL

COAL IN MUI BASINCoal Exploration Progress Report (MOE,

2002)COAL IN THE LEADING COUNTRIES:

Coal weekly news (2008)

.Seams Volume (M³) Mass (Tonnes)Seam 1 14,279,195 18,277,369

Seam 2 56,032,440 71,721,523

Seam 3 32,846,220 42,043,161

Seam 4 108,891,815 139,381,523

Seam 5 42,053,774 53,828,831

Seam 6 99,372,179 127,196,390

Total 452,448,797

Country Estimate of production

United states 472 Billion tons

Australia 820 Million tons

Indonesia 201 million tons

South Africa 72 Million tons

.

METHODOLOGY

Materials• Coal samples • Kraft paper• Plastic bags • Scoop or spatula• Braun pulverizer• Ceramic plates• Ice cream container

Methods• Proximate coal analysis• Atomic absorption

spectrometry• XRD• Ashing

PROCEDURE OF ANALYSIS

Ashing• A portion of the ground raw coal (25 to 75

g) is weighed and transferred to a 100-ml fused silica dish.

• The dish is placed in a cold muffle furnace and, with the furnace door partly open, the temperature is gradually elevated over a 4-hour period to 450°C.

• The temperature is then increased to 525°C and maintained until the sample is completely ashed. An occasional stirring or mixing of the sample during ashing is desirable.

• The ash is weighed, and the percentage of ash calculated.

• The ash is mixed thoroughly with a spatula and transferred to a suitable container.

• About 3 g of coal ash is required for the analyses by six-step spectrographic, XRD, and atomic absorption methods.

Proximate analysis• A sample is put in a pan of a sensitive

analytical balance and heated under a flowing atmosphere (inert/ active) and weight loss is recorded.

• For complete proximate analysis in TGA experiment, the system is programmed to hold initially at 200 C⁰ in nitrogen, then to jump to 900 C ⁰ and hold for specified period of time in nitrogen before switching to oxygen(Swine, 1990).

Procedures cont’

Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

• 0.500 g of coal ash is weighed into a 100-ml platinum dish. 10ml of demineralized water, 10 ml HNO3, and 10 ml of HF are added to the dish.

• The dish is covered and allowed to stand overnight.

• 7ml of HClO4 is added to the dish and is placed on a steam bath for 1 hour and then placed on a hot plate to fume off the acids to near dryness.

• The dish is removed from the hot plate and the sides of the dish are washed down with water.

• 5ml of HClO4 is added and the dish is returned to the hot plate where it is heated until all acids are evaporated.

• Twenty-five milliliters of water and 5 ml of HCl are added to the dish and covered, then placed on a steam bath, and digested for 30 minutes.

• The solution is transferred to a 100-ml volumetric flask and diluted to volume with water. Aliquots or dilutions of this sample are then aspirated into the air-acetylene flame of an atomic absorption spectrometer to determine the elements listed.

• The sample aliquot used for the determination of Mg was made to contain 1% La.

PROCEDURES CONT’: XRD

• X-ray diffraction methods employed for the determination of oxides of; Al, Ca, total Fe, K, P, Si, total S, Ti, and Cl in the coal ash. These elements are expressed in terms of oxides. The procedures are as follows;

• 0.800 g of coal ash is fused with 6 g of flux (mixture of 43 percent Li2B4O7, 55 percent Na2B4O7, and

• 2 % NaBr) in a 20-ml platinum crucible

• The NaBr is added to the fusion mixture to facilitate easy removal of the solidified button from the platinum crucible.

• This fused button is X-rayed and counted to determine the listed elements

RESULTS : PROXIMATE COAL ANALYSIS

• Proximate analysis involves analysis for moisture content, ash, volatile matter, and fixed carbon content

RESULTS

Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Results for X-ray spectrometry of ash

Analysis of proximate resultsType of coal Volatiles Moisture Ash

Fixed Carbon

Lignite 26.9 37.8 6.2 28.4

Subbituminous 33 21.6 8 38

Bituminous 32.3 3.4 13 53

SIGNIFICANCE

Electric generation

• The heat is used to change water into steam.• The steam then turns the blades of a turbine, spinning the generator,

producing electricity

Industrial and retail

application

• Used as a chemical feedstock by manufacturers

Steel industry

• To make coke

Export market

• Top five foreign markets are Canada, Japan, Italy, Netherlands and Brazil.

Oil and Gas Exploration

• Coalification jumps or discontinuities, Thomson and Benedict, (1974)• Reflectanc1e Analysis of Birth and Death Lines for Oil and Gas, Crelling (1980)• Reflectance Analysis of Dispersed Organic Matter , Crelling (1980)

INCREASE OF VITRINE REFLECTANCE WITH RANK

DISCUSSION

From the results;• The amount of sulfur that can be released during

combustion to be of an average of 2.4%. This amount is not too large to limit the use of coal

• The ash content has an average of 30%. This represents the amount of the incombustible substances in coal

• Since the concentration of major elements is not too high in the Mui Basin coal, little processing is required to be carried out on it before being used in the various purposes (Pb & Mg)

• The Coal is classified according to rank from lignite to bituminous coal based on the proximate analysis

CONCLUSSION

• The economic reserve in the Mui Basin is estimated to be about 450, 000,000 million tons

• The average calorific value of coal is 18MJ/Kg, and fixed carbon of a total average of 39% of the various types of coals

• Based on the results, the Mui Basin coal can be classified as lignite, sub-bituminous and bituminous coal

• Coal has four major markets: electric utilities, industrial/retail users, the steel industry and exports.

• on properties of coal, such as reflectance, a new application is in petroleum and gas exploration.

RECOMMENDATION

• More scientific research on the Vitrine Reflectance ofcoal need to be done to enhance its use in exploration ofoil and gas

• Development of carbon capture technology so as toreduce the carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphereduring combustion of coal

• Various projects such as greenhouses should bedeveloped alongside the coal mining activity, this wouldbenefit from the supply of CO₂ which would otherwise belost

ADVISORS

DR. GICHABA&

DR. DINDI

SUPERVISOR

MR. WASWA

THANK YOU