CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

What is coal? There are various definitions of coal, but the complementary definitions of SCHOPF(1956) and the International Commission for Coal Petrology (ICCP) handbook (1963) are used here. SCHOPF (1956) defined that coal is readily combustible rock containing more than 50% by weight and more than 70% by volume of carbonaceous material, formed by the compaction or induration of variously altered plant re mains similar to those of peaty deposits. Differences in the kinds of plant materials (type), in degree of metamorphism (rank), and range of impurity (grade) are characteristic of the varieties of coals. In the ICCP handbook (1963), coal is defined as a combustible sedimentary rock formed from plant remains in various stages of preservation by processes which involved the compaction of the material buried in basins, initially of moderate depth. According to these definitions, it is clear that coal is considered as a mixture of organic plant remains and inorganic mineral matter that accumulated in a manner similar to modern-day peat deposits. The major organic constituents of peat can be floral components of vascular and nonvascular plants as well as algae which are associated with fungal, bacterial and animal remains (SCHOPF, 1956; ICCP HANDBOOK, 1963; MUKHOPHADHYAY & HATCHER, 1993). Generations of this vegetation died and se ttled to the swamp bottom, they formed rich carbonaceous layer that was subsequently overlaid by layers of mud and sand. As the burial depth increased, temperature and pressure rose concomitantly, it compressed, hardened the organic material and preferentially led to the lost of oxygen and hydrogen, and leaved a material with a higher percentage of carbon. As coal seams usually originated from peat deposi tions, then the crucial factors in the formation of a peat swamp would be also the crucial factors in the formation of coal seams (STACH ET AL., 1982; TAYLOR ET AL., 1998).
COAL FORMING ENVIRONMENT

CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR PEAT ACCUMULATION

Providing that all favorable conditions required for peat accumulation are met, which involves the interplay of subsidence, vegetation growth and sediment supply, these most significant coal seams tend to be associated with maximum flooding surfaces (Hamilton and Tadros, 1994) hence marking the base of the highstand systems tract

(Fig. 5.15). Following a stage characterized by a high accommodation to sediment supply ratio during the transgression of the shoreline, the time of end of shoreline transgression is arguably t he most favorable for peat accumulation and subsequent coal development. During highstand normal regression, the balance between accommodation and sedimentation gradually changes in the favor of the latter. This, coupled with the decelerating rates of base-level rise, diminishes the chance for significant peat accumulations. The lower portion of the highstand systems tract, defined by a predominantly aggradational sedimentation pattern, may still include well-developed coal seams interbedded with overbank fluvial facies, above the tidally-influenced transgressive fluvial channel fills. The upper portion of the highstand systems tract commonly lacks coal deposits due to insufficient accommodation and the relatively high sediment input that results in the amalgamation of meander belts. These trends in the likelihood of peat accumulation during highstand normal regressions, as well as all other stages of the base -level cycle, are illustrated in Fig. 5.15.

FIGURE 5.15 Generalized trend of peat accumulation during the various stages of a base-level cycle, in response to changes in accommodation. See text for discussion. No temporal scale is implied for the relative duration of systems tracts. Abbreviations: TSTtransgressive systems tract; RSTregressive systems tract; HSThighstand systems tract; FSSTfalling-stage systems tract; LST lowstand systems tract; MFSmaximum flooding surface; BSFR basal surface of forced regression; CCcorrelative conformity (sensu Hunt and Tucker, 1992); MRSmaximum regressive surface

Plants and animals living in a lake may be preserved as fossils in lacustrine deposits, and concentrations of organic materia l lcan form beds of coal A delta building into shallow water will tend to have a large delta -plain area. If the climate is suitable for abundant plant growth, peat mires may develop on parts of the plain away from the delta channels and delta successions that have developed in a shallow-water setting may therefore include coalbeds. The overbank areas of a delta top may be sites of prolific growth of vegetation, leading to the formation of peat and eventually coal. An important product of these post-depositional processes is the formation and concentration of fossil fuels ORIGIN OF COAL

Most coal is formed from the remains of plants that accumulated under swampy conditions as peat (Fig. 4). Imprints of fossil stems, roots, and leaves are common in coal and surrounding sedimentary rocks

However, it takes a great amount of carbon rich plant material, time for that material to form peat, and special geological and chemical conditions that protect the peat from degradation and erosion to make amineable coal seam. Peat and the buried coal that eventually forms from it are part of our planets carbon cycle.

How Coal Forms

Large amounts of plant materials accumulate in widespread peat-forming wetlands (called mires). When mires accumulate within geologic basins, they can be deeply buried long enough for the peat to be converted to coal (Fig. 7). Basins are broad, subsiding (sinking) depressions in the Earth.s crust in which sediments accumulate. When peat is buried, pressure from the overlying sediments and heat

within the Earth transforms the peat chemically and physically into coal. This process, called .coalification,. results in several types or stages of coal. These stages of coal formation are classified as .rank.. The ranks of coal, in increasing alteration from peat, are lignite (brown coal), subbituminous, bituminous, semi-anthracite, and anthracite. If coal is heated beyond the rank of anthracite, it becomes a form of almost pure carbon (graphite or natural coke). Higher rank coals produce more heat per ton when they burn than lower rank coals because they are more concentrated forms of carbon. Put another way, one must burn more low-rank than highrank coal to produce the same amountof energy. During coalification, compaction and dewatering cause fractures to form in the coal. These fractures are called .cleats.. Water moving through porous peat or through cleats in coal can carry and deposit minerals. Some of the most common minerals in coal are silicates (quartz, clays), carbonates (calcite, siderite) and sulfides (pyrite, marcasite). The elements within these minerals (for example, sulfur) may cause environmental concerns during the processing and burning of coal.