Relationships between chemical and mineral composition of coal and their potential applications as genetic indicators. Part 1. Chemical characteristics

The relationships between the chemical and mineral composition of 37 coal samples from Australia, Bulgaria, USA, Japan, Canada, South Africa, China, Spain, and Ukraine, which differ considerably in their geology, rank, age, ash yield, chemistry and mineralogy, have been investigated. For that purpose complete data from chemical (proximate, ultimate and ash analyses) and mineral composition (major and minor minerals) of these samples have been used. The study explains initially some general considerations of the inorganic matter in coal. Then, the work provides and elucidates the statistically significant positive or negative correlations of chemical characteristics of the coals studied. Further, different geochemical indicators for some genetic interpretations of coal formation are also provided and described. The correlations of minerals in coals, as well as the potential applications of relationships among chemical and mineral composition are described in Part 2 of the present work.