Individual contributions to the overall microelement concentrations in coal

Abstract

The microelement concentrations in coal represent the sum of contributions from the organic mass, the mineral impurities, and the initial plant matter. These contributions are mutually independent and may differ very considerably. Generally, the microelement concentrations in coal are determined by their content in the organic mass. Identification of the individual contributions to the overall microelement concentrations in coal is of interest in assessing the rare-metal content of coal and means of extracting microelements. Unsatisfactory and often conflicting results are obtained by existing methods of identifying those contributions (by separation of the coal into fractions of different density; by comparison with the abundance ratios in the aleuropelite fraction; by correlation with the ash content). A method is proposed for statistical resolution of the individual contributions to the overall microelement concentrations in coal.