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There is a need to accurately describe the various coals in order to identify the end use of the coal and also to provide data which can be used as a means of comparison of the various worldwide coals. Hence, it is not surprising that a great many methods of coal classification have arisen over the last century or so (ASTM D388; ISO 2950; Montgomery, 1978; Speight, 2013).

An early method that attempted a definitive classification of coals on the basis of their composition and heating value was based on the ratio of the fixed carbon to the volatile combustible matter [C/(V.Hc)] (Frazer, 1877, 1879) in which the ratio of the volatile to fixed combustible matter was a logical basis for the classification of coals.

Table 2.3 Classification by banded structure.

Designation	Thickness of band (mm)	Remarks
Coarsely banded	>2
Finely banded or stripped	2–0.5
Microbanded or striated	<0.5	Bands not visible to naked eye
Mixed banded		Both coarse and fine bands
Nonbanded (little or no lamination)		Cannel and boghead coals that break with conchoidal fracture

Source: Davis et al. (1941).

After various attempts to make the fuel ratio of the different coals fit the descriptions of the varieties of coal, it was concluded that coal could be classified according to the fuel ratio within wide limits, and the following divisions were suggested:

There are many compositional differences between the coals mined from the different coal deposits worldwide. The different types of coal are most usually classified by rank, which depends upon the degree of transformation from the original source (i.e., decayed plants) and is therefore a measure of the age of the coal. As the process of progressive transformation took place, the heating value and the fixed carbon value of the coal increased and the amount of volatile matter in the coal decreased.

Coal contains significant proportions of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen with lesser amounts of nitrogen and sulfur. Thus, it is not surprising that several attempts have been made to classify coal on the basis of elemental composition. Indeed, one of the earlier classifications of coal, based on the elemental composition of coal (Seyler, 1899), was subsequently extended (Seyler, 1900, 1931, 1938). This system (Figure 2.2) offered a means of relating coal composition to technological properties and may be looked upon as a major effort to relate properties to utilization. Indeed, for coal below the anthracite rank, and with an oxygen content less than 15%, it was possible to derive relationships between carbon content (C% w/w), hydrogen content (H% w/w), calorific value (Q, cal gm), and volatile matter (VM, % w/w):

Since these relationships only apply to specific types of coal the application is often limited and it is unfortunate that composition and coal behavior do not exist in the form of simple relationships. In fact, classification by means of elemental composition alone is extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the attempt by Seyler to classify coal should not be ignored or discredited as it offered an initial attempt at an introspective look at coal behavior.

The American Society for Testing and Materials has evolved a method of coal classification over the years; it is based on a number of parameters obtained by various prescribed tests for the fixed carbon value as well as other physical properties which can also be related to coal use (Table 2.4, Table 2.5). In the ASTM system (ASTM, D388), coal is classified based on certain gradational properties that are associated with the amount of change that the coal has undergone while still beneath the earth. The system uses selected chemical and physical properties that assist in understanding how the coal will react during mining, preparation and eventual use.

Figure 2.2 Classification by the Seyler System.

Thus, coal can be divided into four major types; (i) anthracite coal, (ii) bituminous coal, (iii) subbituminous coal, and (iv) lignite coal which show considerable variation in properties (Table 2.5). For the purposes of this text, peat is not classified as being a member of the coal series and, therefore, in this book peat is not included in this system of coal classification (Chapters 1, 2).

Anthracite is coal of the highest metamorphic rank; it is also known as hard coal and has a brilliant luster, being hard and shiny. It can be rubbed without leaving a familiar coal dust mark on the finger and can even be polished for use as jewelry. Anthracite coal burns slowly with a pale blue flame and may be used primarily as a domestic fuel.

Bituminous coal ignites relatively easily coal burns with a smoky flame and may also contain 15-20% w/w volatile matter. If improperly burned, such as a deficiency of oxygen, bituminous coal is characterized with excess smoke and soot. It is the most abundant variety of coal, weathers only slightly, and may be kept in open piles with very little danger of spontaneous combustion, although there is evidence that spontaneous combustion is generally considered to be a factor of extrinsic conditions such as the mining and storage practices and the prevalent atmospheric conditions (Chapter 4) (Berkowitz and Schein, 1951; Berkowitz and Speight, 1973; Chakravorty, 1984; Chakravorty and Kar, 1986; Speight, 2013). Bituminous coal is used primarily as fuel in steam-electric power generation, with substantial quantities used for heat and power applications in manufacturing and also to produce coke.

Table 2.4 Coal classification according to rank (ASTM D388).

Class and group	Fixed carbona (%)	Volatile mattera (%)	Heating valueb(btu/lb)
Anthracitic
1. Meta-anthracite	>98	<2	–
2. Anthracite	92–98	2–8	–
3. Semianthracite	86–92	8–14	–
Bituminous
1. Low-volatile bituminous coal	78–86	14–22	–
2. Medium-volatile bituminous coal	69–78	22–31	–
3. High-volatile A bituminous coal	<69	>31	>14,000
4. High-volatile B bituminous coal	–	–	13,000–14,000
5. High-volatile C bituminous coal	–	–	10,500–13,000c
Subbituminous
1. Subbituminous A coal	–	–	10,500–11,500c
2. Subbituminous B coal	–	–	9,500–10,500
3. Subbituminous C coal	–	–	8,300–9,500
Lignitic	–	–
1. Lignitic A	–	–	6,300–8,300
2. Lignitic B	–	–	<6,300

^aCalculated on dry, mineral-matter-free coal.

^bCalculated on mineral-matter-free coal containing natural inherent moisture.

^cCoals with a heating value of 10,500–11,500 btu/lb are classified as high-volatile C bituminous coal if they have agglomerating properties and as subbituminous A coal if they are nonagglomerating.

Table 2.5 Typical properties of coal.

Sulfur content in Coal

Anthracite: 0.6-0.77% w/w

Bituminous coal: 0.7-4.0% w/w

Lignite: 0.4% w/w

Moisture content

Anthracite: 2.8-16.3% w/w

Bituminous coal: 2.2-15.9% w/w

Lignite: 39% w/w

Fixed carbon

Anthracite: 80.5-85.7% w/w

Bituminous coal: 44.9-78.2% w/w

Lignite: 31.4% w/w

Bulk density

Anthracite: 50-58 (lb/ft3), 800-929 (kg/m3)

Bituminous coal: 42-57 (lb/ft3), 673-913 (kg/m3)

Lignite: 40-54 (lb/ft3), 641-865 (kg/m3)

Mineral matter content (as mineral ash)

Anthracite: 9.7-20.2% w/w

Bituminous coal: 3.3-11.7% w/w

Lignite: 4.2% w/w

Subbituminous coal is not as high on the metamorphic scale as bituminous coal and has often been called black lignite. Lignite is the coal that is lowest on the metamorphic scale. It may vary in color from brown to brown-black and the properties of subbituminous coal range from those of lignite to those of bituminous coal. This coal is used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation and is also a source of low-boiling aromatic hydrocarbon derivatives that can be used as feedstocks in the chemical industry and in the petrochemical industry.

Lignite (brown coal) is often distinguished from subbituminous coal by having lower carbon content and a higher moisture content. It is the lowest rank coal (peat is not considered to be coal) and used almost exclusively as fuel for electric power generation. Lignite may dry out and crumble in air and is certainly liable to spontaneous ignition and combustion.

The ASTM system is based on proximate analysis in which coals containing less than 31% volatile matter on the mineral-matter-free basis (Parr formula) are classified only on the basis of fixed carbon, i.e., 100% volatile matter (Parr, 1922; Speight, 2013, 2015). Coal is divided into five groups: (i) >98% fixed carbon, (ii) 98% to 92% fixed carbon, (iii) 92% to 86% fixed carbon, (iv) 86% to 78% fixed carbon, and (v) 78% to 69% fixed carbon. The first three groups are anthracites, and the last two are bituminous coals (Speight, 2013, 2015). The subbituminous coals and lignite are then classified into groups as determined by the calorific value of the coals containing their natural bed moisture; i.e., the coals as mined but free from any moisture on the surface of the lumps.

The classification includes three groups of bituminous coals with moist calorific value from above 14,000 Btu/lb (32.5 MJ/kg) to above 13,000 Btu/lb (30.2 MJ/kg); three groups of subbituminous coals with moist calorific value below 13,000 Btu/lb to below 8,300 Btu/lb (19.3 MJ/ kg); and two groups of lignite coals with moist calorific value below 8,300 Btu/lb. The classification also differentiates between consolidated and unconsolidated lignite and between the weathering characteristics of subbituminous coals and lignite.

These test methods used for this classification system are (as already stated) based on proximate analysis and are (Luppens and Hoeft, 1992; Speight, 2013):

 Heating value (calorific value), which is the energy released as heat when coal (or any other substance) undergoes complete combustion with oxygen. Moist calorific value is the calorific value of the coal when the coal contains the natural bed moisture (i.e., the moisture content of the coal in the seam prior to mining). The natural bed moisture is often determined as the equilibrium moisture under prescribed standard test method conditions (Chapter 5). In addition, the agglomerating characteristics of coal are used to differentiate between certain adjacent groups.

 Volatile matter, which is the portion of a coal sample which, when heated in the absence of air at prescribed conditions, is released as gases and volatile liquids.

 Moisture, which is the water inherently contained within the coal and existing in the coal in the natural state in the seam. The moisture is determined as the amount of water released when a coal sample is heated at prescribed conditions but does not include any free water on the surface of the coal; such free water is removed by air-drying the coal sample being tested.

 Ash yield, which is the inorganic residue remaining after a coal sample is completely burned and is largely composed of compounds of silica, aluminum, iron, calcium, magnesium and others. The ash may vary considerably from the mineral matter present in the coal (such as clay, quartz, pyrites and gypsum) before being burned.

 Fixed carbon value, which is the remaining organic matter after the volatile matter and moisture have been released. It is typically calculated by subtracting from 100 the percentages of volatile matter, moisture and ash. It is composed primarily of carbon with lesser amounts of hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur. It is often simply described as a coke-like residue. The value is calculated by subtracting moisture, volatile matter, and ash from 100% (Chapter 5).

This system of classification, in fact, indicates the degree of coalification as determined by these methods of proximate; analysis with lignite being classed as low-rank coal; the converse applies to anthracite. Thus, coal rank increases with the amount of fixed carbon but decreases with the amount of moisture and volatile matter. It is, perhaps, easy to understand why coal rank is often (and incorrectly) equated to changes in the proportion of elemental carbon in coal (ultimate analysis; Chapter 5).

It is true, of course, that anthracite typically contains more carbon than bituminous coal which, in turn, usually contains more carbon than subbituminous coal, and so on. Nevertheless, the distinctions between the proportions of elemental carbon in the various coals are not so well defined as for the fixed carbon and extreme caution is advised in attempting to equate coal rank with the proportion of elemental carbon in the coal.

There have been criticisms of this method of classification because of the variability of the natural bed moisture and the numbering system for the classes of coal. With regard to the natural bed moisture, the fact that it may vary over extremely wide limits has been cited as a distinct disadvantage to using this particular property as a means of classifying coal. In fact, the natural bed moisture is determined under a set of prescribed, and rigorously standardized, conditions, thereby making every attempt to offset any large variability in the natural bed moisture. With regard to the numbering system, it has been indicated that the class numbering system should be reversed so that a high number would indicate a high rank.

Nevertheless, in spite of these criticisms, the method has survived and has been generally adopted for use throughout North America as the predominant method of classification (Speight, 2013 and references cited therein).

Thus, the rank of a coal indicates the progressive changes in carbon, volatile matter, and probably ash and sulfur that take place as coalification progresses from the lower-rank lignite through the higher ranks of sub-bituminous, high-volatile bituminous, low- volatile bituminous, and anthracite. The rank of a coal should not be confused with the grade of the coal (Table 2.6). A high rank (e.g., anthracite) represents coal from a deposit that has undergone the greatest degree of metamorphosis and contains minimal amounts of mineral matter (reflected as mineral ash in the combustion test) and moisture. On the other hand, any rank of coal, when cleaned of impurities through coal preparation will be of a higher grade.