Chapter 5 - The importance of abundance and modes of occurrence of element in coals

Abstract

This chapter describes the importance of abundance and modes of occurrence of element in coals. The modes of occurrence of the elements in coal can provide insights into the source of the inorganic constituents, information on the geochemical processes that acted on the precursor peat and on the coal; assist with correlating coal beds; play an important role in influencing technological impacts; are essential in assessing critical-element potential for by-product recovery from the coal ash; and are critical in anticipating potential environmental and human health impacts of toxic elements in coal. Therefore, reliable information on the modes of occurrence of the elements in coal is sufficiently important that this challenge should be addressed by current and future coal scientists.