Petrological, organic geochemical and geochemical characteristics of coal from the Soko mine, Serbia

Abstract

A petrological, organic geochemical and geochemical study was performed on coal samples from the Soko Mine, Soko Banja basin, Serbia. Ten coal and two carbonaceous clay samples were collected from fresh, working faces in the underground brown coal mine from different parts of the main coal seam. The Lower Miocene, low-rank coal of the Soko Mine is a typical humic coal with huminite concentrations of up to 76.2 vol.%, liptinite less than 14 vol.% and inertinite less than 11 vol.%. Ulminite is the most abundant maceral with variable amounts of densinite and clay minerals. Sporinite and resinite are the most common macerals of the liptinite group. Inertodetrinite is the most abundant maceral of the inertinite group. The mineral-bituminous groundmass identified in some coal samples, and carbonaceous marly clay, indicate sub-aquatic origin and strong bacterial decomposition. The mean random huminite reflectance (ulminite B) for the main coal seam is 0.40 ± 0.05% Rr, which is typical for an immature to early mature stage of organic matter. The extract yields from the coal of the Soko Banja basin ranges from 9413 to 14,096 ppm, in which alkanes constituted 1.0–20.1%, aromatics 1.3–14.7%, asphaltenes 28.1–76.2% and resins 20.2–43.5%. The saturated hydrocarbon fractions included n-C15 to n-C32, with an odd carbon number that predominate in almost all the samples. The contents of n-C27 and n-C29 alkanes are extremely high in some samples, as a contribution of epicuticular waxes from higher plants. Acyclic isoprenoid hydrocarbons are minor constituents in the aliphatic fraction, and the pristane/phytane (Pr/Ph) ratio varies between 0.56 and 3.13, which implies anaerobic to oxic conditions during sedimentation. The most abundant diterpanes were abietane, dehydroabietane and 16α(H)-phyllocladane. In samples from the upper part of the coal seam, diterpanes are the dominant constituents of the alkane fraction. Polycyclic alkanes of the triterpane type are important constituents of alkane fractions. The occurrence of ββ- and αβ-type hopanes from C27 to C31, but without C28, is typical for the Soko Banja coals. The major and trace elements in the coal were analysed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In comparison with world lignites, using the geometric mean value, the coal from the Soko Banja Basin has a high content of strontium (306.953 mg/kg). Higher values than the world lignites were obtained for Mo (3.614 mg/kg), Ni (8.119 mg/kg), Se (0.884 mg/kg), U (2.642 mg/kg) and W (0.148 mg/kg). Correlation analysis shows inorganic affinity for almost all the major and trace elements, except for S, which has an organic affinity.