Ronald W. Stanton

Identification and significance of accessory minerals from a bituminous coal

Abstract A scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used to study the in situ accessory minerals in polished blocks and pellets of petrographically analysed samples of the Waynesburg coal (hvb). Individual grains from the low-temperature ash (LTA) of the same coal were also studied. The visual resolution of the SEM permitted the detection of submicron mineral grains, which could then be analysed by the attached energy-dispersive system. Emphasis was placed on the highly reflective grains in the carbominerite bands. Among the most abundant accessory minerals observed were rutile, zircon, and rare-earth-bearing minerals. Small (1–5 μm) particles of what may be authigenic iron-rich chromite and a nickel silicate form rims on quartz grains. The SEM also permits the observation of grain morphology and mineral intergrowths. These data are useful in determining authigenicity and diagenic alteration. Substances in density splits of LTA include authigenic, detrital, extraterrestrial magnetite, tourmaline, and evaporite (?) minerals, and a fluorine-bearing amphibole. This analytical approach allows the determination of specific sites for many of the trace elements in coals. In the Waynesburg coal, most of the chromium is in the iron-chromium rims, the fluorine is in the amphibole, and the rare-earth elements are in rare-earth-bearing minerals. The ability to relate trace-element data to specific minerals will aid in predicting the behaviour of elements in coal during combustion, liquefaction, gasification, weathering, and leaching processes. This ability also permits insight into the degree of mobility of these elements in coal and provides clues to sedimentological and diagenetic conditions.

The effects of volcanic ash on the maceral and chemical composition of the C coal bed, Emery Coal Field, Utah

Abstract Volcanic ash which fell in the peat swamp that formed the Upper Cretaceous C coal bed (Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale, Utah) produced semi-impermeable layers that caused the ponding of surface waters. Coal samples from directly above tonsteins (altered volcanic ash partings) are enriched in desmocollinite, telinite, and detrocollinite, as a result of poorly drained swamp conditions; coal samples from directly below tonsteins are enriched in semifusinite, inertodetrinite, and fusinite, as a result of well-drained conditions. Leaching of the volcanic ash or the incorporation of volcanic ash in peat provided a source for many elements (including Zr, Nb, Th, and Ce) that are enriched in coal samples taken from directly above and below tonsteins.

Depositional models for two Tertiary coal-bearing sequences in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA

Depositional controls on peat-forming environments which produce thick (>10m) coal beds can be inferred from relationships between coal bed geometry, maceral composition and associated lithologies. Study of these relationships within sedimentary sequences associated with the Wyodak-Anderson (Palaeocene) and the Felix (Eocene) sub-bituminous coal beds in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA suggests two modes of fluvially controlled peat accumulation. The Wyodak-Anderson peat is interpreted to have formed in restricted parts of the floodplain that were separated by deposits of contemporaneous, anastomosed channels. The channels and associated sediments maintained their position through time because they were confined by thick deposits of raised Wyodak-Anderson peat. In contrast, the Felix coal bed is interpreted to have formed as a raised but widespread peat on an abandoned platform of meander-belt sands. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast two different fluvial depositional settings that produced anomalously thick (>10m) coal deposits in the intermontane Powder River Basin of Wyoming, USA. These models may be useful as predictive tools for coal exploration and production.

The effects of volcanic ash disturbances on a peat-forming environment; environmental disruption and taphonomic consequences

The maceral and palynological composition of the C coal bed (Upper Cretaceous), central Utah, was significantly affected by the periodic deposition of volcanic ash in the precursor peat mire. The coal bed contains four altered volcanic ash partings (tonsteins). Sixty-seven coal and rock samples from 10 cores of the coal bed were examined for maceral composition, and 163 coal and rock samples from 10 cores were analysed for palynological composition. Abundant semifusinite (an inertinite maceral with a poorly preserved cell structure and a hight gray reflectance) is found in coal samples directly below the upper tonstein, the thickest (30-40 cm thick) of the tonstein partings

Petrographic characteristics of the Wyodak-Anderson coal bed (Paleocene), Powder River Basin, Wyoming, U.S.A.

Abstract Six lithofacies of the thick ( > 30 m) Wyodak-Anderson subbituminous coal bed of the Fort Union Formation (Paleocene), Powder River Basin, Wyoming, can be delimited using megascopic and petrographic data. Previous lithofacies analysis of the rock types associated with the Wyodak-Anderson bed suggested that raised peat accumulated in restricted parts of an inland flood plain. The peat bodies were separated by deposits of contemporaneous, possibly anastomosed channels. In this study, megascopic descriptions from four mine highwalls of the Wyodak-Anderson coal bed were found to be similar to facies defined by microscopic data from core and highwall samples. The data indicate that the upper and lower parts of the coal bed are rich in preserved wood remains (for instance, humotelinite), whereas the middle part of the bed contains comparatively larger amounts of material that resulted from degradation and comminution of the peat (e.g. eugelinite). The facies are interpreted to be the result of different chemical and biological environments at the time of peat formation.

Factors affecting the geochemistry of a thick, subbituminous coal bed in the Powder River Basin: volcanic, detrital, and peat-forming processes

Abstract The inorganic geochemistry and mineralogy of three cores from the Anderson-Dietz 1 coal bed, a 15.2-m-thick subbituminous coal bed in the Tongue River Member (Paleocene) of the Fort Union Formation, were examined (1) to determine if the cores could be correlated by geochemical composition alone over a total distance of 2 km and (2) to identify the major factors that influenced the geochemistry of the coal bed. Chemical data (46 elements on a coal-ash basis) for 81 coal samples and 4 carbonaceous rock samples, with most samples representing a 0.6-m-thick (2-ft) interval of core, were grouped into compositional clusters by means of cluster analysis. Seven major clusters were produced; two of these clusters can be used to correlate the coal bed throughout the study area. Data from scanning electron and optical microscope analyses indicate that several factors influenced the geochemistry of the Anderson-Dietz 1 coal bed. The majority of mineral grains in the coal bed are interpreted to be detrital (water borne); evidence includes the presence of rounded to subrounded quartz grains having two-phase, aqueous fluid inclusions characteristic of hydrothermal or low-to-moderate grade metamorphic quartz. These quartz grains are found throughout the coal bed but are most abundant in samples from the midpart of the bed, which was influenced by detrital input associated with the deposition of the clastic rocks that form the split between the Anderson and Dietz 1 coal beds 900 m to the east of the study area. In addition to the detrital minerals mentioned above, volcanic ash that was fluvially transported to the sites of peat deposition or possibly deposited as air-fall volcanic ash also affected the geochemistry of the coal bed. For example, crandallite(?), a mineral reported to form as an alteration product of volcanic ash, is found in seven samples from the coal bed. The presence of quartz grains containing silicate-melt inclusions in eight samples from the coal bed.provides further support for a volcanic ash component. Other factors that probably affected the geochemistry of the coal bed include (1) detrital input associated with the deposition of the roof rocks of the coal bed, (2) peat-forming processes and plant material, and (3) epigenetic ground-water flow.

Facies development in the Lower Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Abstract The Lower Freeport coal bed in west-central Pennsylvania is interpreted to have formed within a lacustrine-mire environment. Conditions of peat formation, caused by the changing chemical and physical environments, produced five coal facies and two mineral-rich parting facies within the coal bed. The coal bed facies are compositionally unique, having developed under varying conditions, and are manifested by megascopic, petrographic, palynologic and quality characteristics. The initial environment of the Lower Freeport peat resulted in a coal facies that is relatively high in ash yield and contains large amounts of lycopod miospores and moderate abundances of cryptotelinite, crypto-gelocollinite, inertinite and tree fern miospores. This initial Lower Freeport peat is interpreted to have been a topogenous body that was low lying, relatively nutrient rich (mesotrophic to eutrophic), and susceptible to ground water and to sediment influx from surface water. The next facies to form was a ubiquitous, clay-rich durain parting which is attributed to a general rise in the water table accompanied by widespread flooding. Following formation of the parting, peat accumulation resumed within an environment that inhibited clastic input. Development of doming in this facies restricted deposition of the upper shale parting to the margins of the mire and allowed low-ash peat to form in the interior of the mire. Because this environment was conducive to preservation of cellular tissue, this coal facies also contains large amounts of crypto-telinite. This facies development is interpreted to have been a transitional phase from topogenous, planar peat formation to slightly domed, oligotrophic (nutrient-poor) peat formation. As domed peat formation continued, fluctuations in the water table enabled oxidation of the peat surface and produced high inertinite concentrations toward the top of the coal bed. Tree ferns became an increasingly important peat contributor in the e upper facies, based on the palynoflora. This floral change is interpreted to have resulted from the peat surface becoming less wet or better drained, a condition that inhibited proliferation of lycopod trees. Accumulation of the peat continued until rising water levels formed a freshwater lake within which clays and silts were deposited. The development of the Lower Freeport peat from a planar mire through transitional phases toward domed peat formation may be an example of the type of peat formation of other upper Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian coal beds.

Effects of detrital influx in the Pennsylvanian Upper Freeport peat swamp

Abstract Quartz cathodoluminescence properties and mineralogy of three sets of samples and vegetal and/ or miospore data from two sets of samples from the Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania, show that detrital influence from a penecontemporaneous channel is limited to an area less than three km from the channel. The sets of samples examined include localities of the coal bed where (1) the coal is thin, split by partings, and near a penecontemporaneous fluvial channel, (2) the coal is relatively thick and located approximately three km from the channel, and (3) the coal is thick and located approximately 12 km from the channel. Samples from locality 1 (nearest the channel) have relatively high-ash yields (low-temperature ash average = 27.3% on a pyrite- and calcite-free basis) and high proportions of quartz and clay minerals. The quartz is primarily detrital, as determined by cathodoluminescent properties, and the ratio of kaolinite to illite is low. In addition, most of the plant remains and miospores indicate peat-forming plants that required low nutrient levels for growth. In contrast, samples from localities 2 and 3, from the more interior parts of the bed, contained predominantly authigenic quartz grains nd yielded low-temperature ash values of less than 14% on a pyrite- and calcite-free basis. The low-temperature ash contains low concentrations of quartz and clay minerals and the ratio of kaolinite to illite is relatively high. Although intact core was not available for paleobotanical analyses, another core collected within 1 km from locality 3 contained plant types interpreted to have required high nutrient levels for growth. These data indicate that mineral formation is dominated by authigenic processes in interior parts of the coal body. Some of the authigenic quartz may have been derived from herbaceous ferns as indicated by patterns in the palynological and paleobotanical data. In contrast, detrital processes appeared to be limited to in areas directly adjacent to the penecontemporaneous channel where the coal bed is high in ash, split by mineral-rich partings, and of little or no economic value.

Maceral and palynomorph facies from two tertiary peat-forming environments in the Powder River Basin, U.S.A.

Abstract The differences between the depositional settings of the Smith and Anderson subbituminous coal beds (Paleocene, central Powder River Basin, U.S.A.) are interpreted on the basis of their petrographic composition and palynologic assemblages. The Smith coal bed is relatively thin ( m ) and has a high degree of thickness variation (0–5 m) over short distances ( km ) , the result of deposition in an anastomosed fluvial environment where numerous lakes and small channels limited the extent of peat deposits. Although plants related to the living genus Glyptostrobus dominated the swamp, peat-forming plant communities contained mixes of ancestral species of Platanus and Ulmus as well as vegetation of lower stature such as Spagnum. Some intervals within the coal bed contain anomalously high concentrations of cell walls (humotelinite) and cell fillings (corpohuminite), some of which came from locally abundant, decay-resistant Pinaceae (or pinaceous) vegetation. Raised areas of the peat swamp characterized by Sphagnum were also favorable for the accumulation of carbonized plant components (inertinites). Because the peat of the Anderson coal bed formed on top of thick (> 50 m ) sandstone bodies of an abandoned meander-belt complex, the coal bed is generally thicker (> 7 m ) and more widespread (> 15 km ) in extent than the Smith coal bed. The sands provided a relatively stable, poorly compactable platform that was favorable to the growth of large, arborescent vegetation, such as the dominant ancestral Glyptostrobus, as well as ancestral Nyssa, Carya, and Betulaceae in a well-drained but moist swamp environment. The stability of the peat-forming environment resulted in a raised peat deposit of relatively uniform paleoflora and peat composition. In the thicker areas of the Anderson coal bed, the upward increase in carbonized plant components indicates a progressively drier or better-drained swamp environment. Intervals within the coal bed that overlie or are lateral to crevasse-splay deposits contain a high concentration of pollen attributable to Pterocarya and an absence of carbonized plant remains, an indication that ancestral Pterocarya preferred a water-saturated environment close to the edge of the swamp where detrial influx occurred.

Volcanic ash dispersed in the Wyodak-Anderson coal bed, Powder River Basin, Wyoming

Minerals derived from air-fall volcanic ash were found in two zones in the upper Paleocene Wyodak-Anderson coal bed of the Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, and are the first reported evidence of such volcanic material in this thick (> 20 m) coal bed. The volcanic minerals occur in zones that are not visually obvious because they contain little or no clay. These zones were located by geophysical logs of the boreholes and X-ray radiography of the cores. The zones correspond to two of a series of incremental core samples of the coal bed that have anomalous concentrations of Zr, Ba, Nb, Sr, and P2O5. Two suites of minerals were found in both of the high-density zones. A primary suite (not authigenic) consists of silt-sized quartz grains, biotite, and minor zircon. A minor suite consists of authigenic minerals, including calcite, pyrite, kaolinite, quartz, anatase, barite, and an alumino-phosphate (crandallite?). The original volcanic ash is inferred to have consisted of silica glass containing phenocrysts of quartz, biotite, zircon, and possibly, associated feldspars, pyroxenes, and amphiboles. The glass, as well as the less stable minerals, probably dissolved relatively quickly and contributed to the minor authigenic mineral suite or was removed from the peat as a result of the prevailing hydrologic conditions present in a raised peat formation. This type of volcanic ash suggests that suggests that volcanic material could have rained on the peat; this fallout may have also had a fertilizing effect on the peat by providing nutrients essential for plant growth thus contributing to the thick accumulations of the Wyodak-Anderson bed. Notwithstanding, the presence of these minerals provides evidence for the contribution by volcanic sources to the mineral content of coal, but not as tonsteins.