Quality of Selected Hungarian Coals
Poster Presentation

By E.R. Landis¹, T.J. Rohrbacher¹, H.J. Gluskoter², B. Fodor³, G.Gombar³, and S. Sebestyen³

¹U.S. Geological Survey. Energy Resources Team, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225.
²U.S. Geological Survey, Energy Resources Team, National Center, Reston, VA 20192.
³Hungarian Geological Survey, Minerals Management Division, Budapest, Hungary H-1143.

A total of 39 samples from five coal mines in Hungary were selected for standard coal analyses and elemental composition analyses as part of the activities conducted under the U.S.-Hungarian Science and Technology Fund. The mines sampled—four underground and one surface—were selected to provide a spectrum of coal quality information on the variety of coals currently being utilized in Hungary and for quality comparison with other coals in central Europe and worldwide. Most of the coal produced from the mines sampled is used to generate electricity, and some of the powerplants that utilize the coals also provide heat for domestic and industrial purposes.

Figure 1 is an index map of Hungary and adjoining nations showing some physiographic features and cities, the locations of the five sampled mines, and approximate outlines of well-explored coal areas and also of areas that are inadequately explored or that cannot be defined for other reasons. Most known resources and all reserves lie within well-explored areas. Coal resources of Hungary are estimated to total about 9.4 billion metric tons, economically extractable reserves total about 2.5 billion tons, and most of the known coal resource remain available for use.

Figure 1. Hungarian coal sample locations (by mine) and resource areas (well-explored coalfields are shown in dark gray; poorly explored coalfields are shown in light gray). Latitude and longitude are shown in degrees and minutes.

The coal analysis program was performed in accordance with standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the elemental analyseswere conducted in accordance with standardized procedures of the U.S. Geological Survey (Bullock and others, 2002). The five sample sites contain coal in rocks of Jurassic, Cretaceous, Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene(?) age. At each sample site, the sequence being mined was sampled according to megascopic description in a bench-by-bench (ply-by-ply) method. This method allows characterization of individual samples and mathematical derivation of weighted averages of characteristics of all or part of the sampled sequence. Figure 2 shows the seam-weighted averages of the coal being produced at each sample site at the time of sampling.

Figure 2. Seam- weighted averages (proximate analyses, as-received basis) of selected Hungarian coals. ?, not determined or not calculated; init, initial deformation temperature; soft, softening temperature; hemi, hemispherical temperature; fluid, fluid temperature; HGI, Hardgrove grindability index; FSI, free swelling index; ASG, apparent specific gravity

Elemental analyses show that most of the samples have trace-element contents within or near the range of most coals of the world. Exceptions are the uranium and molybdenum content of many of the samples from the Armin site (as much as 58 and 66 ppm (parts per million), respectively) and the arsenic content of the samples from the Putnok site (as much as 393 ppm). The average contents for uranium, molybdenum, and arsenic in U.S. coals are 2.1, 3.3, and 24 ppm, respectively (Orem and Finkelman, 2003).

In conclusion, the Hungarian coals range in ASTM apparent rank from lignite B with near peatlike features to high volatile A bituminous coal. As mined, the coals have low to high moisture contents and medium to high ash and sulfur contents, with high organic sulfur contents in coals from three of the sites. Uranium and molybdenum contents in coals from the Armin site and arsenic contents in coals from the Putnok site are higher than most coals of the world (Swaine, 1990).

References

Bullock, J. H., Jr., Cathcart, J. D., and Betterton, W. J., 2002, Analytical methods utilized by the United States Geological Survey for the analysis of coal and coal combustion by-products: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-389, 15 p.

Orem, W. H., and Finkelman, R. B., 2003, Coal formation and geochemistry, in Mackenzie, F.T., ed., Sediments, diagenesis, and sedimentary rocks: Holland, H.D., and Turekian, K.K., eds., Treatise on geochemistry : Oxford, Elsevier-Pergamon,v. 7, p. 191–222.

Swaine, D. J., 1990, Trace elements in coal: London, Butterworths, 278 p.