Coal Characterization Laboratory:

• The first is to serve as a teaching and research laboratory where both undergraduate and graduate students are trained in the various techniques of coal sample preparation, analysis, and interpretation.
• The other primary purpose is to serve as a research laboratory for faculty members who are engaged in coal research.
• A secondary purpose is to provide assistance in the form of consultation and specialized sample analysis to faculty members within the university and other scientists outside the university who are engaged in coal and carbon research.

Support: The Coal Characterization Laboratory is supported by the Department of Geology, the Coal Research Center, and external research funding which has exceeded four million dollars over the last fifteen years.

Collaboration: The research has been conducted by scientists from the Geology Department as well as the departments of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, and various departments in the College of Engineering. A strong and expanding effort in both national and international collaboration on coal research has always been central to the scope of the Laboratory. This research collaboration has led to publications with colleagues from the following institutions:

Coal Petrology Laboratory:

Sample Preparation - the lab is well equipped for coal sample preparation, with crushers, grinding and splitting devices, and six Buehler automatic polishing units.

Petrographic Analysis:

Analytical Capabilities:

Incident and Transmitted Light Maceral Analysis

Reflectance Analysis

Fluorescence Maceral Analysis

Fluorescence Spectral Analysis

Digital Imaging and Recording

Microscope Equipment:

6 Leitz SM Lux microscopes

3 Leitz Orthoplan microscopes

1 Leitz Ortholux microscope

1 Zeiss Universal microscope

Two of these microscopes are capable of reflectance analysis, and three are also capable of fluorescence analysis. The reflectance and spectral analysis and are interfaced to their own dedicated computers. One of these has a new diode array detector for extremely fast acquisition of fluorescence spectrophotometric data and another one has been redesigned for state-of-the-art reflectance measurements with an automated rotating polarizer.

Maceral Analysis - by point counting techniques in both white light and blue light to distinguish different coals by the types and amounts of macerals present (see Figures 1-6). Typical uses of this data are to predict coke strength and to predict crushing behavior.

Fig. 1 Vitrinite maceral in white light (width of field is 300 micrometers)	Fig. 2 Typical sporinite maceral (dark body with bilateral symmetry) in blue light (width of field is 300 micrometers)	Fig. 3 Typical sporinite maceral (yellow body with bilateral symmetry) in blue light (width of field is 300 micrometers)
Fig. 4 Typical resinite maceral (orange body) in white light (width of field is 300 micrometers)	Fig. 5 Typical resinite maceral (yellow body) in blue light (width of field is 300 micrometers)	Fig. 6 Typical fusinite maceral in white light (width of field is 300 micrometers)

Reflectance Analysis - by measuring the amount of light reflected from polished surfaces of vitrinite macerals (see figures 7 and 8). The principal application of these measurements are to determine the rank of a given coal sample.

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fluorescence Spectral Analysis: - with a Leitz Ploem Illuminator and a diode array detector to measure the fluorescence spectra of individual macerals (see Figures 9 and 10). Typical applications include distinguishing between micronized macerals and the detection of weathering.

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

• Advanced Coal Petrographic Research
• Advanced Fluorescence Spectral Reasearch
• Digital Imaging Production of Atlas Handbook