Indian Coal Grading

Different grading systems for coking and non-coking

coals of India have been adopted. Coking coals are:
Nomenclature

Ash Ranges

Steel Grade I

Not exceeding 15%

Steel Grade II

Above 15% but not exceeding 18%

Washery Grade I

Above 18% but not exceeding 21%

Washery Grade II

Above 21% but not exceeding 24%

Washery Grade III

Above 24% but not exceeding 28%

Washery Grade IV

Above 28% but not exceeding 38%

Table. 4 Showing Grading of Indian Coking Coals

 Non-coking coals are graded according to

moisture, ash and useful heat value
(UHV). UHV can be calculated from
moisture and ash percentage as follows:UHV = 8900-138 (ash and moisture %) Kcal/kg.

The grading of non-coking coals as per

Government of India notification No.
280112/9/92 CA, dated 16th February,
1993 and subsequent revision with effect
from 17th June 1993 is given in Table - 5

Table 5: Grading of Non-coking coal

Type

Grade

Long flame coal produced in collieries in

all the states except in Assam,
Arunachala Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Nagaland and Singareni collieries in the
state of Andhra Pradesh

Exceeding 6200.

Exceeding 5600 but not exceeding 6200.

Exceeding 4940 but not exceeding 5600.

Exceeding 4200 but not exceeding 4940.

Exceeding 6200.

Exceeding 5600 but not exceeding 6200.

Exceeding 4940 but not exceeding 5600.

Exceeding 4200 but not exceeding 4940.

Exceeding 3360 but not exceeding 4200.

Exceeding 2400 but not exceeding 3360.

Exceeding 1300 but not exceeding 2400.

Coal ( other than long flame) produced in

all states except in the state of Assam,
Arunachala Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Nagaland

Useful Heat Value (K.Cal./kg.)

TYPES OF COAL

Depending on the origin, coals have been

grouped in to
(a) Sapropelic coal, and
(b) Humic coals.
(c) Unusual coal types:

(a) Sapropelic Coal:

Sapropelic coals are formed by putrefaction
process.
These coals are essentially non-banded in
character and are rich in resins, waxes or fats
and therefore richer in hydrogen than the humic
coals.
They are usually lenticular in shape, local in
extent and occur at the top of a coal bed.
Two types of Sapropelic coals have been
recognized:
(i) Boghead (Torbanite)
(ii) Cannel.

(b) Humic Coal:

Unlike Sapropelic coals the humic coals are
banded in character and the constituent bands
are distinct in their physical appearance.
Humic coals have a series of rank starting from
wood-peat-lignite-bituminous coal to anthracite.
In humic coals, the remains of wood and bark
predominate.
Over the time, geological processes apply
pressure to peat , which is transformed
successively into the following ranks:

 Lignite - also referred to as brown coal, is

the lowest rank of coal and used almost
exclusively as fuel for steam-electric
power generation. Jet is a compact form of
lignite that is sometimes polished and has
been used as an ornamental stone since
the Iron Age .
Sub-bituminous coal - whose properties
range from those of lignite to those of
bituminous coal and are used primarily as
fuel for steam-electric power generation.

 Bituminous coal - a dense coal, usually

black, sometimes dark brown, often with
well-defined bands of bright and dull
material, used primarily as fuel in steamelectric power generation, with substantial
quantities also used for heat and power
applications in manufacturing and to make
coke .
Anthracite - the highest rank, used
primarily for residential and commercial
space heating.

(c) Unusual coal types:

These coal types include paper coal and colored
coal. Paper coal look like accumulated sheets of
soiled light brown semitransparent papers.
These coals consist almost entirely of cuticles
(outerskins of plants).
The coals being carboniferous in age are of
lignite rank.
Humic coals may show bright variegated colors
like peacock, a mixture of blue, green yellow or
red. Peacock coal.

Chemical characterisation

 Coal is a mixture of complex organic compounds

with some amounts of moisture and inorganic
mineral matter.
Carbon, Hydrogen and oxygen are the principal
constituents.
Nitrogen and sulphur are present in small
amounts.
A progressive evolutionary series links up the
vegetal debris of the swamp forests with peatlignite-bituminous-anthracite coals. There is a
steady increase of carbon and decrease of
oxygen as start with wood and end with
anthracite; the hydrogen also decrease (Table-1).

Table-1: Chemical change from wood to anthracite

Carbon
%

Hydrogen
%

Oxygen
%

Nitrogen
%

Calorific value
(Kilo Joule/kg)
Range between

Wood

50.0

6.0

43.0

1.0

14,400

17,400

Peat

57.0

6.0

35.5

1.7

13,800

20,000

Lignite

65.0

5.2

28.3

1.5

23,000

29,000

Bituminous
coal

84.0

5.2

9.3

1.5

29,000

35,000

Anthrocite

93.5

2.8

2.8

0.9

35,000

35,400

 Amongst all the elements present in coal,

carbon is the chief constituent which
increases with the maturity or rank of coal.
The extent to which free carbon exists in
coal is uncertain.
It is probably absent from the low rank fuel
such as lignite, but may be present in
those of higher ranks, such as anthracite.
Graphitic coals found in association with
metamorphic rocks appear to consist
largely of free carbon.

 The oxygen also the dominating constituent in

coal which, however, decreases as the maturity
or rank of the coal increases.
The hydrogen is characteristic of coal and the
compounds of carbon and hydrogen i.e. the
hydrocarbon from the combustible matter.
On burning coal the smoke or gases are driven
as volatile matter.
The residue that remains after the volatile matter
is driven off may be an agglomeratic mass or a
non-coherent mass.

 The term caking is used for the solid

agglomeratic residue. When no agglomeratic
product is obtained the coal is said to be noncaking. When agglomeratic residue is swollen
and forms coherent spongy mass the coal is
said to be coking.
Ash is the inorganic residue left after the
complete combustion of coal. For industrial
purpose ash in coal plays a vital role.
For commercial utilization the heating value or
calorific value and moisture in coal are very
important parameters.
Besides carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen,
sulphur, phosphorous, arsenic and some other
elements may be present as impurities.

Proximate Analysis of Coal

 It includes determination of moisture,

volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash
content following the Indian standards
specification (ISI: 1350: Pt i-1984).
The procedures for proximate analyses
are rather empirical, but do not require
elaborate costly equipments. As such this
analysis is widely used for industrial
purpose and also for grinding the coals.

Moisture in coal is found in two forms:

Free moisture and

Hydroscopic moisture
When coal comes in contact with water in the seam or in a
washery it carries free moisture.
Coal is hydroscopic in nature, particularly the low rank coal
absorbs or lose moisture depending on the humidity
and temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.
Hence, for proximate analysis the sample of coal is left
exposed in a thin layer in a dry and well ventilated
place.
This air dried sample is then reduced to a sizeable quantity
following the instructions for sampling by the Indian
Standards (IS:346 Part I 1964).
Sampling is to take a representative portion of the bulk
sample originally for the laboratory.

Moisture
For the determination of inherent moisture
1 g of air dried coal is taken in a silica dish
and heated to a temperature of 108o 2o
C in an oven. The loss in weight before
and after the heating is taken as moisture.
The loss in weight is reported as per cent
of the original weight as moisture content.
The moisture determined by the method
stated varies and depends upon the
temperature and relative humidity in the
laboratory.

 It means that moisture varies with the

variation of temperature and relative
humidity of the air in the laboratory.
A relative exists between the moisture
content and the rank or maturity of coals.
Generally, the moisture content of low
rank coals (lignite) is > 20% where as in
the highest rank coal anthracite moisture
content is generally 1-2%.
Strongly coking coals also contain
moisture <2%

 From the buyers point of view moisture is

mostly unwanted. This is because when
coal is heated endothermic reaction
follows. It means some amount of chilling
the fire which in turn increases the chance
of smoke formation.
If the coal contains inherent moisture <5%
some water is added to make up the total
moisture content about 5%.
Similarly for making coke about 3-5% of
free moisture is essential for best result.

Volatile Matter
Measuring volatile matter 1g of air dried coal is
heated under controlled conditions in a standard
crucible with a lid. The crucible is placed in a
furnace and heated to 900 10o C for a period of
seven minutes. The loss in weight after heating
is calculated as % of the sample taken for the
test. This gives the % of moisture and volatile
matter.
To obtain the % of volatile matter, the moisture
content should also be determined at the same
time. The moisture content value is deducted
from the total % of volatile matter obtained in
volatile matter determination.

For example:
Sample taken for VM determination is 1 g.
After heating to 900 10o C for seven minutes the
weight of the residue is 0.75 g. Therefore, loss in
weight due to escape of moisture + Volatile matter
= 0.25 g.

% loss due to VM + moisture = 25%

Moisture as determined = 2%
Therefore, VM = 25% - 2% = 23%

 For all practical purposes, VM is taken as a

measure of rank.
The lower rank coals (lignite) contain >50% of
VM where as in highest rank coals (anthracite) it
is <10% (3-10%).
From the amount of VM content in a coal,
behavior of the coal on combustion,
carbonization and gasification can be judged.
The VM of prime coking coals ranges between
20-33%.
The best prime coking coals contain VM in the
range between 25-33%.
The blend generally contains 25-29% of VM.

Ash
It is obtained by the complete combustion
of the inorganic mineral matter of coal.
The mineral matter in a coal seam may be
of two types
One type is inherent mineral matter which
is intimately associated with the coal. This
type of mineral matter comes in contact of
coal during the early stage of coal
formation partly as terrigenous matter and
partly it is derive from the peat forming
plants.

 Other type is the adventitious or epigenetic

mineral matter. This is deposited subsequent to
the formation of coal in its cracks, fissures,
cleavage or cleats through percolating water.
The mineral matter in coal after combustion is
converted into ash.
Due to combustion, water of hydration, carbon
dioxide and sulphur dioxide are driven off from
the mineral matter.
As a result ash is roughly 10% less than the
original mineral matter.
Ash does not serve any useful purpose to the
buyer, rather, it is a burden to him and disposal
of ash poses a great problem.

The composition and character of ash affect

the price of coal.
Ash is found in two forms:
(1) in coarse form and
(2) in very fine powdered form.
The fine powdered form of fly ash goes up
the chimney and scatter all around the
area and form atmospheric pollution. Now
a day, using electrostatic precipitators, this
can be removed.

 Determination of ash 1 g of air dried coal ground

to pass through 212 micron IS sieve is taken in a
silica dish. This dish with thinly spread coal is
heated in a muffle furnace.
The temperature is raised to 500oC in 30
minutes and to 815 10oC in another 30-60
minutes.
The temperature is maintained for another 60
minutes.
The dish is then taken out and cooled in a
desiccators and weighed.
The difference in weight before and after the
heating gives the weight of ash, which can be
expressed in % of amount of original coal taken
for experiment.

Fixed Carbon
Fixed carbon is the weight loss upon
combustion of a devolatalized coal
sample. Fixed carbon is not determined. It
is estimated by deducting the sum total of
moisture %, Volatile Matter % and ash %
from 100.
FC = (M+VM+A).
The fixed carbon in a coal is not the same
as the total carbon content of a coal.

Dry ash-free basis or dry mineral matter free basis calculations

For the comparison of the result of

proximate analyses of different coals, the
result as obtained on air dried coal is
recalculated on dry ash free or dry mineral
matter free basis or generally known as
pure coal basis.
When 1 g of air dried coal is taken for
determining any parameter say VM. Not
taking pure coal, in fact, taking a mixture
of coal, Moisture and ash.

 Suppose 1 g of air dried coal contained 0.1 g

moisture (i.e. 10% moisture) + 0.2 g ash + 0.3 g
VM.
In this case 1 g of air dried coal contained 1 g
(0.1 g moisture + 0.2 g ash) = 0.7 g of pure coal.
So in effect in 0.7 g of pure coal 0.3 g of VM was
present.
Therefore, it is necessary to calculate how
much VM was present in 100% pure coal.
in 0.7 g of pure coal 0.3 g VM present.
Therefore in 100 g pure coal
(0.3 x 100)/0.7 = 42.85% VM present

Therefore, for Dry ash free (daf) basis

calculation the formulae is as follows:
VM (air dried) x 100
VM (daf) =
In present

-----------------------------100 (M + A)

Where M = Moisture % on air dried coal;

A = ash % on air dried coal
VM (air dried) = volatile matter in air dried
coal.

 Now mentioned earlier ash content of a coal does not

give true weight of mineral matter present.
Ash = (mineral matter) (water of hydration)
Therefore, ash % when multiplied by 1.08 or 1.1 gives
the amount of total mineral matter.
In this case mineral matter free calculation becomes as
follows:
VM (air dried) x 100
VM (dry mineral matter free or dmf) =

-----------------------------100 (M + 1.1 A)

Where M = Moisture % on air dried coal;

A = ash % on air dried coal
VM (air dried) = volatile matter % on air dried coal.

 Apart from water of hydration, CO2 or SO2 may

evolve from mineral matter during ash
formation, if carbonate or sulphide minerals are
present.
Therefore, for final calculations corrections for
CO2 and/or SO2 have to be made.
For this purpose several elaborate calculation
have to be made which are not really necessary
for general purpose, particularly for Indian coals
which contain high ash.

Ultimate Analysis of Coal

The analysis is done in term of

carbon,
hydrogen,
nitrogen,
sulphur,
phosphorous and
chlorine.

Carbon and Hydrogen

When coal is bunt in a current of oxygen, all the
carbon is converted into carbon dioxide and
hydrogen into water.
These products are separately absorbed in
suitable reagents and the amount of carbon
dioxide or water that are formed are measure by
weighing.
Sulphur products are retained by lead chromate
and chlorine by silver gauge.
The oxides of nitrogen are eliminated using
granular manganese dioxide.

Nitrogen
It is determined by the Kjeldahl method
(Indian Standard 1975) in which a known
amount of coal is heated with
concentrated sulphuric acid in presence of
a catalyst to decompose the organic
matter and simultaneously convert the
nitrogen to ammonium sulphate for which
ammonia is released by steam distillation
in alkaline solution.
The ammonia is absorbed in boric acid
solution and titrated directly with 0.05 N
sulphuric acid.

Oxygen
There are methods of direct determination
of oxygen but they are seldom used.
The oxygen is obtained by difference, that
is, sum total of carbon, hydrogen and
nitrogen deducted from 100 is taken as
oxygen or oxygen % = 100 (C% + H%+N%).
Since carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen are
determined on air dried coals the results
have to be reported on dry ash free (daf)
or dry mineral matter free basis.

The formulas are as follows:

C (air dried) x 100
C (d.a.f) =

--------------------------- %
100 (M + A)
H (air dried) x 100

H (daf) =

-------------------------100 (M + A)

N (air dried) x 100

N (daf) =

-------------------------- %
100 (M + A)

O (daf) = 100 (C daf + H daf + N daf)

Where,
C (daf) = carbon % dry ash free basis;
C (air dried) = Carbon % on air dried coal;
M = Moisture % on air dried coal;
A = Ash % on air dried coal;
H (daf) = Hydrogen % dry ash free basis;
H (air dried) = Hydrogen % air dried coal;
N (daf) = Nitrogen % dry ash free basis;
N (air dried) = Nitrogen % air dried coal;
O (daf) = Oxygen % dry ash free basis;
O (air dried) = Oxygen % air dried coal;
For Dry mineral free basis calculation:
Instead of (100 (M+A) in the above mentioned formula
(100 (M+ 1.1 A ) is to be used.

From the point of view of evaluation of coal

properties ultimate analysis of coal is very
important.
The carbon content is a better measure for rank
than volatile matter.
The carbon content increases with increase in
rank.
It increases progressively from 65% carbon in
lignite to 93 - 94% carbon in anthracite.
The Oxygen content decreases progressively in
the coal series from 30-40% in lignite to 1 - 2%
in anthracite.

The hydrogen content remains the same

up to 90% after which it decreases.
In fact, over 90% carbon, hydrogen plays
a greater role in determining the rank of
coal the lower the hydrogen the greater is
the rank.
The prime coking coals generarlly contain
88-91% carbon 4.8 - 5.3% hydrogen and 2
- 6% of Oxygen (dmf basis).

Calorific Value
Calorific value is the most important
property of coal.
It is a type of measure obtained by burning
the coal and it is the most important
parameter for the assessment of the
quality of coal because the use of coal is
based on the available heat that is
produced from it.
The CV is determined in the laboratory
with a bomb calorimeter (IS:1350 Part II1970).

 The coal is burnt in an atmosphere of oxygen

under a pressure of about 25 atmosphere.
The coal inside the bomb is ignited eclectically.
The bomb is placed in an exactly known quantity
of water.
The heat produced is absorbed in the water.
Rise in temperature of the water after the
combustion is measure with an accurate
thermometer.
The calorific value is expressed in calories or
British thermal unit Btu or in Joule which is the
latest international standard of representation (1
joule = 0.239 cal; 1 cal = 4.187J; 1 kJ = 0.948
Btu; 1 Btu = 1.055kJ).

 The values directly obtained by

calorimetric method are gross calorific
values and are greatly than net values.
This is because the gross calorific value
includes all the heat available from the
heat of condensation of moisture in the
coal and the moisture formed by
combustion of the hydrogen in coal.
In the coal technology, gross calorific
value is generally used.
It is assumed that all the heat produced
including the heat of condensation of any
steam resulting from the combustion of
hydrogen.

The relation between gross calorific value

and net value is as follows:
Cal (net) = Cal (gross) 53 H
Calorific value can be calculated from
proximate or ultimate composition of coal.
The result obtained as such are only
approximate.

Calculation of Calorific Value from Goutals formula

Using Goutals formual Calorific value can be

calculated. According to Goutal
Calorific value = 82.FC + (Alfa) VM

Where FC = Fixed carbon on air dried coal.

VM = Volatile matter on air dried coal.

C (air dried) x 100

C (d.a.f) =

--------------------------- %
100 (M + A)

The (alfa) values are:

values in calculating calorific value form Goutals Formula
100 x VM
FC + VM

10

130

14

120

19

110

23

105

28

100

30

98

34

94

36

91

38

85

40

80

45

65

50

50

An example of calculation is as follows:

Proximate analysis on air dried coal is as
follows:
Moisture 1.2
Ash
18.8
Volatile Matter 33.4
Fixed Carbon 46.6
100 x VM
= ---------------FC + VM

100 x 33.4
----------------- = 41.75
46.6 + 33.4

Therefore = 74 as from table

Calorific value = 82 x 46.6 + 74 x 33.4 calories
= 6292.8 = 6293 calories

Using ultimate analysis calorific value can be

calculated using Dulongs formula which is as
follows:
QD = 388.12 H + 123.92 C 4269 calories
Where as QD = Gross calorific value.
C = Carbon % dmf basis.
H = Hydrogen % dmf basis.
Dulongs formula gives result which are
consistently too low for coal rich in oxygen. The
best agreement is with anthracites and with
coals low in oxygen. The accuracy becomes
progressively less as the oxygen increases.

Sealer (1938) has modified the Dulongs Formula as follows:

Qg = QD + O2

Where
Qg = Gross Calorific value.
QD = Gross calorific value calculated from Dulongs Formulae.
O = Oxygen % dmf basis

A number of formulae have been proposed for calculation of calorific value

of coal using carbon and hydrogen as parameters.
Mazumdar (1954) has suggested the following formulae for calculation of
calorific value, carbon and hydrogen form Proximate analyses:
1.
2.
3.

Q = 165 F + 136 (V-0.1 A) 108 M (1-0.01 M)

C = 0.97 F + 0.70 (V-0.1 A) 0.6 M (1-0.01 M)
H = 0.036F + 0.086 (V-0.1 A)- 0.0035 M (1-0.02 M)

Where. Q = Calorific value. Btu/lb,

C = % carbon
H = % hydrogen
F = % fixed carbon
V = % volatiles
A = % ash
M = % moisture
(all items on air dried basis (60% RH)

Mazumdar (1981) amended H formula a for simplicity

and greater accuracy:
H = 3.60 + 0.55 V 0.05 M
Where,
H = % hydrogen (dry mineral matter free basis).
V = % volatile matter (dry mineral matter free basis).
M = air dried moisture on mineral free basis.

Sulphur

Suphur in coal is much more detrimental

then the ash.
The high sulphur coal is dangerous from
the point of view of mining because it
produces acidic mine water.
Sulphur usually exists in coal in three
forms :
as sulphate sulphur
as pyritic sulphur (Produced from iron pyrite (FeS2) and
as organic sulphur.
(sum total of sulphate, pyritic and organic sulphur is known as total sulphur)

 The total suphur is determined by heating

coal in intimate contact with ESchkas
mixture (two parts by weight of calcined magnesia and on part
of anhydrous sodium carbonate) in an oxidizing
atmosphere to convert the sulphur to
sulphate. Then extracted with water.
The soulble suphate in water is
precipitated as barium sulphate when
barium chloride is added to the soluble
sulphate solution.
The amount of barium sulphate is
determined by gravimetric method.

 The sulphate sulphur is determined by extracting

coal with dilute sulphuric acid, and determining
the amount of sulphur in the extract.
Pyritic sulphur is quantitatively dissolved by
dilute nitric acid. It is indirectly estimated by
determining the amount of iron combined in the
pyrite state and calculating the amount of
sulphur associated with this iron.
Organic sulphur is calculated by deducting the
sum of sulphate and pyritic sulphur from the total
sulphur of coal.
organic sulphur = Total sulphur (sulphate sulphur + pyritic sulphur)

Phosphorus

It is also unwanted element in coal.

In the process of conversion of coal into
coke the phosphorus gets transferred into
the coke.
In Indian coals phosphorus content is low.
As such, coke produced from Indian coals
contains about 0.15% phosphorus well
with the specific limit of blast furnace coke
which is 0.25%.

Trace Elements
Apart form carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen and sulphur which are the main
constituents of coal, almost any other
element may be present in coal, at lest, in
traces in the range upto about 1000 ppm.
The highly variable occurrence of trace
elements in coal is probably due to the
variation in source rock and also the
tectonic set up of the depositional basins.

 The inorganic elements reported in coals from various

coalfields of the world are:
Ag, Al, As, Au, B, Ba, Be, C, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu,
F, Fe, Ga, Ge, He, Hf, Hg, I, Br, In, K, Na, Li, Mg, Mn,
Mo, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Pt, Rh, Pd, Ra, Rb, Re, S, Sb, Sc, Se,
Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, Th, Te, Ta, U, V, W, Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu,
Gd, Tb, Ho, Dy, Er, Yb, Lu, Zn, Zr.
The determination of these elements in coal and ashes
have been conducted by
X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy,
Neutron Activation Analysis,
Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry,
Spark source Mass Spectrometry and
Atomic Absorption Spectrometry.

 Presently sufficient date on trace elements

in Indian coals are available in various
literatures.
The main contributions in this field on
Indian coals are :
Mukherjee et al (1982, 1988, 1992)
Singh et al (1983, 1985)
Singh (1991)
Chandra Singh (1994)

The source, concentration and accumulation

of trace elements in coal have been
suggested through the following natural
processes.
1. The elements absorbed by the plants
from the soil or crust (concentrate manly in
biogenic ash).
2.The elements associated with the mineral
matter (Sediments) brought into the basin
along with the vegetal matter through the
natural transporting agencies (concentrate
in terrigenous ash).

3. Metals contributed by the surface as well as

underground circulating water during the
primary state of coal formation. Most of these
trace elements form organometallic complexes
in coal.
4. Trace elements together with mineral matter
deposited in the coal microstructures and
deformational passages in the coal seams
through surface as well as underground
circulating water.
5. Trace elements deposited through the
hydrothermal solutions during the igneous
activity in and around the coal basins.

The enrichment of trace elements in coal is mainly

controlled by the following factors:
pH of the depositional basins,
Duration of supply of trace elements during the
initial stages of coal formation,
Rate of maturity of coal (Time Vs Rank),
Intensity of circulation of solutions,
Quality and quantity of the prominent sorbants
(humic substances),
Nature of ash,
Microstructural framework of the coal seams,
Porosity of the overlying and underlying rocks
and
Rate of sedimentation and tectonics of the coal
basin.

Essentially all the elements in coal have a harmful

effect. When coal is burnt some of the volatile trace
elements escape to the atmosphere.
However, most of the trace element remain behind in
the ash.
Many trace elements are now being considered not only
as potential environmental pollutant, but also as poisons
to the costly catalyst in certain coal gasification
schemes.
One potential environmental impact associated with
coal gasification is the emission of trace elements, such
as arsenic, mercury, lead and others.
Some of these are found in most coals in
concentrations ranging from less than one part per
million up to hundred parts per million.