Chemical characterization of the surface sites of coal

This report briefly describes the computer codes chart and kid as part of a data analysis program on coal research. 1 fig. (CBS

Chemical characterization of the surface sites of coal

We propose to do experimental studies in four related areas concerning the acid-base properties of coal surfaces; (1) develop high precision flow microcalorimetric methods for determining the concentrations and strengths of the acidic and basic surface sites of coal powders; (2) develop photo-acoustic FTIR and solid-state NMR spectral shift techniques for determination of the concentrations and strengths of acidic and basic surface sites of coal powders; (3) determine the concentrations and strengths of the acidic and basic surface sites of some of the well-characterized coal samples from Argonne National Labs, comparing the coal samples before and after demineralization treatments with HCl and HF; (4) study the effects of surface acidity and basicity on the coal/water interface, with emphasis on the role of interfacial acid-base interactions in the adsorption of ions, surfactants and coal/water slurry stabilizers. A practical application of the new measurements of the acidity and basicity of surface sites will be to exploit acid-base contributions to preferential wettability for optimizing separation of coal pyrites from the organic components. Work this quarter concentrated on flow microcalorimetry for assessing acidity/basicity of coal powders. 8 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab