Chemistry and geology of coal: nature, composition, coking, gasification, liquefaction, production of chemicals, formation, peatification, coalification, coal types, and ranks

As probably the most complex natural (geological) material, as well as a parent of the industrial revolution and the most important source of heat and electricity in the world, coal has attracted and continues to attract special attention of scientists and the entire world population. In this context, this lecture text is intended to provide both chemistry and geology students as well as teachers of courses on the chemistry and geology of coal with a solid background of the chemistry and geology of coal. Various aspects of coal chemistry are covered, including the nature of coal, its composition, coking, gasification, liquefaction and production of chemicals. Coal geology concerns major eras of coal formation as well as the processes of peatification, coalification and the chemical processes of coalification, coal types and their properties, coal lithotypes and coal ranks. Each of these topics is an important subject in its own, and this text is aimed to give only a brief overview of each, emphasising the relationship between the geology and chemistry of coal

Chemical and mineralogical characterization of volcanic glass (perlite) from Republic of Macedonia

Characterization of the volcanic glass (perlite) from Bitola region (Republic of Macedonia) was performed by the chemical, XRPD, IR and SEM analyses. The chemical analysis shows that the volcanic glass (perlite) represents an acidic volcanic rock with high percentage of SiO2 (72.45%), high percentage of alkali metal oxides (4.21% K2O, 3.56 % Na2O), and loss on ignition 3.54%. Results of the XRPD analyses indicate the presence of the amorphous phase with small presence of crystalline phases (feldspars, quartz, cristobalite and magnetite). SEM examinations point to the glassy structure with presence of pores with 50-100 μm in size

Intriguing minerals: quartz and its polymorphic modifcations

This lecture text condenses the characteristics of quartz and its rich palette of varieties. The mineralogy and crystallography of quartz and its forms, the origin of its colors, and their important physical and chemical characteristics are discussed. The geological occurrence of quartz and its varieties in the world is also presented, with special attention to North Macedonia. Their applications in various industries are also included. Knowledge of the specifc properties of SiO2 minerals is indispen�sable for understanding and reconstruction of geological processes, as well as for specifc technical application

Micro-Raman Spectroscopy for Detection of Label-Free and Oil Red O Labeled PEGylated Nanoliposomes in hCmec/D3 Cell Internalization Studies

Rapid development of nanomedicines necessitates advancement in internalization techniques which can accurately distinguish between the complex environments of cells and nanocarriers. Internalization (or endocytosis) studies of oil red O labeled and label-free PEGylated-lecithin/cholesterol nanoliposomes was performed using micro-Raman spectroscopy. The C.O stretching vibrations and CCH scissoring bendings of naphthalene ring around 1225 cm.1 as well as the N=N stretching vibrations at 1377 cm.1 are prominent peaks absent from the label-free spectra which can be used for detection of internalized oil red O labeled nanoliposomes. Suitability of oil red O as a liposome marker was confirmed by stability studies of the incorporated dye and automated fluorescence cell counting. The C.C stretching region with a prominent wide band centered at 1080 cm.1 indicative of larger gauche conformer content typical for the lecithin-cholesterol nanoliposomes and the strong maximum at 980 cm.1 associated with O.C.C.N+ stretching vibrations of the liposome polar head groups are important for studying label-free nanoliposome cell internalization

Chemical, mineralogical and structural features of native and expanded perlite from Macedonia

The physico-mechanical, chemical and mineralogical characteristics of volcanic glass (perlite) from the Mariovo region (Macedonia) as well as the mineralogical changes that occur during its thermal treatment were investigated to demonstrate its utilization for industrial use. The native perlite was characterized by chemical analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and solid- state NMR. The chemical examination suggests that the perlite represents an acidic volcanic rock with a high percentage of SiO2 (72.45%), high in alkali metal oxides (4.21 wt.% K2O, 3.56 wt.% Na2O), with a loss of ignition 3.54 wt.%. Results from the XRPD indicated major amorphous behaviour, with low amounts of feldspars, quartz, and cristobalite. SEM examinations revealed glassy structure with presence of certain pores (dimensions ranging from 50–100 μm). The determined expansion coefficient was 20 times its original volume. XRPD of expanded perlite compared to the native perlite depicted new intensive peaks of cristobalite. SEM and TEM revealed irregular morphology with broken or ragged edges. On the basis of the chemical and mineralogical composition, the studied perlite is classified as an appropriate material suitable as ceramic flux to lower the sintering temperature.</p

Investigation of p-SCN-Bn-DOTA-trastuzumab labeled with radioactive and non-radioactive lutetium and yttrium: a crucial step for future applications

The significance lies in preparing stable, trastuzumab-immunoconjugate through the utilization of non-radioactive LuCl3 and YCl3, via p-SCN-Bn-DOTA. This approach is crucial to determine potential physicochemical alterations in immunoconjugate structure following metal binding. Post-conjugation, employing a 1:20 molar ratio, freeze-drying was performed to obtain stable immunoconjugates for subsequent analysis. Several chemical methods were employed to characterize antibody stability and retained immunoreactivity within the formulated immunoconjugates. Proof of protein integrity came from SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, with uniform fragment intensities (25 kDa for light chain, 50 kDa for heavy chain) indicating antibody non-degradation (1). IR and Raman spectroscopy verified secondary structural changes, with the presence of characteristic amide bands in both spectra indicating the retention of native secondary structure (2). Employing MALDI-TOF-MS, 4.9 p-SCN-Bn-DOTA molecules were determined per antibody molecule. The promising outcomes from non-radioactive labeling provide an opportunity for potential labeling with radioactive lutetium-177 and yttrium-90, each with a specific activity of 200 µCi/mL. Radioisotopes were incubated with p-SCN-Bn-DOTA-trastuzumab for an hour at 40 ºC. Evaluation of radiochemical purity and stability was conducted using the ITLC-SG system. Optimal mobile phases, specifically 0.4 M methanol:sodium acetate (1:1) for yttrium-90 and 0.9% NaCl for lutetium-177, facilitated thorough examination. Remarkable radiolabeling efficiency was achieved, >96% for yttrium-90 and >99% for lutetium-177. Stability assessments after 72 hours demonstrated greater stability in 177Lu-p-SCN-Bn-DOTA-trastuzumab (<1.5% lutetium-177 release) compared to the 90Y-labeled counterpart (<17% yttrium-90 release). This study demonstrates the successful development of radioimmunoconjugates, positioning this agent for potential application in vivo investigations

Fabrication of Ceramic Monoliths from Diatomaceous Earth: Effects of Calcination Temperature on Silica Phase Transformation

The raw diatomaceous earth from the vicinity of Bitola (North Macedonia) showed low bulk density (0.61–0.69 g/cm3), high-water absorption (75–81%) and porosity (66–72%). The chemical composition was determined with ICP-MS, revealing the following results for the diatomaceous earth: SiO2 (63.69 wt%), Al2O3 (11.79 wt%), Fe2O3 (5.95 wt%), MnO (0.15 wt%), TiO2 (0.65 wt%), CaO (1.51 wt%), MgO (2.24 wt%), P2O5 (0.13 wt%), K2O (1.64 wt%), Na2O (0.93 wt%), LOI (11.21 wt%). XRPD data of the examined sample of clayey diatomite mainly depicted crystalline behavior with a small presence of amorphous phase. The crystalline mineral phases mainly comprise: silica (quartz), feldspars (plagioclase), mica (muscovite), chlorites and dolomite. SEM and TEM results show cased presence of micro- and nanostructures with pores ranging from 250 to 600 nm. The clayey diatomite was sintered at three temperatures (900, 1000 and 1100ºC) for a period of 1 h. XRPD of the sintered samples at 1100ºC showed certain thermal stability and formation of new phases (mullite and tridymite) that makes the analyzed diatomaceous earth suitable for production of various types of ceramic, construction and thermal insulating materials

Minerals from Macedonia XII. The dependence of quartz and oral color on trace element composition - AAS, FT IR and MICRO-RAMAN spectroscopy study

The dependence of the color of quartz and opal natural minerals, collected from different localities in the Re­ public of Macedonia (Alinci, Belutce, Budinarci, Mariovo, Sasa, Sazdevo, Caniste, Cesinovo, Zletovo) on their ele­ment composition is studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT IR), micro-Raman spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). In order to determine the content of different trace elements (AI, Cd, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb and Zn), 15 quartz and 2 opal mineral samples, using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and Zeeman electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) are studied. To avoid matrix interferences, the method for elimination of silicium is proposed. Optimal instrumental parameters for ETAAS determination (temperature and time for drying, pyrolysis and atomizing) are established by extensive test­ ing for each investigated element. It is found that the milky white color of quartz minerals is due to the presence of traces of Ca, the appearance of black color is the result of the existence of Pb, Mn and AI impurities, and the occur­rence of Fe and Cr introduce appearance of red and green color, respectively. Preliminary identification of the minerals is based on the comparison of our results, obtained by using the in­ frared and Raman vibrational spectroscopy, with the corresponding literature data for the analogous mineral species originating all over the world. An overview of the basic morphological and physico-chemical characteristics of the quartz and opal minerals and the geology of the localities is given. The colored pictures of the studied quartz and opal minerals are presented as well

Chemical, mineralogical and structural characterization of diatomite from Republic of Macedonia

For the characterization of diatomite from Vitachevo (Kavadarci, Republic of Macedonia), chemical, mineralogical and structural examinations were performed. The results of the chemical analysis of diatomite revealed a SiO2 content exceeding 89%. The X-ray powder diffraction indicates presence of amorphous phase, as well as presence of crystalline phases quartz, muscovite and cristobalite. The results of the infra-red confirm the results of the XRPD analyses. The SEM examinations explain the high porosity of the material and the presence of pores with nano-metric dimensions ranging from 300-600 nm. Based on the performed analysis the raw material can be utilized for various uses