Inorganic constituents

Inorganic elanents can be included in coal as minerals or as elanents incorporated in the organic structure (Chapters 3, 7, and 10). The most common example of the latter is the incorporation of sulfur into macerals as organic sulfur. Minerals can be incorporated into the peat during deposition, result from epigenetic processes, or be the consequence of metamorphic changes within the coal. 

Lithotype Maceral and Symbol Microlithotype Constituent Macerals 

Fusain Fusinite Sclerotinite Cutinite Inertinite (I) Fusinite  

Sources Francis, W., Coat Its Formation and Compositirm, Edward Arnold Ltd., London, U.K., 1961 From Murchison, D. and Westoll, T.S., Eds., Coal and Coal-Bearing Strata, Elsevier, New York, 1968. Note Carbargrlite (carbonaceous shale) contains 20%-60% by volume of inorganic mineral impurities. If the pa-centage of inorganic mineral is greater than 60%, the material is classified as shale. 

Clay minerals, quartz, calcite, siderite, and pyrite/marcasite are the most common minerals in coals. All naturally occurring elements have been found in coal. 

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Ash and Inorganic Constituents. Ash may be measured gravimetdcaHy by incineration in the presence of sulfudc acid or, more conveniendy, by conductivity measurement. The gravimetric result is called the sulfated ash. The older carbonate ash method is no longer in use. Ash content of sugar and sugar products is approximated by solution conductivity measurements using standardized procedures and conversion factors. 

The weathering process which eventually reduces the rock of the parent material to the inorganic constituents of soil comprises both physical and chemical changes. Size reduction from rocks to the colloidal state depends not only upon the mechanical action of natural forces but also on chemical solubilisation of certain minerals, action of plant roots, and the effects of organic substances formed by biological activity. 

Trace elements inorganic constituents of special enzymes. 

Table II summarizes analytical data for dissolved inorganic matter in a number of natural water sources (J3, 9, J 9, 20, 21). Because of the interaction of rainwater with soil and surface minerals, waters in lakes, rivers and shallow wells (<50m) are quite different and vary considerably from one location to another. Nevertheless, the table gives a useful picture of how the composition of natural water changes in the sequence rain ->- surface water deep bedrock water in a granitic environment. Changes with depth may be considerable as illustrated by the Stripa mine studies (22) and other recent surveys (23). Typical changes are an increase in pH and decrease in total carbonate (coupled), a decrease in 02 and Eh (coupled), and an increase in dissolved inorganic constituents. The total salt concentration can vary by a factor of 10-100 with depth in the same borehole as a consequence of the presence of strata with relict sea water. Pockets with such water seem to be common in Scandinavian granite at >100 m depth.

Similarly, a composite of hydroxyapatite and a network formed via cross-linking of chitosan and gelatin with glutaraldehyde was developed by Yin et al. [ 169]. A porous material, with similar organic-inorganic constituents to that of natural bone, was made by the sol-gel method. The presence of hydroxyapatite did not retard the formation of the chitosan-gelatin network. On the other hand, the polymer matrix had hardly any influence on the high crystallinity of hydroxyapatite. 

Lambert, J.B. and Weydert, J.M. 1993 The fundamental relationship between ancient diet and the inorganic constituents of bone as derived from feeding experiments. Archaeometry 35 279-294. 

Certified reference materials (CRMs) to validate measurements of organic constituents were introduced in the early 1980 s, more than a decade after the development of the first natural matrix CRMs for inorganic constituents. There are three types of CRMs to support measurements of organic constituents ... 

Lyophillzation Hater sample is frozen and pure water is removed by sublimation under vacuum. Nonvolatile organics Can handle large sample volumes. Selective loss of volatile organics. Inorganic constituents concentrated simultaneously. 

CHRED Chemical reduction Chemical reduction converts metal and inorganic constituents in wastewater into insoluble precipitates that are later settled out of the wastewater, leaving a lower concentration of metals and inorganics in the wastewater... 

REMTL Recovery of metals Recovery of organics uses direct physical removal methods to extract metal or inorganic constituents from a waste... 

Table 20.5 lists the partition and transformation processes applicable in the deep-well environment and indicates whether they significantly affect the toxicity or mobility of hazardous wastes. None of the partition processes results in detoxification (decomposition to harmless inorganic constituents), but all affect mobility in some way. All transformation processes except complexation can result in detoxification however, because transformation processes can create new toxic substances, the mobility of the waste can be critical in all processes except neutralization. 

Precipitation may be significant for heavy metals and other inorganic constituents in injected wastes. For example, sulfide ions have a strong affinity for metal ions, precipitating as metal sulfides. The dissolved constituents in injected wastes and reservoir fluids would not be in equilibrium with the in situ brines because of the fluids different temperature, pH, and Eh. When the fluids are mixed, precipitation reactions can lead to injection-well plugging. 

Detoxification is an irreversible change in a substance from toxic to nontoxic form. For example, when an organic substance breaks down into its inorganic constituents, detoxification has taken place. Transtoxification occurs when one toxic compound is converted into another toxic compound. Toxification is the conversion of a nontoxic compound to a toxic substance. Table 20.6 lists some examples of each. 

The complete conversion of an organic compound to inorganic constituents (water, carbon dioxide). Generally results in complete detoxification unless one of the products is of environmental concern, such as nitrates and sulfides under certain conditions. 

Organic constituents in the first wastestream totaled about 14,000 mg/L (acetaldehyde, acetal-dol, acetic acid, butanol-1, butyraldehyde, chloroacetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, phenol, and propionic acid) and about 5200 mg/L inorganic constituents. The pH ranged from 4 to 6, and TDS ranged from 3000 to 10,000 mg/L. 

It is customary in analytical chemistry to examine unknown samples by a screening procedure using a multicomponent method like OES or MS in case of inorganic constituents on the one hand and GC or HPLC in case of organic constituents on the other. In this way, an overview can be obtained on the type of constituents and their approximate contents. In many cases it is necessary to get a deeper insight into the sample composition. For this reason, the one or a few constituents have to determine more precisely. 

Miller, R. N. "A Geochemical Study of the Inorganic Constituents in Some Low-Rank Coals, Ph.D. Thesis, Pennsylvania State University, 1977, 314 pp. 

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