Coals Tertiary

In addition to the Permian coals there are occurrences of Mesozoic and Tertiary coals in Australia. Mesozoic coals occur in small basins in South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland and vary in rank from brown to bituminous. Perhaps the most notable occurrences in the present context are the Walloon coals in the Clarence-Morton basin in Queensland, e.g. Millmerran bituminous coal (78% carbon, vitrinite plus exinite 90%). ... 

The most significant Tertiary coals are represented by the vast brown coal deposits in Victoria, particularly in the Latrobe Valley. These brown coals with 68-70% carbon, occur in very thick seams (up to 200 meters) under shallow cover (<30 meters). These coals differ from the Tertiary brown coals of North America in that they have a much lower ash yield and significant amounts of the ash-forming inorganic constituents are present as cations on the carboxylic acid groups which are a characteristic of low rank coals ... 

In an attempt to delineate the degree of preservation of lignin in pre-Tertiary coal, we examined numerous coalified wood samples ranging in age from Carboniferous to Cretaceous. The samples were initially screened by solid-state l C nuclear magnetic resonance to detect the possible presence of methoxyl carbon. Once such carbons were detected, the samples were subjected to analytical pyrolysis to determine the relative yields of methoxyphenols which would provide an indication of the state of preservation of the lignin-derived structu units. We report here on the identification of lignin-derived methoxyphenols in the coalified wood samples selected for analytical pyrolysis. 

Figure 10 Plot of natural gas yields as a function of rank from a European Tertiary coal and a Carboniferous coal from the eastern USA.

Lin R., Dzou L., Doyle K., and Jardine E. (1997) Far-east Tertiary coal-related petroleum systems. AAPG Bull. 81, 1557. 

Meissner F. F. (1984) Cretaceous and lower Tertiary coals as sources for gas accumulations in the Rocky Mountain area. In Hydrocarbon Source Rocks of the Greater Rocky Mountain Region (eds. J. Woodward, F. F. Meissner, and... 

Villar H. J., Piittmann W., and Wolf M. (1988) Organic geochemistry and petrography of Tertiary coals and carbonaceous shales from Argentina. Org. Geochem. 13, 1011-1021. 

Figure 3.7 a. Cumulative gas yield and rate of gas generation for US Carboniferous coals b. Cumulative gas yield and rate of gas generation for German Tertiary coals (after Higgs, 1986, Geological Society Special Publication, no. 23, Figs 4, 8, 10 and 11. Reprinted by permission). 

In simple terms ash partings are relatively abundant in Cretaceous and Tertiary coals of the West and rare in Carboniferous coals of the East. We are less certain of the Gulf Coast Tertiary lignites but they appear to have at least a moderate abundance of... 

Sclerotinite Moderately reflecting tissue of fungal origin, largely restricted to Tertiary coals Micrinite Largely of secondary origin formed by disproportionation of lipid or lipid-like... 

The recovery of petroleum from sandstone and the release of kerogen from oil shale and tar sands both depend strongly on the microstmcture and surface properties of these porous media. The interfacial properties of complex liquid agents—mixtures of polymers and surfactants—are critical to viscosity control in tertiary oil recovery and to the comminution of minerals and coal. The corrosion and wear of mechanical parts are influenced by the composition and stmcture of metal surfaces, as well as by the interaction of lubricants with these surfaces. Microstmcture and surface properties are vitally important to both the performance of electrodes in electrochemical processes and the effectiveness of catalysts. Advances in synthetic chemistry are opening the door to the design of zeolites and layered compounds with tightly specified properties to provide the desired catalytic activity and separation selectivity. 

Let us take another example. At the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Pleistocene and the Upper Tertiary (Pliocene and Miocene) reach a thickness of more than 6000 meters. Nevertheless, the coaliflcation has only reached the stage of high volatile bituminous at this depth. This observation resulted from our studies of samples from a deep borehole located in Terrebonne Parish, La. By reflectance measurements on humic inclusions in claystones of the uppermost Middle Miocene encountered at a depth of 5440 meters, we obtained a mean value (under oil) of 0.95% reflectance, which is equivalent to the reflectance of vitrinites (out of deep boreholes) with 35-40% volatile matter (daf). On the other hand, we found low volatile bituminous coals (14-16% volatile matter, daf) at a depth of 5100 meters in a borehole in the Lower... 

Geoffrey H. Taylor. Tertiary bituminous coals examined in C.S.I.R.O. (Sydney) contain fusinite but little micrinite, sometimes virtually none. This would seem to preclude a genetic connection between fusinite and micrinite origin. 

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