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Trace elements in coal
Book Reviews
Trace Dalway
Elements
in Coal
J. Swaine
Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd, Oxford, ISBN 0408 033096, pp. 296, 270.00
UK, 1990
If you want to find a recent reference on any aspect of trace elements in coal then it will almost certainly be listed in this book. For this reason alone you will want access to this publication. Professor Swaine states that he intends the book to be a concise reference work for both the specialist and the beginner and in this aspect he has succeeded. It is indeed a vade-mecum for coal technologists and scientists. The heart of the book is contained in Chapter 5 which lists detailed information for 49 individual trace elements, from antimony to zirconium. This is presented in concise written and tabular form making it quick and easy to access the particular information you require. Aspects of origin, occurrence and analysis are covered in Chapters 1 to 4 and issues within including variations seams, radioactivity, and environmental and health matters are dealt with in Chapter 6 onwards. As the author states, the origins and occurrence of trace elements in coal are necessarily treated in a limited way since these topics merit books of their own. For this reason, the chapters on these topics tend to fall below the standard of the rest of the book, since an attempt is still made to give as much information as possible leading to long listings of references and some lack of connection between sections. Perhaps the author should have been more selective. However, the chapter on analysis is presented in a concise and readable way with good practical advice on all the analysis methods you could think of, together with their advantages and disadvantages. I found the chapter on radioactivity and coal very interesting, bringing the problem very much into perspective. Similarly discussion of environmental and health aspects is a vital part of any modern publication such as this and was presented concisely. including relevant references. The effects of beneticiation is of clear importance since a reduction of certain trace elements can also be achieved. The use of trace element analysis in seam correlation can also be of benefit and both these topics are discussed. Many of the above topics are included in a chapter on the relevance of trace elements in coal. For some reason this occurs towards the end of the book and I would recommend
the reader to look at this earlier rather than later. Clearly Professor Swaine has set out to provide a reference text and in this he has succeeded. This is a difficult task to achieve while at the same time producing a book that can be read. My view is that he has managed this very well in most
0016-2361,‘91/07090142 (‘1 1991 Butterworth-Heinemann
Ltd.
Spectroscopic John
R. Kershaw
Analysis
sections of the book but not quite so well in one or two others. But do not be put off by this. Any coal scientist or technologist, both industrial or academic, will find this book immensely useful and should make certain that they or their library has a copy. M. Cloke
of Liquids
(Ed.)
Coal Science and Technolonv_, Series No. 12, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1989, pp. 395 ISBN 0 444 873074 The aim of this book is to review the spectroscopic techniques used for characterizing coal liquids and to show how they have contributed to the development of coal liquefaction technology. Most of the book is devoted to the former, and consequently will be a useful reference source for analytical chemists engaged in studying coal liquefaction. It may well be of interest, too, to researchers unravelling the complex chemistry of other high molecular weight fuels, e.g. residual fuel oil and bitumen. Following a short introduction, there is a clear account of the suitability of various chromatographic techniques for separating coal liquids into fractions with similar polarity, functionality or molecular size prior to detailed characterization. This is followed by a series of chapters detailing the application of mass spectrometry, infra-red spectroscopy. fluorescence spectroscopy, n.m.r. and e.s.r. to structure elucidation. Of these, the chapter on mass spectrometry stands out as a well written and informative guide to a range of promising techniques, i.e. electron impact, field ionization, low voltage, tandem and soft ionization. The section on n.m.r. is more concise than this important technique would merit, particularly when compared with the length of the following section on e.s.r.. A later chapter, which provides an overview of the composition of coal
liquids, scarcely refers to e.s.r. but uses n.m.r. spectra extensively as illustrations. The section on fluorescence spectroscoy is a welcome inclusion, particularly as a sensitive method of identifying some of the potentially carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons endemic to this field of research The non-analytical chapters, 3, 8 and 10, curiously sandwiched between chapters on analytical techniques, cover pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis, average structure determinations and coal liquids’ composition. The latter provides a good review of the chemistry of products of hydrogenation (whether formed catalytically or not, with or without solvent), flash pyrolysis and supercritical gas extraction. The formidable problem of developing a satisfactory approach to describe the myriad of compounds present in coal liquids is approached in a section on average structure determinations. This is an essential missing part in many attempts to describe the molecular chemistry of coal-based materials and still requires much further development. This book is a useful addition to the library of books available on coal science being the only one devoted to a comprehensive coverage of the spectroscopic analysis of coal liquids. J. F. Unsworth
FUEL, 1991, Vol 70, July
901
Trace Dalway
Elements
in Coal
J. Swaine
Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd, Oxford, ISBN 0408 033096, pp. 296, 270.00
UK, 1990
If you want to find a recent reference on any aspect of trace elements in coal then it will almost certainly be listed in this book. For this reason alone you will want access to this publication. Professor Swaine states that he intends the book to be a concise reference work for both the specialist and the beginner and in this aspect he has succeeded. It is indeed a vade-mecum for coal technologists and scientists. The heart of the book is contained in Chapter 5 which lists detailed information for 49 individual trace elements, from antimony to zirconium. This is presented in concise written and tabular form making it quick and easy to access the particular information you require. Aspects of origin, occurrence and analysis are covered in Chapters 1 to 4 and issues within including variations seams, radioactivity, and environmental and health matters are dealt with in Chapter 6 onwards. As the author states, the origins and occurrence of trace elements in coal are necessarily treated in a limited way since these topics merit books of their own. For this reason, the chapters on these topics tend to fall below the standard of the rest of the book, since an attempt is still made to give as much information as possible leading to long listings of references and some lack of connection between sections. Perhaps the author should have been more selective. However, the chapter on analysis is presented in a concise and readable way with good practical advice on all the analysis methods you could think of, together with their advantages and disadvantages. I found the chapter on radioactivity and coal very interesting, bringing the problem very much into perspective. Similarly discussion of environmental and health aspects is a vital part of any modern publication such as this and was presented concisely. including relevant references. The effects of beneticiation is of clear importance since a reduction of certain trace elements can also be achieved. The use of trace element analysis in seam correlation can also be of benefit and both these topics are discussed. Many of the above topics are included in a chapter on the relevance of trace elements in coal. For some reason this occurs towards the end of the book and I would recommend
the reader to look at this earlier rather than later. Clearly Professor Swaine has set out to provide a reference text and in this he has succeeded. This is a difficult task to achieve while at the same time producing a book that can be read. My view is that he has managed this very well in most
0016-2361,‘91/07090142 (‘1 1991 Butterworth-Heinemann
Ltd.
Spectroscopic John
R. Kershaw
Analysis
sections of the book but not quite so well in one or two others. But do not be put off by this. Any coal scientist or technologist, both industrial or academic, will find this book immensely useful and should make certain that they or their library has a copy. M. Cloke
of Liquids
(Ed.)
Coal Science and Technolonv_, Series No. 12, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1989, pp. 395 ISBN 0 444 873074 The aim of this book is to review the spectroscopic techniques used for characterizing coal liquids and to show how they have contributed to the development of coal liquefaction technology. Most of the book is devoted to the former, and consequently will be a useful reference source for analytical chemists engaged in studying coal liquefaction. It may well be of interest, too, to researchers unravelling the complex chemistry of other high molecular weight fuels, e.g. residual fuel oil and bitumen. Following a short introduction, there is a clear account of the suitability of various chromatographic techniques for separating coal liquids into fractions with similar polarity, functionality or molecular size prior to detailed characterization. This is followed by a series of chapters detailing the application of mass spectrometry, infra-red spectroscopy. fluorescence spectroscopy, n.m.r. and e.s.r. to structure elucidation. Of these, the chapter on mass spectrometry stands out as a well written and informative guide to a range of promising techniques, i.e. electron impact, field ionization, low voltage, tandem and soft ionization. The section on n.m.r. is more concise than this important technique would merit, particularly when compared with the length of the following section on e.s.r.. A later chapter, which provides an overview of the composition of coal
liquids, scarcely refers to e.s.r. but uses n.m.r. spectra extensively as illustrations. The section on fluorescence spectroscoy is a welcome inclusion, particularly as a sensitive method of identifying some of the potentially carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons endemic to this field of research The non-analytical chapters, 3, 8 and 10, curiously sandwiched between chapters on analytical techniques, cover pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis, average structure determinations and coal liquids’ composition. The latter provides a good review of the chemistry of products of hydrogenation (whether formed catalytically or not, with or without solvent), flash pyrolysis and supercritical gas extraction. The formidable problem of developing a satisfactory approach to describe the myriad of compounds present in coal liquids is approached in a section on average structure determinations. This is an essential missing part in many attempts to describe the molecular chemistry of coal-based materials and still requires much further development. This book is a useful addition to the library of books available on coal science being the only one devoted to a comprehensive coverage of the spectroscopic analysis of coal liquids. J. F. Unsworth
FUEL, 1991, Vol 70, July
901