Abstract
Bapung coal in the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya is important with respect to its quality. The unique physico-chemical composition (low ash, high volatiles, and hydrogen content) of the coal exhibits better utilisation prospects. The coal has low ash content (1.5–2.8 %) but high organic sulphur (2.44–3.64 %), which is intimately intermingled with the coal. The coal can be used in blends (10–15 %) with Gondwana coal (high ash, low sulphur) which is now practiced in the Bengal–Jharkhand region for producing metallurgical coke for steel plants. The high reactive content (vitrinite and liptinite, 83.7 %) of this coal improves the overall composition of Gondwana coal with high inert content; it is suitable for stream-raising and gasification. The low temperature carbonization (LTC) of coal yields coke—595 to 689 kg, tar —109 to 136 lt, liquor—51 to 77 lt, and gas—97.5 to 130.6 cubic-metre per tonne for coal. The quality of the coke is not good and found to be non-caking. The LTC tar can be more readily converted in one stage to petroleum oil due to its high hydrogen content (5.13–5.70 %).
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Acknowledgements
The author expresses his sincere thanks to the Head of the Department of Geological Sciences, Gauhati University for providing the necessary facilities. The author also expresses his sincere gratitude to the reviewer for constructive suggestions in modifying the present chapter.
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Nath, M. (2016). Utilisation Prospects of Bapung Coal, Meghalaya, Northeast India. In: Das, B., Ghosh, S., Islam, A., Ismail, M. (eds) Neo-Thinking on Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin Geomorphology. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26443-1_10
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