Petrographic studies to delineate suitable coal seams for coal liquefaction and their palaeo-environmental analysis: A case study from the Ib river and Mand-Raigarh coalfields of the Mahanadi valley coalfields, India

Abstract

A systematic approach has been carried out to delineate the coal seam zones from the Ib river coalfield, Odisha and the Mand-Raigarh coalfield, Chhattisgarh for the conversion of coal to oil as well as to establish the peat-forming environment of the mire and determine the depositional facies analysis of the coal seams. Zone R-I of Raniganj formation and Belpahar, Parkhani and Lajkura of Barakar formation from the Ib river coalfield and Seam nos. VII, VI, III and I of the Barakar formation from the Mand-Raigarh coalfield are identified based on their high percentage of liptinite and reactive content as well as their suitable maturity (mostly sub-bituminous rank) as potential for coal-to-oil conversion. The palaeo-depositional environment for peat formation has been constructed using the tissue preservation index and gelification index following coal facies analysis which shows that the peat formation in the Ib river coalfield took place under limnic to limno-telmatic conditions with prolonged wetness in the mire, whereas in the Mand-Raigarh coalfield, peat evolved under a clastic to an open marsh limnic environment with intermittent wet and dry spells. The microlithotype composition indicates that both the coalfields evolved under lower to upper deltaic settings.

Petrology, physicochemical and thermal analyses of selected cretaceous coals from the Benue Trough Basin in Nigeria

“…The mineral contents in the Enugu and Imiegba (LBT) coals are high compared to other studied coal samples. The argillaceous minerals matter and other mineral groups mostly observed are; silicates, clay minerals, pyrites and jarosite formed by chemical precipitation (Diessel 1992;Singh et al 2013Singh et al , 2015Gangadharan et al Gangadharan et al 2019).…”

Deconstructing the applications of CSR policies in Indian coal mining sector

“…Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of CIL, is responsible for coal mining operations in the Mahanadi coalfield region of India (Paltasingh and Satapathy, 2021). The Mahanadi coalfield is home to several open-cast mines such as Gevra, Dipika, Manikpur, Kusmunda and Laxman (Gangadharan et al , 2019). These mines contribute significantly to the overall coal production in the country.…”

“…Also, the Mahanadi River plays a crucial role in water resource management, and climate change impacts have led to challenges in streamflow and drought events (Mujumdar and Ghosh, 2008). The Mahanadi coalfield is popular among academics as they research the fossil flora and conduct paleoenvironmental analysis among other research areas such as coal-bearing sequences in the Mahanadi Valley coalfields (Gangadharan et al , 2019).…”