Spectral characterization of the key parameters and elements in coal using terahertz spectroscopy

Honglei Zhan, Kun Zhao and Lizhi Xiao

Energy, 2015, vol. 93, issue P1, 1140-1145

Abstract: The augmenting necessity of energy saving and environmental protection has led to the increasing technical requirements about on-line monitoring of key parameters and elements in coal. In this study, terahertz spectroscopy combined with PCA (principal components analysis) was employed to analyze nine kinds of coal materials. Due to the strong absorption of the organics with the relatively high C/H ratio, such as aromatic compounds, coals with lower hydrogen content show higher absorption effects in terahertz range. Based on PC1 score calculated by PCA, the anthracite and bituminous coal can be clearly classified, and the clean as well as meagre coals were also distinguished by opposite trends. All the critical points in PCA system are in agreement with those (volatile matter and ash, respectively) classified in international standard of coal classification. In addition, significant elements, including carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur, can be directly characterized using PC1 score with linear and non-linear models. This research indicates that the terahertz spectral analysis of key parameters and elements of coal is a promising tool for improving the detection method and advancing the technical innovation in coal processing industry.

Keywords: Terahertz spectroscopy; Principal component analysis; Coal; Volatile matter; Ash; Elemental characterization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544215013390
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:93:y:2015:i:p1:p:1140-1145

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.09.116

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().