General characteristics of low rank coal occurrences in Biga Peninsula, Turkey

The general properties and distribution of low rank coal occurrences were investigated in Biga Peninsula, Turkey. Coal occurrences were alternated along with Tertiary clastic, volcanoclastic and continental units in the peninsula, one of the basic metallic and industrial mineral potential regions in Turkey. The collected twenty-six lignite samples from different beds were analyzed and evaluated. Proximate analyses contain to measure of moisture, ash, volatile matter, and fixed carbon parameters. The parameters of the original samples showed varieties. The analyses revealed that moisture content changed from 3.24% to 30.74%, while those of ash 3.54% - 47.57%, of volatile matter 18.72% - 38.85%, those of fixed carbon were changed 13.44% - 53.60%. During volatile matter and fixed carbon ratios had insignificant changes, moisture decreased from west to east of the peninsula. On the contrary, percent of ash increased through east. Ultimate or elemental analyses were performed on the low rank coal samples for encompasses the quantitative determination of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Carbon concentration of the specimens was between 19.07% and 69.80%, hydrogen was 1.94% - 4.61%, nitrogen was 0.38% - 1.62%, and sulfur was 0.46% - 10.85%, oxygen 2.01% - 16.99%. Calorific value of the coals was in 1562 - 6720 Kcal/kg. Carbon ratio rose at the eastern part. In the contrast, oxygen and sulfur reduced at the same directory. Also, changes of nitrogen and hydrogen ratios could be ignored in the peninsula.