DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS BY ORESAJO BAMIDELE 04/55EA107

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Introduction Objectives Depositional Environment of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS

Introduction Objectives Depositional Settings of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

INTRODUCTION The parameters of coal beds include its thickness, continuity, roof and floor rock, sulphur and trace element content and ash (Horne et al; 1978). These parameters to a greater extent determine the quality of the coal and its eventual economic significance Variations in these parameters of coal beds can be attributed to the depositional influences on the peat during accumulation (Warwick 2005).

DEFINITION OF COAL

A sedimentary rock that burns Mineralized vegetative material Altered chemical composition Formed by increased T and P Partial decay

INTRODUCTION
Organic components
Coal Composition

Inorganic components

Fig1: Components of coal Kentucky Geologic Society, 2006

FORMATION OF COAL

Fig 2: Coalification process Coal formation relies on three factors:

Kentucky Geologic Society, 2006

Accumulation and preservation of vegetal sediment Biological degradation and alteration of the vegetal sediment to peat Geochemical processes that induce chemical coalification of the peat

TYPES OF COAL

Fig 3:Types of coal

Source: Brooks/Cole 2002-thompson learning

WOLRD COAL DISTRIBUTION

Fig 4: Distribution of coal in the world (source: Landis and Weaver, 1993)

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS

Introduction Objectives Depositional Environment of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

OBJECTIVES
Depositional Settings of Coal Parameters of Coal Seams Influences of the Depositional Settings on Coal Seams Parameters To ascertain whether a set of parameter can adequately describe coal deposits formed in one environmental setting versus another

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS

Introduction Objectives Depositional Settings of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS OF COAL

Modern Peat Forming Environments :- Peat is the precursor of coal and accumulates in mires. Ombrogenous

Mires
Topogenous

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS OF COAL

Fig 5: Coal forming environments (Nichols, 2009)

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS OF COAL

These can be divided into two broad categories:

Paralic environment

Limnic Environment

Paralic environment: refers to coastal or near coastal

marine setting. It comprises of;

Non deltaic coastal Plain setting

Deltaic Setting

PARALIC SETTINGS

Fig6 :Depositional model for peat forming (coal) environment in a Paralic setting (modified from Ferm 1976)

NON DELTAIC COASTAL PLAIN SETTING

Fig 7: Non deltaic setting Peat accumulates; behind relict barrier terraces, on abandoned estuaries and along abandoned fluvial channel ridges, and on infilled lagoons Examples: Appalachian carboniferous barrier Environments

DELTAIC SETTING

Areas of peat accumulation are; Lower delta plain Transitional delta plain Upper delta plain

Fig8:Simplified diagram depicting delta morphology (redrawn after Williamson, 1996).

Depositional Settings of Coal

Limnic Environment: refers to coals form inland, it comprises of:

Lake
River setting setting

PEAT ACCUMULATION IN LIMNIC SETTING Peat accumulation occurs in the following areas;
Lakes

Flood plain
abandoned channels of meandering rivers

Ox- bow lakes

FLOOD PLAIN EXAMPLE

Fig 9:Depositional model of the Wyodak-Anderson coal zone in the Decker coalfield, Montana. Adapted from Moore (1986)

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS

Introduction Objectives Depositional Settings of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

COAL BED PARAMETER

The parameters of coal beds includes; Thickness and lateral extent Coal character Coal quality

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS

Introduction Objectives Depositional Settings of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

THICKNESS AND LATERAL EXTENT

Coal beds have elongate, lenticular, discontinuous, circular or pod-like seam geometries. Depositional environment that immediately precede the coal swamp shape the topography on which the mire develops. Topography affects most directly variations in coal thickness

Depositional settings that coexist laterally with the peat swamp affect lateral continuity of the coal forming deposits.
Processes of post depositional environments, such as channel washouts, overbank dicsharge, channel avulsion causes coal bed discontinuties

INFLUENCES OF THE DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Coal bed thickness and lateral extent
Raised swamps and low-lying swamps in inter-fluvial environments. Incursion of river sediments due to floods. chemical and biological conditions existing in the mire. Size and pattern of these networks of rivers.

INFLUENCES OF THE DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Figure 10 Theoretical model of fluvial architecture in an area of raised swamps (McCabe, 1984)

INFLUENCES OF THE DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Fig11: MIRE TYPE(after McCabe,1984)

COAL CHARACTER
Main groups are Vitrinite, Liptinite and inertinite

Fig 12: coal maceral van Krevelen, 1993

INFLUENCES OF THE DEPOSITIONAL SETTING

Based on ground water level; Paralic settings, the maceral type of the seam varies Maceral type of coals of limnic origin is more uniform

INFLUENCES OF THE DEPOSITIONAL SETTING

Five components can be used to help demonstrate possible influences between coal character and various environments , They are: The presence of SO, from sea water Changes in the level of the water table level, which influences the risk of fires in the swamp. Changes in the Eh of the water. Changes in the pH of the water, which together with Eh influence the processes of humitication, gellification and putrefaction. The amount of clay available, which provides iron for making pyrite.

INFLUENCES OF THE DEPOSITIONAL SETTING

Fig13:Illustration of possible relationship between environment and coal character(Ryan 1997)

COAL QUALITY

Chemical and physical properties of a coal that influence its potential use
Comprises of the Sulphur, ash and Trace element content

PYRITE CONTENT OF COALS Iron disulfide(FeS2) Occurs as marcasite or pyrite framboidal form produced by sulfur reducing microbial organism found in marine to brackish water

Influences of the Depositional Environment

Paralic coals contain high sulphur content Introduced by marine to brackish-water environments In the following ways: Occasional High tides Percolation of Sea Water Through Unconsolidated permeable hanging walls

Influences of the Depositional Environment

Consequently, Coals that accumulated in areas under Marine Influence such as; Back- barrier: >2% pyritic Sulpur (High) Lower delta plain: >2% pyritic Sulphur (High) Transitional setting lower delta plain: 1 to 2% Pyritic sulphur(Med.)

Upper Delta plain to Fluvial Environment: <1% Pyritic Sulphur (Low)

EXAMPLES IN THE APPALACHIAN BASIN

Table 1: Key examples in Appalachian basin Coal Field Porttsville(Bitum.) Allegheny(Bitum.) Conemaugh(Bitum) Llewellyn(Anthrac.) Pottsville (Anthrac.) Sulfur Content Low to High Med. to High Med. To High Low to Med. Low Planar Planar to Domed Planar to Domed Peat Topography Planar to Domed Planar Marine Influence High High Low to High Local None (Warwick, 2005)

ASH CONTENT Principal sites for peat accumulation have a dominant control on the ash content of the resultant coal: Low ash coals originate from domed mires High ash coals originate from low-lying mires

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS

Introduction Objectives Depositional Settings of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

The Fort Union Coal in the Powder River Basin

Fig 13:Powder River Basin: northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana.

STRUCTURAL SETTING
Asymmetrical structural basin with axis trending northwest and southeast close to the western margin of the basin..

Beds dip on average 20-25 degrees to the east along the west-central margin of the basin and average 2-5 degrees to the west along the eastern margin.

The Paleocene Fort Union Formation outcrops along the basin margin and is overlain by the Eocene Wasatch Formation in the central part of the basin.

The Fort Union Formation is more than 6,000 feet thick in the deepest part of the basin

Covers an area of more than 22,000 square-miles

STRATIGRAPHIC SETTING

Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin ranges in thickness from 2,300 to 6,000ft Fort Union Formation is composed primarily of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone, and subordinately of limestone, carbonaceous shale, and coal. Fort Union Formation is divided into the Tullock Member in the lower part, Lebo Member in the middle part, and Tongue River Member in the upper part. Tongue River Member contains the most and thickest coal deposits, and the Lebo Member contains the least number and thinnest coal beds. Coal beds in the Tongue River Member are more than 200 ft thick.

STRATIGRAPHIC SETTING

Fig 14:STRATIGRAPHY OF THE FORT UNION FORMATION (Flores 1999)

DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Depositional environments include fluvial systems consisting of braided, meandering, and anastomased streams in the basin centre, and alluvial fans at the basin margin
Basin-axis, trunk-tributary, fluvial systems were fed by alluvial fans that drained surrounding ancestral uplifts. Coal-forming peat accumulated in low-lying swamps and raised or domed mires in fluvial floodplains, abandoned fluvial channels, and inter-channel environments

DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Fig 15:Depositional model of braided, meandering and anastomsed streams in the powder River basin adapted from Flores (1986)

INFLUENCE OF DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Raised swamps and low-lying swamps in inter-fluvial environments.

Incursion of river sediments due to floods.

chemical and biological conditions existing in the mire.

Size and pattern of these networks of rivers.

DEPOSITIONAL SETTINGS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SOME COAL BED PARAMETERS

Introduction Objectives Depositional Settings of Coal Coal Bed Parameters Influences of the Depositional Environment Case Study Conclusion

Conclusion
Peat mires located close to rivers or within river deltas have the possibility
of periodic flooding and the introduction of large amounts of mineral matter. Mires along coastlines, while not as easily subjected to river flooding, may be affected by offshore or coastal storms that wash sediment over offshore bars and beaches into the mires located behind them. Those environments that coexist laterally with the peat (coal) swamp, as well as internal processes within the swamp such as the plant growth, plant

decay, fires and water flow, directly affect lateral continuity of the coal forming
deposits.

Conclusively, Depositional setting has been demonstrated to influence the ; Quality Thickness

lateral extent of coal deposits

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