Oxidation of coal and coal pyrite mechanisms and influence on surface characteristics. Quarterly technical progress report, December 1, 1993--May 31, 1994

The objective of this research is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the oxidation of coal and coal pyrite, and to correlate the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of these minerals, along with changes resulting from oxidation, with those surface properties that influence the behavior in physical cleaning processes. The results will provide fundamental insight into oxidation, in term of the bulk and surface chemistry, the microstructure, and the semiconductor properties of the pyrite. During the fourteenth and fifteenth quarters, flotation tests were done on Upper Freeport coal from the Troutville No. 2 Mine, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania and on coal samples from the Pennsylvania State Coal Bank. The influence of electrode potential on the surface properties of coal pyrite was tested using contact angle measurements on polarized Pittsburgh coal pyrite electrode