GEOCHEMICAL, CLASSIFICATION AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF COAL
IN THE MUI BASIN, SOUTHEASTERN KENYA
ABSTRACT
Since coal is extracted from the earth, and its formation involved chemical processes, a study of
the origin and composition of coal is a part of the broad subject of geochemistry. The
predominant elements in coal are Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen, with lesser amounts of sulfur
and Nitrogen. Since coal was formed from plants, plant remains such as pollen, can be found in
many coals and hence, organic compounds similar in structure to compounds known to occur in
can be isolated from coals. The use of coal in fuel as a source of energy, which is normally its
end use has some problems which among them are the emissions of sulfur oxides from
combustion of sulfur in coal. Its collection and safe disposal of ash, the noncombustible
inorganic components of coals can also be of difficulty. The geochemistry, therefore, involved in
coal formation establishes the composition, properties and behavior of coal during utilization.
Apart from its applications in electric generation, steel industry, manufacturing and export
markets, some geochemical properties of coal like reflectance may be used significantly in the
exploration for oil and gas. Hence, the characteristics of coal determine its level of maturity and
therefore determine its various uses and the chemistry in the other hand determines the nature of
the products produced during utilization. The project covers the chemistry, classification based
on different ranks and the uses of the coal.