Coal Geology

Chapter 1
Origin, age and occurrence of coal

By Abdi Suprayitno

What Is Coal ?
Coal is a complex solid object, consisting of various elements representing many

chemical components, most of them are derived from the remains of plants,
consisting of various fibers which consists of multiple cells. By Thiessen (1947)
Coal is a solid object is composed by carbonaceous macerals. This definition
include all the coal from various degrees of coal (coal rank) that begins from
peat, lignite, sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, semi-anthracite, anthracite
and meta-anthracite. By Spackman (1958)
Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock, formed by the remains of plants in
varying levels of preservation, followed by the process of compacting and buried
in the shallow basins. As soon as the barrier layer down constantly, the buried
remain plant is influenced by temperature and pressure process. By The
International Hand Book of Coal Petrography (1963)
Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock, derived from plants (mainly contain of
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), brown to black, since depositional exposed to
chemical and physical processes result the enrichment of carbon content. Wolf
(1984)
Coal is sediment, organoclastic in nature, composed of lithified plant remains,
which has distinction as combustible material. By Thomas (2002)

Coal Forming Factors

Geotectonic Position
Paleotopografi
Geographical Position
Climate
Flora / Plants
Decomposition
Basin Subsidence
Geological Time
Post-Depositional Process
Organics Changing

Coal Forming Factors

Geotectonic Position
Climate
Basin geometry
Sediment supply
Accommodation space
Flora type

Coal Forming Factors

Paleotopografi
Basin geometry
Swampy area are formed

Geographical Position
Climate
Groundwater surface
Sea water abration

Coal Forming Factors

Climate
Plants growing
Tropical wet climate can build bright coal
Neither in the pole earth

Flora
Specify the kind of flora/plants

Decomposition
Determine bacteria decompose the plants

Coal Forming Factors

Basin Subsidence
Subsidence and plant accumulation are in balance,

produce thick coal

If Subsidence < accumulation : plant will
decompose with air
Id Subsidence > accumulation : thin coal, plants
are not grown up well
Geological Time
Produce good coal, if buried with thick sediment
Except coal is intruded by intrusions, high rank coal

Coal Forming Factors

Post-Depositional Process
Effect the quality of coal, such as structure,

intrusion, erotion
Organic Changing
Biochemistry
Geochemistry

Peatification
Biochemical Process
Present aerobe and anaerobe bacteria
Aerobe bac.

Aerobe bac.

Plants (cellulose)Wate Glucose

Anaerobe
bac.

Deeper

Pea
t
Biochemical Process
Vitrinisation
Fusinitisation

Air

Gas and Water

Peatification

Peatification
Peat characteristic :
Brown to black
> 75 % water content
< 60 % carbon content
Shown the origin plants
Can cut by a knife
Porous like sponge

Coalification
Geochemical Process (physicochemical stage)
Peat Lignite Bituminous

Anthracite
Pressure + temperature + time
Peat accumulation (coal 1 ft) :
Lignite

: 160 years
Bituminous : 260 years
Anthracite : 490 years
Temperature :
200 deg C
150 deg C

: > 10 million years

: > 50 million years
100 deg C : > 200 million years
50 60 deg C : Never be formed

Coalification

Coalification
Coal Rank control factors :
Original coal rank
Intrusion and structure
Pressure
Temperature
Disturbing type and its period

Depositional Basin
Autochthonous

Coal (In situ)

Seat earth present

Root is perpendicular with beds or seam
Clean coal (low ash)
Steady swamp
Wide spread coal
Homogenous thickness
Present fine grained quartz sandstone
Good forming macerals

Allochthonous

Coal (Drift)

No seat earth
No perpendicular root
Vary quality and thickness
Deltaic formation
Sharp contact with above sediment
Marine environment
Present Coal balls
Spotting coal spreading
High ash
Present macerals and minerals

Depositional environment
Continental
Fluvial
Desert
Lacustrine
Glacial

Marginal-marine / shoreline

beach / barrier island

estuarine / lagoonal
tidal flat

Marine
neritic
oceanic

Coal Depositional Basins

Continental environment
Lacustrine system
It can be formed by fault, rifting; landslide;

crater explosion then collapse; fluvial activity.

Insitu and drift coal

River

River environment
Fluvial Flood Basin

River environment
Fluvial Flood Basin

Marginal-Marine / Shoreline
environment
Deltaic system
River enter the ocean
Sediment supply rapid than distribution to basin
Insitu and drift coal

Lagoonal and barrier island system

Consist of sandy barrier island; the lagoon;

channel crossed the barrier to the open sea

Insitu and drift coal

Deltaic System

Marginal-Marine / Shoreline
environment

Marine Environment
Regressive marine

Coal Depositional Basins

TPI GI Vs Depositional
Environment
TPI (Tissue

Preservation
Indices) & GI
(Gelification)
TPI indicates
where the peat
was
decomposed
GI indicates
wetter condition

Coal Environment
Most of coal is formed in coastal area (Diessel,

1984)

Coal Environment
Refer to Horne (1978) in coastal area :
Back Barrier : thin coal, spread along the strike, layering,

high S.
Lower delta plain : thin coal, vary in S content , along the

channel, splitting
Transitional lower delta plain : thick coal, low S, splitting,

washout
Upper delta plain - fluvial : thick coal, low S, pod shaped,

splitting

Coalification Period
First period
Lower Carbon to Permian
North America and Europe

Second Period
Lower Cretaceous to Tertiary
Coal

Third Period
Quaternary
Peat

Coal Formation in Indonesia

Paleogene
Ombilin (West Sumatera)
Bayah (West java)
Pasir (East Kalimantan)
Sebuku (South Kalimantan)
Melawai (West Kalimantan)

Neogene
Warukin and Dohor (South Kalimantan)
Pamaluan, Pulaubalang, Balikpapan dan Kampung Baru

(East Kalimantan)