T257 Advances in Clean Coal Technology, Carbon Sequestration, and Enhanced Resource Recovery (Posters)

Wednesday, 3 November 2010
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Hall D

PETROGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF THE RANKS AND TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF SOME COAL DEPOSITS IN THE ANAMBRA BASIN AND MIDDLE BENUE TROUGH OF NIGERIA

Paper number: T257-10
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

The coal resources of Nigeria occur mainly within the Benue Trough which include the Anambra Basin. In the Lower Benue Trough/Anambra Basin, sub-bituminous coals occur within the Maastrichtian Mamu Formation in Enugu (Enugu State), Owukpa (Benue State), Okaba (Kogi State) and Ogboyaga (Kogi State). High-volatile bituminous coals occur within the Turonian - Coniacian Awgu Formation in the Middle Benue Trough around Obi/Lafia (Nasarawa State) with outcrop exposures at Jangwa - Shankodi. Organic petrographic results show that huminites dominate the maceral composition of the Anambra Basin coals and have vitrinite reflectance values that range from 0.40 - 0.63 Ro%. In the coals from the Middle Benue Trough, vitrinite macerals predominate the petrographic composition and Ro values range from 0.81 - 1.25%. Based on the petrographic composition and rank evaluation, the sub-bituminous coals in Okaba and Ogboyaga (Anambra Basin) are optimum for combustion and electric power generation and sub-optimum for liquefaction, while the high-volatile bituminous coals in the Obi/Lafia area (Middle Benue Trough), apart from optimum for liquefaction, are the most suitable as raw material for coke making (carbonization) in steel manufacture and as exploration targets for coal-bed methane gas and liquid hydrocarbons.