Q1(f). Proximate coal analysis

Answer in brief

It determines moisture, volatile matter, ash and fixed carbon by specified heating and weighing procedures.

Key points

• Dry a weighed sample near 105–110°C to determine moisture loss.
• Heat a separate or sequential sample under prescribed covered/inert conditions at high temperature to determine volatile matter, correcting for moisture.
• Burn the combustible material in air to constant residue to determine ash.
• Fixed carbon is conventionally obtained by difference: 100-(%M+%VM+%ash) on the same reporting basis.
• State whether results are as-received, dry or dry-ash-free; these are operational fractions, not a full elemental composition.