Characterization of Some Coal Deposits Quality by Use of Proximate and Sulfur Analysis in the Southern Arm Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper describes the characteristics of some coal depoasits from Paluda, Padanglampe, Lamuru and Tondongkura (South Sulawesi, Indonesia). The investigation of selected coal deposits in South Sulawesi have been carried out with the aims at elucidation of the coal quality which represented by proximate and total sulfur analyses. Results show that the lower inherent moisture of Paluda coal might be affected by igneous intrusion. In general, the studied coal samples have high ash and sulfur content with the average of 29.01 wt.% and 3.74 wt.% respectively. It was shown that there is no specific trend of the vertical distribution both for ash and sulfur. In term of coal utilization, it is indicated that South Sulawesi coal has constraints and challenging due to the high ash and sulfur. It is therefore suggested to reduce ash and sulfur content as much as possible if the coal is used as direct solid fuel in power plant or  industry.