This short course will focus on modes of occurrence of trace elements in coal and the importance of trace elements in the overall context of coal quality. Emphasis will be placed on those elements of technological, economic, and environmental significance. We will review the current state of knowledge and describe state-of-the-art methods for quantifying element modes of occurrence in coal.

Limit: 25 participants.

1:00 Introduction and Housekeeping
(Kolker) 15 minutes

1:15 Coal Formation and Diagenesis
(Ruppert) 30 minutes

1:45 Coal Mineralogy and Mineral Chemistry
(Kolker) 30 minutes

2:15 Overview of Bulk Analytical Methods and USGS Selective Leaching Procedure
(Palmer) 45 minutes

3:00 Break

3:15 Overview of Microanalysis and Spectroscopic Methods
(Kolker) 30 minutes

3:45 Coal-use Issues and Case Studies
(Kolker) 45 minutes


Instructor: Allan Kolker, +1 (703) 648-6418; akolker@usgs.gov

Allan Kolker conducts research in the areas of coal geochemistry, trace elements, environmental geochemistry, application of microbeam analytical instruments, and geochemical health issues. Recent work includes ion microprobe analysis of metals in U.S. coals, studies of arsenic in ground water in southeastern Michigan, and work on the geochemistry of metal-enriched coals in the Donbass region of Ukraine. Allan served on the Geology faculty at the University of Nebraska prior to joining the U.S. Geological Survey in 1996. He holds a Ph.D. in geochemistry from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, which was followed by postdoctoral work on trace metals in coal at Brookhaven National Laboratory.


Instructor: Leslie Ruppert, +1 (703) 648-6431; lruppert@usgs.gov

Leslie (Jingle) Ruppert has been involved in coal-related studies at the U.S. Geological Survey for more than 20 years. Jingle has published extensively in the areas of coal quality and coal resource assessment. Most recently, she served as Project Chief for the Appalachian portion of the National Coal Resource Assessment. She has served in leadership roles in the Geological Society of America Coal Geology Division, the Executive Committee of the Pittsburgh Coal Conference, and the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Coal Geology. She holds an M.S. in Geology from The George Washington University.


Instructor: Curtis Palmer, +1 (703) 648-6185; cpalmer@usgs.gov

Curtis Palmer is a Research Chemist at the U.S. Geological Survey, where he has more than 20 years of experience. He has authored over 100 publications in coal geochemistry and analytical geochemistry. Curtis has special expertise in the area of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and its application to coal samples. He helped develop the selective chemical leaching procedures for coal used at the U.S. Geological Survey. Curtis holds a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Washington State University.