It is only by assiduously careful analyses of coal that the various aspects of coal usage can be achieved in an effective and environmentally acceptable manner, the research report by Qian Zhu states.

“Coal is an extremely complex, heterogeneous material that exhibits a wide range of physical and chemical properties,” the report says.

“The rapid increase in coal utilisation in the 20th century led to the development of a number of test methods for coal analysis so as to correlate coal composition and properties with its performance and behaviour during applications such as coal combustion and gasification.”

Many relatively new approaches, usually based on modern sophisticated instrumentation, have been shown to have wide applicability to coal analysis.

Several such instruments are fast and can determine carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen and other elements simultaneously in various samples. Instrumental analysis is now widely applied for analysis of coal and coal products, in particular, in online analysis of coal.

Common techniques for routine coal analysis involve spectroscopic methods such as x-ray spectroscopy, electron microscopy, atomic spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and neutron activation analysis. Instrumental analytical techniques enable tests of coal be carried out in situ where the coal is mined, processed, transported or utilised.