The effect of alkaline solutions containing dissolved oxygen on coal-derived pyrite was investigated in a tubular reactor. The rate of total sulfur conversion seems to be affected by oxygen partial pressure, oxygen flow rate, particle size, pyrite charge size and system temperature. A shrinking core model was chosen to represent this chemical leaching process. From the results obtained, it seems that ash or product-layer difusion is the rate-limiting step for leaching with the alkaline solution/oxygen system. The effective diffusivity is about 10/sup -5/ cm/sup 2//sec. The apparent activation energy for this process is 7.97 kcal/mole in the temperature range from 121/sup 0/ to 175/sup 0/C. For the tubular reactor system used, the rate of sulfur extraction appears to be proportional to the oxygen partial pressure. The rate of conversion increases as the oxygen flow rate decreases to a limit of 3 ml/sec. The rate also increases as the pyrite charge size decreases. The leaching solutions flow rate has a negligible effect on the total sulfur conversion.

The groundwater effects of surface mining at ICP No. 1 can be classified primarily as water quality and water quantity effects. The water quantity effects are: the loss of groundwater saturation in spoil materials that were initially removed from over the coal and later replaced; the dewatering of high permeability geologic strata up gradient of mining area; the increase in porosity and possibly permeability in refilled spoil materials; and the change in groundwater gradients in mined areas and near the sediment pond. The water quality effects are: the generation of slightly mineralized enclaves near the sediment pond and spoil accumulations; the generation of thin zones of highly mineralized water near the base of reclaimed spoil probably due mostly to remnant acid mine water; and reduction of water quality in coal seams as a result of dewatering at the time of mining and subsequent oxidation of their pyrite content. Most effects of water quantity loss in and around the mine are not permanent. Water quality disturbances of the fringe areas of reclaimed mine areas will be very slow in attenuating because of the slow groundwater flow through these materials. Adulterated groundwaters in high permeability areas such as the flood plain alluvium …

The kinetics of the methanation reaction were measured on thin ruthenium films in the temperature range 548 to 623K. The pressures of the reactant gases were varied over the ranges 1.5 to 1500 ..mu..m for CO and 300 to 75000 ..mu..m for H/sub 2/ to yield kinetic orders for each gas. The CO kinetic order varied from +1 at low pressures to -2 at high pressures. As the H/sub 2/ pressure was increased its kinetic order varied from +2 to -1. Both of these order plots had unusually sharp maxima. The reaction is zero order in both CH/sub 4/ and H/sub 2/O. The apparent activation energy was dependent upon temperature with a value of 21.9 kcal/mole at 573K. Auger spectroscopy (AES) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that the surface was always covered with carbon. This carbon could be divided into two types based upon its reactivity toward hydrogen. Type-1 was very reactive to 3.5 torr hydrogen doses at 573K and was completely removed in less than 300 seconds. Type-2 was less reactive and required about 48 hours under the same conditions for removal. No oxygen was ever detected on the surface after methanation. Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and …