Rapid quality control for coal seams by gamma ray transmission technique

The quality of coal expressed as useful heat value (UHV) depends on various parameters such as fixed carbon, volatiles, ash and moisture. These factors have been assessed and the detailed dependence of UHV on these parameters has been studied for samples of coal from a local mine. The samples were subjected to collimated low energy gamma beams and correlation was obtained between the attenuation coefficient and UHV. The method is reliable, fast and non-destructive and can be used in the field for estimating UHV.