Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India

by

Prakash K Singh, M.P. Singh, Alok K Singh and A.S. Naik

reprinted from

ENERGY EXPLORATION & EXPLOITATION

Volume 30 2012 Number 2

2012 MULTI-SCIENCE PUBLISHING CO. LTD.

5 Wates Way, Brentwood, Essex CM15 9TB, United Kingdom

ENERGY EXPLORATION & EXPLOITATION Volume 30 Number 2 2012 pp. 171192

171

Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India
Prakash K Singh1,*, M. P. Singh1, Alok K Singh2 and A. S. Naik1
1

Coal & Organic Petrology Lab, Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, U.P., India 2 Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Rae Bareli 229316, U. P., India * Author for corresponding. E-mail: prakashbhu@rediffmail.com

(Received 25 July 2011; accepted 7 January 2012)

Abstract In Tiru valley region of Mon district coals occur in Barail Formation and are of Oligocene age. This study is the first investigation on the petrographic and geochemical characterization of these coals. These thinly bedded seams (<2 m) need systematic exploration for proper evaluation of the resource. The coals are bright to moderately bright in appearance and at places look moderately dull. The study reveals that Tiru valley coals are sub-bituminous to bituminous-D in rank. The chemical study reveals that these coals are perhydrous in nature with moderately high volatile matter content. The sulphur content was probably increased with pyrite inclusion as the most abundant mineral. Vitrinite is the most dominant maceral group constituting nearly 98% of all the macerals while liptinite and inertinite occur in very low concentration. Facies-critical models used to decipher the paleodepositional environment suggest that these coals evolved under wet moor with moderately high flooding in the paleomire which allowed the sulphate reducing bacteria to thrive. Keywords: Tiru Valley, Nagaland, coal petrography, geochemistry, depositional environment

1. INTRODUCTION The Tertiary coal deposits in the NE region of India occur in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Meghalaya (Fig. 1a) which enclose 67 individual coal deposits (Mishra and Ghosh, 1996). The chemical and petrographic characteristics of the major coalfields of northeastern India have been studied by some authors (Mishra, 1992; Mishra and Ghosh, 1996; Singh and Singh, 2000, 2001, 2003). Regional tectonic features of the various coalfields of the northeastern India have been studied in detail by the Geological Survey of India (GSI, 1974, 1981, 1989, 1994). Useful contributions on the stratigraphy, structures and tectonics of NE India have been made

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Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India

92 Delhi

96 Arunachal pradesh

92

94

Mismi hill

Itanagar Assam Nagaland26 Kohima Guwahati Shillong Meghalaya Imphal Bangladesh Manipur Aizawal Tripura Myanmar Agartala Mizoram 200 km 22 26 G Shillong e e e e Guwahati G G e

thr

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Dis a

Kohima syncline

P P P P Tiru valley coalfield

Bangladesh Imphal
fault

24 N

Agartala D D

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ls

Central zone Laniye thrust

Eastern zone

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

yn a

Index D

Kadi

50

50 km

22

14 15 16 17

Figure 1a. Geological map of North-eastern india. 1. Alluvium, 2. Dihing and Dupi Tila Group, 3. Tipam and Surma Group, 4. Barail Group, 5. Undifferentiated Sandstone Group 6. Pondaungs and Younger sediment 7. Jaintia and Disang Group 8. Longpar and Mahadek Formation, 9. Lower Gondwana System 10. Metamorphic and Igneous rocks 11.Granite 12. Serpentine intrusion, 13. Basalt, 14. Salt springs 15. Line of demarcation between high and low intensity foldings, 16. Faults, 17. Coalfields.

by Mallet (1876), Bhandari et al. (1973), Biswas et al. (1994) and Acharyya (2007). Srivastava and Pandey (2011) have worked out the provenance of Barails in the region. The present study has been carried out on coals of Tiru valley coalfield which is a minor coalfield in Mon district of Nagaland. The coal seams of Tiru valley coalfield occurs in the Tikak Parbat Formation of Oligocene age which belongs to Barail group. Petrographic and geochemical characteristics of these coals have not been studied so far and at present they are being exploited locally to provide the needs of small scale industries in the region. The objective of the present paper is to provide comprehensive information of the composition and depositional environment of Tiru valley coals from Nagaland, NE India using coal petrography including maceral, vitrinite random reflectance measurements, and geochemistry including proximate and ultimate analyses.

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Pa

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Ch T im hru i c st on g.

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Ch

r an

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fa

ul

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90 44

Tiru valley coalfield F 60 Borjan Walching 50

F 70 26 30 40 F F 80 F F

Aboi
2m 2m 1m

F F

0 T1A

0 T2A

0 T3A

Sampurre F

ng

th

ru

F F F 30 30

Di

25 30

sa

st

F Legend of formation Tipam sandstone formation Tiktak parbat formation Naogaon sandstone formation Coal seam F Fault F Thrust 200 0 200 m

Legend of lithologs Soil cover Sandstone Black carbonaceous shale Coal seam Mudstone Shale with embedded sandstone Dark sandstone with thin mud layer Shale with coal band N

Figure 1b. Geological map around Tiru valley coalfield, Mon district.

2. GEOLOGICAL SETTING In northeastern India, the Tertiary coal deposits crop up in two distinct geotectonic settings-one belonging to the Eocene period and the other to the Oligocene period. 2.1. Eocene coal deposits The Eocene coal deposits occur as isolated patches in the southern part of the Shillong Plateau (Meghalaya) and in the Mikir and North Cachar hills (Assam) (Fig. 1a). They have formed under stable shelf conditions over the platform areas peripheral to the Indian shield (Mishra and Ghosh, 1996). Along the southern periphery of the plateau, the coal deposits were formed during Palaeocene to Eocene lying over the Cretaceous sediments. Geological Survey of India has established that the Palaeogene rocks were largely deposited over a shallow

94 58

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Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India

marine shelf (Mishra and Ghosh, 1996). This fact is depicted by the interbedding of coal seams with Foraminiferal limestones, and elevated concentration of sulphur in the coals and the facies. The extension of shelf area is also seen at Mikir and North Cachar hills (Assam) as embayment. This is attributed to the oscillations in marine strand line. Geological Survey of India has further revealed that there is lateral variation of lithofacies of Palaeogene rocks which has given rise to the diverse lithostratigraphic nomenclature of rocks (GSI, 1974, 1981, 1989). Mishra and Ghosh (1996) have established that Eocene coals of NE India evolved from wet forest swamps and are demonstrated by high gelification index. They further substantiated that frequent alterations occurred between high and low ground water tables due to periodic drainage of peat surface. Singh and Singh (2000) worked on the Eocene coals of platform basin from Meghalaya and suggested that these coals were formed under telmatic to limnic conditions. There are five coalfields in Garo hills where the coal seams occur in the Tufa Sandstone Formation (Eocene) of the Jaintia Group. Thirteen coalfields occur in the Khasi hills which occur in the Lakadong Sandstone Formation (Eocene). In Jaintia hills, the coal seams occur in Lakadong Sandstone Formation of Eocene and also in Therria Sandstone Formation (Lower Sylhet Sandstone) of Palaeocene age. There are twenty-one coal occurrences in Mikir and North Cachar hills of Assam. The coal seams are normally half to few metres in thickness and have local extent (Figs. 1 and 2). 2.2. Oligocene coal deposits The Oligocene coal deposits occur in pericratonic downwarps in the belt of Schuppen over the northern flank of the Naga-Patkai range and extend over the states
Litholog Litholog Outcrop profile Outcrop profile 3A3 1A5 1A4 1A3 1A2 1A1 2m 0 (a) Outcrop No. T1A Legend of lithologs Soil cover Sandstone Black carbonaceous shale Mudstone Shale with coal band Shale with embedded sandstone Dark sandstone with thin mud layer Coal seam 2m 0 (b) Outcrop No. T2A T2A 1m 0 (c) Outcrop No. T3A Legend of outcrop profiles Moderately dull coal Mid lustrous coal Moderately bright coal Bright coal 3A1 Outcrop profile 3A2

Litholog

Figure 2. Lithologs and megascopic seam profiles. (a) T1A, (b) T2A, and (c) T3A from Tiru valley coalfield.

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of Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (Biswas, 1998; Biswas et al., 1994; Evans, 1932; Mishra and Ghosh, 1996). Srivastava et al. (2004) have worked on the evolution of Disang-Barail transition in Nagaland (Fig. 1a). Dasgupta and Biswas (2000) have shown that during Oligocene period shallow brackish water condition prevailed when the stratigraphic formation of Barail took place. The belt of Schuppen is characterized by a series of at least eight complex thrust faults arranged imbricately along the Naga Hills. Fault activity has moved the Naga Hills towards northwest relative to the foreland ridges. During Oligo-Miocene times large molasse basins developed extending from Nagaland through Assam up to Arunachal Pradesh having thick coal seams. Due to vertical block movements, development of large-scale, open, upright folds has taken place eventually forming the major thrust faults. A thick sequence (26 km) of Tertiary sediments has accumulated in the flanks of trough of the Indo-Burmese range which was deposited in deltaic facies. Table 1. Generalized stratigraphic sequence in Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (Mishra and Ghosh, 1996).
Geological Period Pliocene Age Group Formation (in Ma) (thickness in m) (thickness in m) 7 Dihing (8) (1800)

Lithology Mostly pebbly sandstone with thin grayish clay beds unconformity Mio-Pliocene 717 Namsang Fine to coarse grained sandstone (825) (800) with bands of clay unconformity Miocene 17 Tipam Girujan clay Mottled clay with soft (25) (4100) (1800) sandstone grayish in colour Tipam Ferruginous fine to coarse sandstone grained micaceous to (2300) feldspathic sandstone unconformity Oligocene 13 Barail Tikak Parbat Greyish to yellowish white (38) (6300) (600) colour sandstone, sandy shales, coal seams Bargaloi Greyish to bluish grey or (3500) yellowish - red mudstone, shale, sandstone,carbonaceous shales and thin coal seams Naogaon Compact, fine grained dark (2200) grey sandstone with bands of splintery shales Eocene 27 Disang Splintery dark grey shale and (65) (3000) thin sandstone interbands Figures age without brackets show the total duration of the system in millions of years while those within brackets show the lapse of time from the beginning of the period to the present.

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The northern part of the belt encloses Makum and Namchik-Namphuk coalfields. Here the coal seams are thick (18 m in the Makum Coalfield). The main coalfields of the southern part include Dilli-Jeypore, Borjan and Jhanzi-Disai. In addition to these seams there are minor coalfields. The coal seams, here, rarely attain a thickness of 1.5 m and show limited extent. Due to severe thrusting and folding in the terrain, the coal seams have steep dip. The generalized stratigraphic succession encountered in Nagaland and in the investigated area is summarized in table 1 (Mishra and Ghosh, 1996). The geological map around Tiru valley coalfield is shown in Figure 1b. The coal deposit occurs in the Tikak Parbat Formation and is bounded by Tipam sandstone Formation on western side and south-eastern side. Exposure of Naogaon Sandstone Formation is also seen in the south eastern part of the map. 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS Coal samples were collected from three outcrops of Tiru valley (Fig. 1b). The coal outcrops are located in dense forest regions. The coal samples were collected following pillar sampling method from T1A, T2A and T3A outcrops. They were crushed and reduced in quantities to prepare composite samples and were then subjected to detailed petrographic and chemical analyses. The samples were crushed to-18 mesh (1000 microns) size for petrography and 70 mesh (210 microns) size for proximate analysis. The maceral analysis was carried out on polished pellets under reflected light using a Leitz Orthoplan-Pol Microscope equipped with Wild Photoautomat MPS 45 in the Coal and Organic Petrology Laboratory, Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University. The spacing between the counts was maintained at 0.4 mm and 600 counts were taken on each sample. The methodology given by Taylor et al (1998) has been followed; for vitrinite macerals, the terminologies of ICCP (1998), for inertinite macerals, ICCP (2001) and for liptinite ICCP (1971) were taken into considerations. The proximate analysis was carried out as per BIS, 2003. The elemental analysis (C, H, N, and S) was performed at C.D.R.I, Lucknow using Vario EL-III Analyzer. The vitrinite reflectance measurements were carried out in the R and D centre of Tata Steels Ltd., Jamshedpur using J and M MSP 200 software developed by J&M Analytische Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH, RobertBosch-Strasse 83, D-73431 Aalen, Germany. On each sample a minimum of 30 measurements were taken. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1. Megascopic characteristics The thin (12 m) coal seams have only local extent. As such three outcrops have been identified at three locations of Tiru area but their regional correlation has not been established so far due to lack of detailed exploration which has been designated as outcrops T1A, T2A and T3A in the present investigation. The coals of Tiru valley have been megascopically classified as per Schopf (1960). Accordingly, these coals are non-banded, friable in nature and show variable level of lustre. Dominantly they are bright to moderately bright in appearance. At places they look moderately dull. The Tiru valley coals are associated with sandy shale, shale,

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carbonaceous shale and hard-compact sandstone. Megascopic seam sections are shown in Figure 2. 4.2. Petrographic composition The Tiru valley coals of Nagaland, in general, are poor in liptinite and inertinite while vitrinite is the most abundant maceral. The vitrinite content, however, ranges from 95% to 98 % in T1A, 99% in T2A and from 96% to 99% in T3A. It is dominated by telovitrinite which is mainly represented by collotelinite (Fig. 3b) while telinite
(a) (b)

50 m

50 m

(c)
50 m

(d)

50 m

(e)
50 m

(f)
50 m

Figure 3. Representative photomicrographs of macerals of Tiru valley coals of Nagaland: a) Telinite having cell lumens partially filled with mineral matter; b) collotelinite; c) corpogelinite and collotelinite; d) funginite of fungal spore; e) multichambered funginite along with collotelinite; also visible is a patch of siderite; f) funginite within a collotelinitic groundmass.

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(Fig. 3a) occurs only in small quantity and their cells are, at times, filled up with argillaceous mineral matter. Some of the telovitrinite grains are seen to have prominent fractures. Detrovitrinite is represented by collodetrinite (Figs. 4b and c) and vitrodetrinite. Gelovitrinite is, however, rarely seen in these coals (Fig. 3c). Liptinite ranges from 1% to 3% in T1A, it is <1% in T2A while it ranges from <1% to 2% in T3A. It is represented by sporinite, cutinite, resinite and suberinite. Similarly, inertinite also occurs in low concentration and ranges from 1% to 2% in T1A; it is <1% in T2A and from <% to 1% in T3A. It is represented mainly by funginite (Figs. 3d, 3e and 3f), but there is also some fusinite (Fig. 4a) and inertodetrinite. Funginite occurs both as multichambered (Figs. 3e and 3f) as well as telutospore (Fig. 3d). Mineral matter occurs in variable quantity in these coals and ranges from 9% to 30% in T1A except in one sample (T1A4) where there is enrichment of sulphide mineral matter and is represented by various forms of pyrite (Table 3). The mineral matter is 3% in T2A and it ranges from 2% to 19% in T3A. In addition, argillaceous material is also dominant in inorganic content of coal. Pyrite is seen as massive body, framboidal pyrite (Figs. 4b and 4d), discrete grains and disseminated grains within the organic matter (Fig. 4c). Framboidal pyrite bodies are observed either along the bands (Fig. 4d), or as cavity filling (Fig. 4b) within the organic matter. A little amount of pyrite is precipitated epigenetically in cracks and fractures. Pyrite in coal is formed from H2S and Fe in solution through bacterial reduction of SO4 to H2S at pH 7 to 4.5.
(a)
50 m

(b)
50 m

(c)
50 m

(d)
50 m

Figure 4. Representative photomicrographs of macerals of Tiru valley coals of Nagaland: a) fusinite and collotelinite; b) framboidal pyrite and cavity infilling in dark collodetrinite; c) collodetrinite with numerous disseminated pyrite grains; d) clustering of pyrite framboids in collodetrinite.

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Table 2. Maceral composition (vol. %, mmf), mineral matter content (vol. %), vitrinite random reflectance, gelification index and tissue preservation index of Tiru vally coal samples.
T1A-1 T1A-2 T1A-3 T1A-4 T1A-5 T2A T3A-1 T3A-2 T3A-3 (vol %) (vol %) (vol %) (vol %) (vol %) (vol %) (vol %) (vol %) (vol %) Telinite 1 3 2 0 2 1 1 0 1 Collotelinite 63 89 89 31 90 94 80 81 94 Vitrodetrinite 10 <1 <1 28 2 3 2 7 1 Collodetrinite 21 5 7 41 5 2 14 12 3 Corpogelinite <1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Vitrinite 95 97 98 100 98 100 96 99 99 Sporinite 1 <1 <1 0 <1 0 1 <1 0 Cutinite 1 0 <1 0 <1 <1 <1 <1 0 Resinite 1 1 <1 0 <1 0 1 <1 <1 Suberinite 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 <1 Liptodetrinite 1 <1 <1 <1 0 0 <1 0 0 Total Liptinite 3 1 1 <1 1 <1 2 1 <1 Fusinite 1 0 <1 0 <1 0 0 <1 0 Semifusinite 0.0 <1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Funginite 1 1 1 0 1 <1 1 <1 1 Total Inertinite 2 2 1 0 1 <1 1 <1 1 Sulphide 5 6 3 73 8 1 11 3 1 Carbonates 1 <1 1 6 1 <1 <1 1 <1 Argillaceous 24 4 6 6 1 2 5 15 1 Mineral matter 30 1 10 86 9 3 16 19 2 VRr 0.51 0.36 0.59 0.41 0.43 0.48 0.55 0.54 0.50 GI 59.24 62.89 78.19 43.0 90.91 292.15 71.97 249.4 149.06 TPI 3.02 18.69 12.66 .071 18.25 43.08 5.65 6.76 35.55 VRr-vitrinite random reflectance; GI-gelification index; TPI-tissue preservation index.

Table 3. Summary of classification of pyrite (in vol%) in Tiru coals of Nagaland.

Framboidal pyrite 18 6 22 64 56 29 54 61 100 Disseminated pyrite 8 1 17 8 16 0 15 28 0 Cavity and fissure filling 24 83 56 25 22 71 22 11 0 Massive pyrite 48 9 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 Discrete pyrite grains 2 1 6 3 3 0 6 0 0

Sample no. 1A5 1A4 1A3 1A2 1A1 2A 3A1 3A2 3A3

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Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India

Subsequently, H2S, elemental sulfur and ferrous iron oxide (FeO) combine to form pyrite and water (Ryan and Ledda, 1998). High sulphide minerals (pyrite) in Tiru valley coals may be attributed to elevated sulphur content owing to a brackish water influence of the peat. 4.3. Chemical composition The coals are chemically characterized by low to medium moisture (4% to7%) and moderately high volatile matter content (22% and 42%). The ash content is variable (3% to 33%). The ultimate analysis shows that these coals have carbon contents ranging from 62% to 79% (daf). The hydrogen content is moderately high with more than 5 wt% in all samples except in one (Sample No T1A-4 has 4%). The sulphur content is extremely high and ranges from (5% to 11%). H/C and O/C atomic ratios have been calculated. While the H/C varies between 0.77 and 1.01, O/C ranges from 0.07 to 0.28. The proximate and ultimate analysis data have been summarized in Tables 4a and 4b. Table 4a. Data of proximate analysis of Tiru coals of Nagaland.
Proximate analysis (Air dried basis) daf basis S. No. M (wt %) A (wt %) V M (wt %) F C (wt %) T1A-5 6 5 43 57 T1A-4 4 33 34 66 T1A-3 7 6 43 57 T1A-2 5 7 45 55 T1A-1 6 13 41 59 T2A 7 3 42 58 T3A-1 5 16 45 55 T3A-2 4 21 43 57 T3A-3 6 5 48 52 M- moisture, A-ash, VM- volatile matter, FC-fixed carbon, daf-dry ash free.

Table 4b. Data of ultimate analysis of Tiru coals of Nagaland.

daf basis (wt %) H N 6 2 4 <1 6 2 6 3 6 2 6 <1 6 3 5 1 6 2 dry basis (wt %) H/C 0.89 0.77 0.95 0.88 0.98 0.93 1.01 0.91 0.85

S. No. C T1A-5 76 T1A-4 62 T1A-3 72 T1A-2 76 T1A-1 68 T2A 79 T3A-1 74 T3A-2 71 T3A-3 79 daf-dry ash free.

O 9 22 14 8 19 9 9 17 7

Stotal 6 11 6 7 5 5 8 6 6

O/C 0.09 0.28 0.14 0.08 0.20 0.08 0.09 0.18 0.07

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Teichmller (1962) has shown that marine influenced coals are generally rich in sulphur, hydrogen and nitrogen contents and are characterized by high volatile matter than other coals. This is substantiated by Price and Shieh (1979) and Chou (1990) who demonstrated that coals with increasing sulfur proportion (usually>1%) comes from sea water. The hydrogen and nitrogen are retained in the humic materials and eventually emerge as perhydrous vitrinite (Taylor et al. 1998). Similar conditions seem to be applicable with Tiru valley coals which have relatively high sulphur and volatile matter contents (Fig. 5a). Tiru coals in the Van Krevelen diagram (Fig. 5b) reveals continental to marine kerogens which have suffered diagenesis and catagenesis. 4.4. Reflectance and Thermal maturation The thermal maturity of organic matter is related directly to its chemical changes (Sun, 1998). A number of parameters are available to assess the maturity but in the present investigation, vitrinite reflectance and volatile matter were considered to indicate the maturity of Tiru valley coals. The overall volatile matter (daf) in these coals ranges from 34% to 48% (av 43%) and the vitrinite random reflectance (Rr) ranges from 0.36% to 0.59% (av 0.49%). The details of reflectance analysis have been summarized in Table 2 while that of volatile matter is shown in Table 4a. As per ISO-11760 (2005) Tiru valley coals are sub-bituminous to bituminous-D in rank. The H/C maintains a positive correlation trend (r = 0.560) with increase of reflectance values. This indicates that hydrogen increase is characteristic for the coalification of Tiru valley coals of Nagaland. 4.5. Depositional environment One of the most important factors is the depositional environment which determines the composition and preservation of peat and coals (Lin and Tian, 2011). Teichmller (1982) has defined coal facies as primary genetic types of coal, which are dependent on the paleoenvironmental conditions under which the precursor peats accumulate. Thus, plants sensitively react to the changes in local conditions and therefore, petrographic study provides a precise tool for the facies study (Teichmller and Teichmller, 1982; Duan et al., 2011; Deng and Sun, 2011). Moreover, many researchers (Cohen and Spackman, 1972; Cohen et al., 1987; Grady et al., 1993; Hawke et al., 1996; Hawke et al., 1999; Shearer and Clarkson, 1998; Styan and Bustin, 1983; Sun et al., 2002; 2010; Sun, 2003) have related the petrographic components of coal with the paleoecological setting. For this purpose different maceral ratios are used. Gelification Index (GI) and Tissue Preservation Index (TPI) were introduced by Diessel (1986) to characterize the depositional environments of Australian coals. Subsequently, some scientists made critical comments against the usage of these indices especially for Tertiary coals and lignites (Lamberson et al., 1991; Crosdale, 1993; Dehmer, 1995; Scott, 2002; Moore and Shearer, 2003; Amijaya and Littke, 2005). However, modifications were made in the indices by some researchers to make it applicable for other coals (Calder et al., 1991). Kalkreuth et al. (1991) and Petersen (1993) modified these indices to suite the low rank coals. For Tiru

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Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India
(a)

8 7 Per-hydrous 6

Hydrogen, wt % (daf)

5 4 3 2 1 0 100 Sub-hydrous

90

80 Carbon, wt % (daf)

70

60

(b) Lacustrine kerogens - I 1.5 Marine krogens - II

Atomic ratio H/C

1.0

esis Diagen

(Lignite

Early diagen

esis (peat)

Diag ene sis

al) is es co en us tag ino Ca itum (B

Continental kerogens - III

0.5
is es nd ) en e a ite ag it c et ac ra M thr nth n a (A eta m

Increasing burial Tiru coal samples 0.2 0.3 Atomic ratio O/C 0.4 0.5

0.1

Figure 5(a). Simplified Seylers chart (modified after Seyler, 1900) with the bright coal band indicated by dashed lines. The sulphur rich coals of Tiru (Nagaland) plot at the upper limit of the bright coal band and also in the area of per-hydrous coals. (b). Position of Tiru Coals of Nagaland in Van Krevelen diagram (modified after Van Krevelen, 1961).

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valley coals, the modified indices which have been considered are calculated by the following formulae: GI = Vitrinite/Inertinite TPI = (Telinite + collotelinite + Fusinite + Semifusinite)/(Collodetrinite + macrinite + inertodetrinite) Tiru valley coals are characterized by very high Gelification Index (GI) and Tissue Preservation Index (TPI). The facies model which is based on GI and TPI shows that these coals originated mainly from wet forest (Fig. 6). This is reflected by the presence of high collotelinite content in these coals. This can be further substantiated by the fact that collotelinite macerals are derived from partially gelified woody tissue and indicates wood producing plants as well as degree of biochemical gelification; the latter is related to the availability of high moisture (Marchioni and Kalkreuth, 1991). Moreover, brighter components of coal are produced under wet conditions
500

% Lignified tissues increase

100
Banded coal

50
Li, clastic Marsh Banded bright

Gelification index

10 5
limnic

VIT > INERT DEG VIT > STRUCT VIT

Wet

Forest swamp

VIT > INERT STRUCT VIT > DEG VIT

Banded dull

1 0.5
O Marsh
INERT > VIT IDET > SEMIFUS + FUS

Dry forest swamp

Fibrous

0.1
0.1 0.5

Terrestrial

Dull

INERT > VIT SEMIFUS + FUS > IDET

1 5 10 Tissue preservation index

50

Figure 6. Coal facies deciphered from gelification Index (GI) and the Tissue Preservation Index (TPI) in relation to depositional setting and type of mire for Tiru valley coal (after Diessel, 1986 and modified by Kalkreuth et al, 1991.) LI = limited influx; O MARSH = open marsh; VIT = vitrinite; INERT = inertinite; SEMIFUS = semifusinite; FUS = fusinite; IDET = inertodetrinite; STRUCT = structured; DEG = degraded.

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Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India

(Diessel, 1982). The present study also supports the contention of Mishra and Ghosh (1996) who demonstrated that the Oligocene coals of NE India evolved in wet forest swamps and in marshy environments. Palynological studies by Mishra (1992) have revealed that during Paleocene and Oligocene there was growth of green forest vegetation under humid tropical conditions in India. Low concentration of inertinite could be due to lack of forest fire in these coals. Similar situation prevailed during Indonesian coal formation (Davis et al., 2007) A positive correlation (r = 0.548) between GI and TPI is indicative of the fact that tissue preservation is not only controlled by tree density but also related to the wetness of peat (Dehmer, 1989; 1995). There exists a good and sympathetic correlation (r = 0.738) between ash and sulphur content (Fig. 7). This could be an indication of increase in the tree density and tissue preservation with clastic sedimentation. Iordanidis and Georgakopoulos (2003) have demonstrated that GI>10 is found usually under a marsh-reed environment or a forest with high degrees of degradation which is permanently flooded. To know the peat forming environment, a ternary model given by Mukhopadhyay (1986, Fig. 8) has been taken into account. This model is based on maceral composition and its association. When plotted on this model, the Tiru valley coals appear to have evolved from the forest swamps having mildly oxic to anoxic conditions with good tissue preservation. These coals contain variable amount of mineral matter which is also related to the water influx in the basin. The influx of clastic material comes to the basin at times of flooding and gets mixed with the organic debris. This leads to elevated ash coals, or

12

10

Sulphur wt % (total)

4
r = 0.738 R2 = 2.9 Y = 0.40 x

0
0 10 20 Ash wt % 30 40

Figure 7. Relationship between ash and total sulphur content.

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Inertinite C

75 vol% F 50 vol%

25 vol%

50 vol%

25 vol%

75 vol%

A- Vitrinite (Telinite + collotelinite) + Terrestrial liptinite B- Vitrodetrinite + Liptodetrinite + Corpogelinite + Gelinite C- Intermediates D- Forest swamp, mildly oxic to anoxic with good tissue preservation E- Reed marsh, increasing maceration and bacterial activity, increasing anoxic. F- Dry (oxic) condition Vitrodetrinite + Collodetrinite + Corpogelinite + Gelinite + Liptodetrinite

A Telinite + Collotelinite + Terrestrial Liptinite 75 vol% 50 vol% 25 vol%

Figure 8. Ternary diagram illustrating facies critical maceral associations in Tiru valley coal (Nagaland) and suggested peat forming environment (modified from Mukhoadhyay, 1986).

carbonaceous shales. Throughout peat accumulation the water table fluctuates and the peat growth keeps pace with increase in water table. Similarly the peat decays at the time of exposure to the air due to fluctuation. Taking into account the role of mineral matter, Singh and Singh (1996) proposed a facies diagram which is based on maceral content as well as mineral matter content. Though this model was initially proposed for Rajmahal group of Permian Gondwana coals, yet it has been successfully applied to decipher the evolution of Late Miocene coals of Lati Formation of Tarakan basin, Indonesia (Singh et al., 2010). The petrographic data when plotted on this facies model (Fig. 9) has revealed that the Tiru valley coals evolved from wet forest with intermittent moderate to high flooding in the paleomire. Moreover, these coals are sulphur rich as revealed by ultimate analysis and elevated pyrite content as seen under microscope which indicates the association of peat with brackish water or marine sediments. A number of authors have observed such associations. This is supported by the work of Dasgupta and Biswas (2000) who have shown that during Barail Formation there prevailed a shallow brackish water condition. High sulphur content indicates that either the peat is connected to brackish water (Bustin and Lowe, 1987; Casagrande, 1987) or it is overlain by marine sediments (Cohen et al., 1984). This can be further substantiated by the studies on modern peats under marine influence which have shown the enrichment of sulfur due to sulphate reducing bacteria which results into precipitation of pyrite in peat (Querol et al., 1989; Phillips et al., 1994). A positive correlation (r = 0.738) between sulphur and ash further indicates that pH of the paleomire was raised due to infilling water, thus, diluting the humic acids. The carbonate rich surface waters would have further raised the pH and could be attributed for higher sulphur content.

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Vitrinite + Liptinite A D- Alternate oxic and anoxic moor E- Oxic (dry) moor with sudden high flooding F- Wet moor with intermittent moderate to high flooding

75 vol%

75 vol%

50 vol% D 25 vol% E B 75 vol% Inertinite 50 vol% F

50 vol%

25 vol%

C 25 vol% Argillaceous mineral matter

Figure 9. Depositional condition of Tiru valley coal, Nagaland based on maceral and mineral matter content (modified from Singh and Singh, 1996). 5. CONCLUSIONS Petrographic and geochemical investigations were performed on the outcrop samples of Tiru valley coals from Nagaland. The results reveal that these coals are subbituminous to bituminous-D in rank. They are dominantly rich in vitrinite constituting up to 98% of the total maceral composition; whereas very low contents of liptinite and inertinite have been observed, the latter one points to a low frequency of wildfires in the mire. Moreover, association of peat with brackish water or marine sediments has resulted into elevated sulfur content forming pyrite in these coals. High GI and TPI values are indicative of a wet forest origin of these coals. This contention is further supported by facies-critical models specifying the formation of Tiru valley coals under high water table in the paleomire. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are thankful to the Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, for extending the laboratory facilities to work. We thank our M.Sc. students-Mr. Krishna Kumar and Mr. Nitesh Sonthalia-for collecting the coal samples from the Tiru valley coalfield. The financial support was received from Special Assistance Program, University Grants Commission, Government of India, for ultimate analysis which was carried out at CDRI, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. REFERENCES Acharyya S.K., 2007. Evolution of the Himalayan Palaeogene foreland basins, influence of its litho-packet on the formation of thrust-related domes and windows in the Eastern Himalayas-A review. Journal of Asian Earth Science 31, 117.

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