Geochemistry of the Leatherwood coal in eastern Kentucky

The Middle Pennsylvanian (Bolsovian) Leatherwood coal in central eastern Kentucky is a moderately thick (up to >1.6 m in the sites examined in this study) coal bed that has been one of the major sources of electricity in the region. To document and understand the organic petrology and inorganic chemistry of the Leatherwood coal, geologists from the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER), Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected 45 bench samples of the Leatherwood coal in the late-1980’s through the early-2000’s. USGS laboratories analyzed the chlorine and selenium contents of 27 bench samples by ion chromatography (IC) and hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS), respectively, and mercury contents of 44 of the bench samples by CVAA. All samples were analyzed on whole coal and are reported on a whole coal basis.