Key Members:
Professor Shifeng Dai
Professor Daiyong Cao
Professor Yuegang Tang
Professor Longyi Shao
Professor Fenghua Zhao
Professor Handong Liang
Professor Xianqing Li
 
(1) The researchers renewed the regionalization that China’s coal resources are distributed as the shape of Chinese character “well”. In theory, they systematically illustratedthe state of China’s coal resources, water resources and ecological environment, and the feature of economic and social development in the different areas of China. They advocated a development distributing strategy of “protection and relief in the east, steady development in the middle, and acceleration in the west”, and proposed the policy advice such as “the coal resources protection in the east region should be implemented and the resources strategic reserve base should be established as soon as possible”, “the acceleration in the coal exploitation in Xinjiang Region should be considered as a long-term national strategy”, etc.
 
 
(2) Based on the research result of the distribution laws of coal reserve, the researchers accomplished a new round of prediction and assessment about China’s coal resources, acquiring the scientific information of China’s coal reserve. Guided by the multi-stratigraphy theory, the researchers divided the space-time framework of the stratigraphic sequence of China’s coal-bearing strata, put forward the comparison result of the stratigraphic sequence and system tract of different coal-cumulating areas in China, and established the thick coal seam accumulation mode with sequence stratigraphic framework. Besides, the researchers also put forward the conception of coal tectonic unit, divided China’s coal reserve areas as three coal tectonic units, summarized the distribution laws of coal-controlled style and its control for coal reserve. The researchers also established the standard for classifying the predicted reserve and the assessment approach for the potential of coal reserve, which directed the different provinces and areas in conducting the assessment for the potential of coal reserves. And they acquired the scientific information of China’s coal reserves, and successfully established China’s coal geology comprehensive prospecting theory and technology system which is supported by the new progress in coal geology theory and composed of a series of key technology.
 
(3) The researchers initiatively brought the “coal qualities in different areas” into the system of coal assessment, and included the enrichment of harmful elements and rare elements as one of the major parts in the assessment system:
(1) The researchers put forward that in the super-high-organic-sulfur (SHOS) coal, the minor harmful elements such as U, Mo, Se, V and the organic sulfur derived from submarine exhalation, also known as the hydrothermal fluid, and enriched in the reduction environment with little oxygen. Such a discovery has made a supplementation to the cause types of the enrichment of the minor elements in coal.
(2) The researchers discovered alkaline and basic tonstein, and believed that the alkaline cinerite containing high level of Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf and REE derived from the product of the decaying stage of the later evolving period of mantle plume. Such a discovery has provided the evidence for the evolvement of mantle plume in coal geochemistry.
(3) The researchers revealed the cause types of the enrichment of rare earth elements, and established the assessment approach and theory basis for the rare-earth elements in coal and its combustion residues, offering a theoretic foundation for the utilization of rare earth elements in coal.