Measurement of volatile matter in Victorian brown coal

The effects of using one-stage and two-stage heating, using air-dried coal and coal oven-dried under nitrogen, and using final temperatures of 850°C and 900°C on the measured volatile matter for twelve Victorian brown coals have been examined by the use of a statistically controlled experiment. The repeatability of the two-stage method was found to be significantly better than that of the one-stage method (0.7% abs. compared to 0.9% abs.). The volatile matter of coals at the front of the furnace was found to be significantly different from that of coals at the back of the furnace for the one stage method but not for the two-stage method. A two-stage heating method (7 min at 400°C and then 7 min at 900°C) using oven-dried coal is recommended for the routine determination of volatile matter in brown coal.