WVGES Trace Elements in West Virginia Coals

Click Here To Go To Trace Elements Framed Home Page TUNGSTEN (W)

Tungsten Stratigraphic DistributionTungsten Geographic DistributionTungsten Summary Statistics

Tungsten is a trace element with no economic or environmental impact.

Geologic Distribution: Tungsten is generally thought to be bound in the organic phases of coal, but may in some cases be within carbonate minerals 1. Mean whole coal W was 0.79 ppm. Tungsten did not statistically correlate with ash yield, total sulfur, pyritic sulfur or any other trace elements, thus reinforcing the suggested organic bonding of W in coals. Stratigraphic trends show a general trend with most coals containing less than 1  ppm on a whole coal basis and highest W in coals of the upper Kanawha Formation and Allegheny group with somewhat lower W in most Pocahontas Formation and lowest W in coals of the Conemaugh and Monongahela Group. Tungsten displayed no clear areal distribution trend with highest W values in coals of southern West Virginia.

Economic Impact: Tungsten in coal has no economic impact.  Tungsten is used in lamp filaments, electron and television tubes and x-ray tubes and tungsten carbide, because of its hardness, is important in metal-working, mining and petroleum drilling 2.

Environmental Impact: There are no environmental concerns with tungsten in coal mining or utilization 1.

References:
    1. Swaine, D.J., (1990)
    2. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
 
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