Coal Technologist

Job overview
Coal technologists are concerned with the recovery and utilisation of all forms of coal and by-products of coal.

The coal industry employs them in areas such as geology, chemistry, physics, engineering and economics. ?and in the applied fields of prospecting, geological survey, coal mining, coal preparation, grading, analysis, carbonisation, combustion? (in steam generators and power plants?)?, gasification? (at gas plants?)?, research, quality control and marketing.

What do people do in this job?
The recovery and mining of coal falls into the following basic categories in which coal technologists perform specialised duties:

Geology?
Geological surveys are carried out to determine the location and nature of a country's coal reserves.

Coal technologists are further involved with drilling programmes and with determining whether a coal-field can be mined economically.

Other tasks include determining what the available coal can be used for, e.g. ?for electricity generation, blast-furnaces or the gasification of coal for making petroleum products or by-products.

Mining, coal preparation and processing
For economic reasons, mines are constantly striving to improve the effectiveness of the washing plant and the quality control laboratory by introducing improved techniques and methods.

Mine management strongly relies on the expert opinion of coal technologists whose reports also enable management to decide which portion of the coal proceeds should be refined.

Some coal technologists specialise in mining safety, studying the highly explosive methane gas present in collieries, the explosive capacity of coal-dust and the microbiological aspects of rock corrosion.

Coal analysis?
Coal technologists are continually involved in product evaluation.

Testing procedures are standardised and are internationally acknowledged in the industry.

The quality control tests involve chemical, analytical and physical tests, with the choice depending on the nature and application of the product.

Normally crude coal samples, borehole samples and samples of refined products are subjected to analytical and physical procedures.

Research?
In research, coal technologists strive towards the common goal of acquiring more knowledge on this important natural resource.

Existing techniques and methods are continually updated, in order to obtain maximum benefit from the exploitation and utilisation of coal and its by-products.

What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
Coal technologists should have scientific aptitude and analytical reasoning ability, plus the insight to put ideas into practice.

They usually spend much of their time in modern, well-equipped laboratories.

Occasionally tests may have to be conducted outdoors, as with sampling, size analysis, float and sink analyses and the testing of coal-utilisation equipment.

What qualifications are needed?
Good school-leaving results in chemistry, preferably supplemented by a technical college diploma or a BSc with majors in chemistry and geology.