Distribution of minor and trace elements in Jurassic coal from the Datong coalfield of Shanxi province

The concentration and distribution of minor and trace elements in coal are important information for clean coal technology. Therefore, the important significance of studying composition of minor and trace elements in Jurassic coal from Datong coalfield, one of major coal source of coal-burning power plant inside China, is obvious. The results show that the concentrations of most minor and trace elements in Datong Jurassic coal which are deposited under continental environment are lower. Only the contents of Tl, As, Hg, Cd, Cl and Ni in Datong Jurassic coal are higher than average contents of these elements from all over countries, to which should be paid attention. However, the geochemical and geological mechanism of minor and trace elements distributions should farther be studied in the coming future.