Recognition of coal from other minerals in powder form using terahertz spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT

Currently a significant fraction of the world energy is still produced from the combustion of mineral coal. The extraction of coal from mines is a relatively complex and dangerous activity that still requires the intervention of human miners, and therefore in order to minimize risks, automation of the coal mining process is desirable. An aspect that is still under investigation is potential techniques that can recognize on-line if the mineral being extracted from the mine is coal or if it is the surrounding rock. In this contribution we present the proof of concept of a method that has potential for recognition of the extraction debris from mining based on their terahertz transmission.