sapropelic coal

sapropelic coal, hydrogen-rich coal, including cannel coal and boghead coal (see torbanite), derived from sapropels (loose deposits of sedimentary rock rich in hydrocarbons) and characterized by a dull black, sometimes waxy lustre. Sapropelic coals are rich in liptinites (microscopic organic matter derived from waxy or resinous plant parts) and have high yields of volatile matter. Cannel coals are rich in spores, whereas boghead coals are rich in algae. Due to their high volatile-matter composition, cannel and boghead coals are often distilled to produce various hydrocarbon-containing products such as kerosene. During the 19th century cannel coal was used in the manufacture of illuminating gas and as fireplace coal. Some boghead coals were also used to manufacture gas. Cannel coal was formerly called candle coal because it ignites easily and burns with a bright, smoky flame.

Sapropels are extremely fine-grained because most of their organic structures were destroyed by putrefaction. Coals derived from sapropels go through the same stages of coalification as humic (low hydrogen content) coals. Sapropelic coals occur in nearly every major coalfield. They usually occur at the top of a coal seam, but they can also be found as individual seams. A seam of cannel coal roughly 80 cm (2.6 feet) thick occurs in the Lohberg/Osterfeld mine in the Ruhr coalfield, Germany. Cannel coals are thought to have formed in lakes and pools where floating spores, transported by wind and water, accumulated in mud mixed with plant debris. In addition to algae, boghead coals may contain fish scales and other fossils, which show that animal substances contributed to the formation of these coals.

Due to their fine, regular texture, cannel coals and boghead coals tend to break with a conchoidal fracture. This characteristic and their relative softness made them suitable raw material to be carved into various decorative objects, a number of which have been found in both prehistoric and ancient archaeological sites.