Based on micro-scale casting thin sections, nano-scale SEM images, and the pore distribution map identified through a binary image in Matlab, the pore size distribution and pore throat coordination number of the strata of Upper Paleozoic He8 section tight sandstone in the southeastern Ordos Basin were quantitatively analyzed with the above experimental data. In combination with a high-pressure mercury injection experiment, the pore throat distribution, the pore throat ratio, and the relationships between the characteristics, parameters, and pore permeability were investigated clearly. The results show that the tight sandstone pore space in the study area is dominated by micron-sized intergranular pores, dissolved pores, and intragranular pores. The nano-scale pore throat consisted of clay minerals, intercrystalline pores, and the flake intergranular pores of overgrowth quartz grains. Kaolinite and illite intercrystalline pores occupy the pore space below 600 nm, while the ones above 800 nm are mainly dominated by the intergranular pores of overgrowth quartz grains, and the 600–800 nm ones are transitional zones. The permeability of tight sandstone increases with the average pore throat radius, sorting coefficient, median pore throat radius, and average pore throat number. The porosity is positively correlated with the average pore radius and the average pore throat coordination number, and negatively correlated with the median pore throat radius.

Due to the limitations of widely used energy spectrum and spectral analyses for the determination of trace elements in coal, the modes of occurrence of Li still remains unclear. This study investigated the distribution of Li in selected bulk samples and in-situ kaolinite particles in the No.6 Li-rich coals from the Haerwusu Mine of the Jungar Coalfield using ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS. The results reveal an elevated Li concentration in the lower section of the No.6 coal with high Sr/Ba ratio compared to the upper section with more terrigenous mudstone along the vertical profile. LA-ICP-MS mapping and spot analyses results showed that Li was concentrated in kaolinite but occur in variations in the concentrations of Li among different types of kaolinite. The concentration of Li in kaolinite is ranked as follows: cryptocrystalline kaolinite (2225.83 ppm) > vermicular kaolinite (651.49 ppm) > altered K-bearing kaolinite (593.44 ppm) > clastic kaolinite (478.68 ppm). The in-situ concentration of Li in kaolinite is much higher than that of the bulk samples, indicating that kaolinite is the dominant host mineral for Li as well. The Al ₂ O ₃ /TiO ₂ and Nb/Yb-Zr/TiO ₂ ratios indicate that Li in No. 6 coal primarily originated from Paleoproterozoic granite in the Yinshan Mountain and felsic volcanic ash. Seawater leaching has a critical influence on the redistribution of Li in the coal from the Haerwusu Mine or even the whole Jungar Coalfield.

Minerals in coal provide useful information for not only paleo-environments of peat accumulation, but also for geological evolution during later diagenesis and/or epigenesis. This paper reports new data on coal quality and the mineralogical and geochemical compositions of 17 unaltered (by intrusion) coal samples collected from the Huainan coalfield, providing new insight into the origins and modes of occurrence of the minerals in coal and their geological evolution. The results showed that the studied coal samples were low rank bituminous coal, with low ash yield (11.92–38.31%, average 24.80%) and high volatile content (25.13–43.43%, average 37.29%). Minerals in the coal mainly included kaolinite and quartz; varying proportions of calcite, siderite, ankerite, and pyrite; and traces of chlorite, zircon, strontianite, apatite, and gorceixite. Typical modes of mineral occurrence could be used to determine the formation stage of minerals. The detrital mineral, occurring as sub-angular to rounded discrete fragments or thin layers intimately admixed with organic matter at particular horizons, was of terrigenous origin, deposited during peat accumulation. Cell infillings, as well as nodule siderites and polycrystalline aggregates of pyrite, precipitated during the syngenetic to early diagenetic stages. Cleat infillings, compressed cell infillings, and fracture infillings precipitated in the epigenetic stage. However, the stage of mineral formation of the pore infilling was difficult to determine. Combined with coal quality, mineralogy, and geochemical analysis, the sedimentary environment of Shanxi Formation was affected by seawater, and Fe-rich hydrothermal fluids filled into the No. 3 coal seam in the epigenetic stage. The sedimentary environment of the No. 8 coal seam had widespread reduction and acid conditions due to basin subsidence, and sulfate-rich hydrothermal fluids may have been formed during the peat deposition stage. In contrast, the peat accumulation environment of the Upper Shihezi Formation was oxidized with a low pH condition. Alkaline fluid then flowed into the No. 13-1 coal seam in the epigenetic stage.

To investigate the effect of siliceous cementation on the densification of sandstone and the forming process of tight sandstone, based on cathodoluminescence, scanning electron microscopy and thin section analysis, the growth mechanism and characteristics of quartz particles in tight sandstone formations are explored. Meanwhile, combined with conventional core analysis and X-ray diffraction experiments, the factors affecting the crystallization of quartz particles, including the chlorite content, grain size and clay mineral, are analyzed, respectively. The entire siliceous cementation is divided into two processes. The first part is the process in which the weathered and rounded particles in the formation are restored to the hexagonal dipyramid crystal by siliceous cementation. The second part is the process of coaxial growth that the hexagonal dipyramid crystal continues to increase with the form of micro-quartz film. As siliceous cements continue to increase, the petrological characteristics of sandstones are constantly changing. The tight sandstone developed in the study area is composed of lithic sandstone and quartz lithic sandstone. Based on the analysis results, 2D and 3D evolution models are established for densification of two different lithic sandstones. When the content of siliceous cement in the study area is less than 17%, the porosity of tight sandstone increases with the increase of cement. When the content of cement is more than 17%, the porosity of tight sandstone is negatively correlated with the content of cement. When the cement content is greater than 10%, the reservoir permeability is negatively correlated with it. Furthermore, the particle size mainly affects the permeability of reservoir, and the particle size is negatively correlated with the permeability of tight sandstone. The most high-quality tight sandstone reservoir in the study area is in the first cementation stage when siliceous cements are distributed in porphyritic texture with the content of 10–15% and a grain size of 0.2–0.3 mm. In addition, the relatively high-quality reservoir is the one developing clay mineral film with a content of cementation about 5–12%.