Section 140.30  Coal Quality Testing Program

a)         The Department of Mines and Minerals' (Department) analytical laboratory, located  in  Benton, Illinois, is authorized to  test the quality of coal delivered under State coal purchase contracts.

b)         The Department shall analyze samples taken from coal shipments under State contracts provided by any agency or institution of the State of Illinois, hereinafter called the delivering agency, if such samples are:

1)         submitted in the 6 pound increments required for analysis, with a minimum of 6 pounds of coal per sample bag and a maximum of 42 pounds of coal per sample bag (any variation to this sampling process must follow guidelines set by  ASTM Standard D-2234-89 found at pp. 270-281 in Volume 05.05 of the 1993 Book of ASTM Standards, published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103);

2)         identified as having been submitted by a specific delivering agency;

3)         received by the Department's Benton, Illinois analytical laboratory by the 10th day of the month; and

4)         collected as required by ASTM Standard D-2234-89 found at pp. 270-281 in Volume 05.05 of  the 1993 Book of ASTM Standards, published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

c)         Upon receiving an acceptable sample bag from a delivering agency, the Department shall grind the coal to the specifications of ASTM Standard D-2013-86 found at page 245 in Volume 05.05 of the 1993 Book of ASTM Standards, published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, by using a hammermill crusher or equivalent device, as follows:

1)         The crusher shall be completely enclosed to avoid the  loss of dust or moisture.

2)         The coal in each sample bag shall be mixed  (ground by crusher) to form an initial composite sample as stated in ASTM Standard D-2013-86 found at page 245 in Volume 05.05 of the 1993 Book of ASTM Standards, published by  the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

3)         The initial composite sample shall be reduced to 1,000 grams and divided into two (2) 500 gram samples. The Department shall then dry one of the 500 gram samples to the specifications outlined in ASTM Standard D-2013-86 found at page 247 in  Volume 05.05 of  the 1993  Book  of ASTM  Standards, published by the American Society for  Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.  After drying, this 500 gram sample shall then  be processed  in  accordance with subsection (c)(4) below.  The undried 500 gram sample shall  be held in reserve should more than one test be required.

4)         The  500 gram   sample used  for immediate analysis shall be  placed on a spin wheel mixer for 15 minutes, then  analyzed for percent  of moisture, percent of ash,  percent  of  sulphur and BTUs, in accordance with subsection (d)  below.

d)         The  Department  shall  analyze the 500 gram sample using testing procedures that conform to the following specifications found in Volume 05.05  of the 1993 Book of ASTM  Standards, published by the American  Society for Testing and Materials, 1916  Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103:

1)         ASTM Standard D-3302-91 (percent of moisture), pp. 358-364;

2)         ASTM Standard D-3174-89 (percent of ash), pp. 324-326;

3)         ASTM Standard D-4239-93 (percent of sulphur), pp. 392-400; and

4)         ASTM Standard D-1989-92 (BTUs),  pp. 237-244.

e)         The results of the analysis shall be reported to the delivering agency  in accordance with subsection (f) below.  The Department shall retain the undried 500 gram sample for 30 days from the date the results of the analysis are sent to the delivering agency.

f)          The Department shall report the results of  its coal quality analysis  to the delivering agency  within two weeks after the Department's receipt of a  coal sample acceptable for testing, and will submit a bill for the coal quality analysis performed, based upon the following schedule:

            Number of sample bags tested per month         Fee

             For every 2 additional bags                     15

g)         The Department shall charge $50.00 extra for each sample bag submitted  by a delivering agency after the 10th day of the month.

h)         References in this Section to the 1993 Book of ASTM Standards, published by the American Society for Testing and Materials,   1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, do not include any subsequent amendments or editions.

(Source:  Added at 19 Ill. Reg. 2461, effective February 21, 1995)