{"title":"Mineralogical characteristics of coal seams Ia, I and IIa from Bobov Dol Basin, SW Bulgaria","authors":"A. Zdravkov, Danail Yovchev","doi":"10.52215/rev.bgs.2024.85.1.71","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52215/rev.bgs.2024.85.1.71","url":null,"abstract":"The mineralogical composition of Bobov Dol sub-bituminous coals from the lower part of the coal-bearing formation, was studied using optical microscopy, XRD and SEM-EDS analyses. Clay minerals (smectite, illite and kaolinite) and quartz, are the dominant minerals. Their characteristics indicate predominant terrigenous origin and argue for major detrital input from intermediate to mafic rocks. Accessory epigenetic barite-celestine mineralization, substituting almost completely oxidized siderite crystals and spheroidal aggregates, denotes circulation of meteoric aqueous solutions in the absence of other fracture-filing minerals. Finite glass spheres from the top of the coal seam I indicate synchronous volcanic activity, which did not influence peat formation.","PeriodicalId":509487,"journal":{"name":"Review of the Bulgarian Geological Society","volume":"319 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141691855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of geological sites in a park environment for the needs of the Bulgarian geoparks, nature parks, and national parks","authors":"D. Sinnyovsky","doi":"10.52215/rev.bgs.2024.85.1.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52215/rev.bgs.2024.85.1.11","url":null,"abstract":"The experience in the scientific evaluation of geological sites in the Bulgarian geoparks shows insufficient efficiency of the generalized criteria used for the evaluation of geotopes for the purposes of the Register and Cadastre of the Bulgarian geological phenomena. Here is proposes a new assessment methodology freed from some common criteria included in the expert card for national assessment of geosites. It includes the main evaluation criteria of the ‘scientific value’ category (representativeness, integrity, rarity), and ‘additional values’ – scenic/didactic potential, ecological, cultural, and geotourism impact. Due to the fundamentally different themes of the Bulgarian geoparks, the approach of ‘thematic geodiversity’ has been adopted, which defines one major theme expressing the identity of the geopark within its entire territory, and numerous secondary themes complementing the geodiversity of the area. One of the new criteria included in the expert card reflects the relation of a geosite with the main geopark theme and gives priority to outcrops representing key geological features for its understanding. At the same time, the possible identification of global cycles and events of special scientific interest, which can be presented to the general public in an attractive form, predetermines the high numerical indicator of the ‘scientific, research and educational value’. The main purpose of the expert card is to cover as wide a range of geological features as possible and to make the assessment less subjective by using a standard set of criteria against which specific examples can be compared. It is also important to minimize the possibility of interpretation of the explanatory text to the individual indicators. It includes 12 criteria of different weights with 4 to 7 indicators, the numerical expression of which starts from zero, corresponding to a complete lack of geoconservation value. The minimum number of 12 points (of total 48) required to pass the ‘threshold of significance’ is formed by the first six criteria. It provides the necessary rate of superiority over which the site must be considered geologically significant and deserves to be included in the geopark inventory. The scale of significance grades from local (12–20) to regional (21–30), national (31–40), and international (41–48). Geodiversity sites are of great importance for the geopark initiatives, so the weight of the ‘scenic (aesthetic) value’ corresponds to the weight of the ‘scientific, research and educational value’ (6) versus (3) or (4) of the other criteria to better reflect their geotourism significance. Geosites with high interpretive potential, especially where the relationship between geology and human history/culture/spirituality can be demonstrated, should also be prioritized for inclusion in the geopark list.","PeriodicalId":509487,"journal":{"name":"Review of the Bulgarian Geological Society","volume":"12 24","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141698717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Zdravkov, Doris Groβ, D. Životić, Ivan Kojić, K. Stojanović, Achim Bechtel
{"title":"Preliminary petrographic assessment of the suitability of Bobov Dol coals, \u0000SW Bulgaria for fluidized-bed coal gasification","authors":"A. Zdravkov, Doris Groβ, D. Životić, Ivan Kojić, K. Stojanović, Achim Bechtel","doi":"10.52215/rev.bgs.2024.85.1.79","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.52215/rev.bgs.2024.85.1.79","url":null,"abstract":"Coal samples from seams Ia, I, IIa+b, III, IV, and V from the Bobov Dol deposit in SW Bulgaria were studied using optical microscopy and proximate analysis in order to determine their suitability for fluidized-bed gasification. The moderate- to high seam averaged ash yields and the huminite reflectance values in the range 0.43–0.5 classify the studied coals as medium- to very low grade, low-rank A (sub-bituminous) according to the International classification of in-seam coals. Based on the organic composition and ash yields, the coals from seams IIa+b, III, IV, and V seem more suitable for fluidized-bed gasification, but their usefulness will depend largely on the coal pre-processing.","PeriodicalId":509487,"journal":{"name":"Review of the Bulgarian Geological Society","volume":"24 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141693611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}