The feed coal used in power plants contains various elements,
organic constituents, inorganic contents such as naturally radioactive potassium, and minerals with inclusions of trace elemental
uranium and thorium, each with various physiochemical characteristics in regard to the decay products, their associated half-lives,
decay modes, decay energies, leachability etc. About2.310
9
kg
of this highly calorific form of coal is required in modern plants to
produce 1 GW of electrical energy, also yielding of the order
of 310
8
kg of ash (Beck and Miller, 1980). Some 40% of the
world energy demand is full filled by coal-fired power plants
(International Energy Outlook (IEO), 2011). An instance of current
interest is Malaysia for which coal contributes up to 34.2%