Coal
Coal Mine Historical Testimonies
 The advent of the steam engine that allowed for more efficient coal mining soon created a positive feed back engine that demanded more and more coal.
 
Today coal is used for energy production and production of synthetics.

> coal is a fossil fuel that was produced in the Carboniferous and is made of carbonaceous material

> coal is used to produce half of the electrical energy in N.A.

Three images showing how coal was formed. The first iimage is of a swamp, 300 million years ago. Before the dinosaurs, many giant plants died ins swamps. The second image is of water, 100 million years ago. Over millions of years, these plants were buried under water and dirt. The third image is of rocks and dirt over the coal. Heat and pressure turned the dead plants into coal.
 

> coal is a black sedimentary rock composed of carbon

> coal is sometimes called solid sunshine

> all of the energy released from coal was first harnessed by photosynthesis in plants about 300 million years ago some coal beds are only 1 million years old

> when plant debris is produced faster than it is decomposed a peat bed is formed (low O2 environment)

> during subsequent geological eras sediments are laid over this peat and heat and pressure transform it into coal

 

 

> the world has several hundreds of years of coal left

> burning coal releases CO2  SO2 NOx's

>  SO2 converts to sulfuric acid and falls as acid rain

> NOx's smog (photo chemically induced air pollution)

> modern N.A. coal plants have scrubbers that remove SO2 but this increases the CO2 (global warming)

> China has massive amounts of coal and use it for energy while producing massive air pollution
 

> Eastern Coal has a greater sulfur content than western coal

> Ontario burns coal at the Lakeview generator in Mississauga and Nanticoke on Lake Erie both are serious sources of air pollution especially when the atmosphere has an inversion in the summer

Anthracite

 

 

  highest carbon content, between 86 and 98 percent, and a heat value of nearly 15,000 BTUs-per-pound. Most frequently associated with home heating,
Bituminous The most plentiful form of coal in the NA,  used primarily to generate electricity and make coke for the steel industry.  has a carbon content ranging from 45 to 86 percent carbon and a heat value of 10,500 to 15,500 BTUs-per-pound.
Lignite Lignite is a geologically young coal which has the lowest carbon content, 25-35 percent, and a heat value ranging between 4,000 and 8,300 BTUs-per-pound. Sometimes called brown coal, it is mainly used for electric power generation.