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Formation of Coal happens through a procеss callеd coalification, which bеgins with thе accumulation of plant matеrial in swamps and wеtlands. Ovеr millions of yеars, this organic matеrial undеrgoеs compaction, with thе wеight of overlying sediments prеssing down on it.
- Coal is a black, solid fossil fuel that contains around 50% carbon.
- The earliest coal-bearing rock units originally appeared between 290 and 360 million years ago, after a few million years of formation.
- Organic debris gathers and is buried in marshy wetlands, where coal creation begins.
- Coal's energy is derived from sunshine and sunlight that has been captured by dead plants.
- Peatification and coalification are the two primary stages of the process.
- During peatification, bacterial activity produces peat, and during coalification, burial-induced warmth and pressure increases.
| Table of Content |
Key terms: Coal, Fossil Fuel, sedimentary rock, Bituminous, anthracite, dead matter.
Coal
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Coal is a sedimentary rock that is blackish or brownish-black in colour and is created from igneous rock or coal seams. It is thought to have developed from the remains of algal plants. Carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen make up its chemical makeup.
Coal
- Although coal's primary purpose is as a fuel, it wasn't widely used prior to the Industrial Revolution.
- Because of the development of the steam engine, coal now accounts for one-fifth of the necessary electrical energy and a quarter of all primary energy used globally.
- Industrial uses of coal include the production of iron and steel.
- However, the excavation and use of coal result in long-term sickness and death, and it is a source of carbon dioxide produced by humans that contributes to climate change.
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| Mineral Fuels | Mass-Energy and Nuclear Binding Energy | Importance of Forests |
| Non-renewable Energy | Radioactivity | Forest Conservation |
Formation of Coal
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Dead matter, including plants and other flora, undergoes a process called coalification in which coal is created over time. The Earth was formerly covered in thick woods that halted oxidation and disintegration.
Formation of Coal
- Peat was created as a result, but it was confined in bogs and buried beneath sediments.
- Pressure, heat, and time allowed water, carbon dioxide, and methane to escape over the course of millions of years, leaving the matter with a carbon content.
- The degree of heat and pressure that coal endured during conversion determines its grade.
- While sub-bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite coals are generated under high temperatures and pressure, lignite is formed under mild circumstances.
- The creation of coal is influenced by elements such as favourable geology, oxygen levels, and carboniferous forests.
How is Coal Obtained?
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Surface mining and underground mining are two common methods for extracting coal.
- Surface mining involves removing rocks and dirt from the top layer of coal, which is less expensive than underground extraction.
- It can take three forms: strip mining, open pit mining, and MTR mining.
- Underground mining occurs when coal is over 300 feet below the earth, and workers in coal mines then perform other mining tasks.
Types of Coal
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Anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite are the four forms of coal. While the coal deposit's ranking reflects pressure and heat output, its ranking is based on carbon content.
- The maximum heating value among coal varieties is found in anthracite, which has a carbon content of 86–97%. Northeastern Pennsylvania and the US have significant anthracite mines, which are mostly used by the metal industry.
- Bituminous coal, abundant in the US, accounts for 44% of total coal production in 2020. It's used for electricity generation and coking coal production.
- In 2020, 46% of the coal produced in the US will be sub-bituminous coal, which has a carbon content of 35–45%. Of this, 88% will come from Wyoming, 8% from Montana, and the remaining 4% will come from Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico.
- Lignite coal, with a 25-35% carbon content and low energy content, is primarily mined in North Dakota, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Montana.
Uses of coal
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Due to its distinct qualities and low cost, coal is a natural resource that is extensively employed. In nations like China and India, powdered coal is used to create steam, which then turns on a generator to provide energy.
- Indirectly generating steel through the creation of coal coke, the steel industry also uses coal.
- Iron ore, which is then used to manufacture steel, is produced through the process of baking coal in furnaces.
- Nitric acid, ammonia salts and fertilisers are made from the ammonia gas recovered from coke furnaces.
- Manufacturing processes for chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper, aluminium, cement, and other products all utilise coal.
- Benzole, coal tar, sulphate of ammonia, and creosote are just a few of the raw ingredients that chemical companies depend on from coal.
Things to Remember
- Fossil fuels, including coal and petroleum, are derived from buried plants, animals, and microorganisms over 100 million years, primarily composed of hydrocarbons.
- The process of carbonation, which transforms dead flora into carbon-rich coal over millions of years, produces coal
- Bituminous coals, found in flat seams, are formed under moderate conditions, unlike anthracite, which was formed under strong geologic pressures.
- Sub-bituminous coals are formed under less severe conditions.
- Coal, a conventional solid fuel, is primarily used in electric power plants and household heating
- Anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite are the four forms of coal, with anthracite having the highest heating value.
- Benzole, coal tar, sulphate of ammonia, and creosote are just a few of the raw ingredients that chemical companies depend on from coal.
Read More:
| Relevant Concepts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nuclear Energy | Renewable Energy | Difference Between Diesel and Petrol Engines |
| Types of Fuel | Natural Sources of Energy | What are Fossils? |
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Sample Questions
Ques. Define coal. (3 marks)
Ans. Coal, a sedimentary rock, is a significant source of energy and a major contributor to global energy production. Its chemical makeup includes carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen. The industrial use of coal includes iron and steel production, but its extraction and use can lead to long-term health issues and contribute to climate change. Coal's physical characteristics include density, particle size distribution, and brittleness. Moisture, a key component of coal's constitution, is determined by surface, hygroscopic, breakdown, and mineral moisture.
Ques. Which kind of coal is the best? (2 marks)
Ans. Anthracite is a hard, compact carbon type with a submetallic lustre, sometimes known as hard coal. It is the highest ranked coal because it has the most carbon, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all coal varieties.
Ques. What makes coal the "black diamond"? (2 marks)
Ans. Because it is utilised in so many different applications, coal is referred to as a black diamond. It is utilised as a raw material in manufacturing and in the kitchen for preparing meals. The production of electricity also uses coal.
Ques. Where does coal first originate from? (2 marks)
Ans. An altered form of ancient flora that was once present in peat bogs and swamps, coal is a fossil fuel. The energy that coal plants today use was once absorbed from the sun millions of years ago.
Ques. What are the uses of coal? (2 marks)
Ans. Coal, a conventional solid fuel, has been used for thousands of years as a primary fuel source in electric power plants, with over 50% of the world's coal used for this purpose. It was once used for household heating and cooking in Western nations. Future uses include liquid fuel production, methanol production as a gasoline substitute, and synthetic gas production.
Ques. How is coal formed? (5 marks)
Ans. A fossil fuel called coal is created in specialised conditions from plant detritus. Peat, an organic material created by the partial decomposition of dead matter, is the earliest stage of its formation, which takes millions of years. The second stage is lignite, a dark brown substance created as a result of pressure from sediments that were deposited on top of the organic stuff. Bituminous coal, commonly known as soft coal, is created in the third stage as a result of increased pressure. Anthracite coal is produced at the fourth stage as a result of prolonged exposure to high temperatures and pressure. In comparison to peat, lignite, bituminous, and anthracite, this coal is hard, glossy, and has the maximum amount of carbon.
Ques. What kinds of coal are there? (5 marks)
Ans. The four primary forms of coal are lignite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and anthracite. Although fewer than 1% of the coal produced in the USA in 2020 will be anthracite, it has the highest heating value. The most prevalent form of coal in the US is bituminous coal, which has a carbon content of 45-86% and accounts for 44% of all coal output. Sub-bituminous coal, which was produced in Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico, has a carbon content of 35–45% and a lower heating value. In 2020, just 9% of lignite coal, which has a poor energy content, was mined in the USA.
Ques. How can mining for coal harm the environment? (1 mark)
Ans. The risk of loosening top soils into streams and rivers grows as a result of coal mining, and the sediments are poisoning our water, suffocating downstream plant life, and even killing fish.
Ques. What role does coal play? (1 mark)
Ans. There are several important uses for coal all throughout the world. The main applications of coal are in the production of power, steel, cement, and as a liquid fuel.
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