Coal emissions BRITTANEY, ALONDRA, ERIKA

Coal factsCoal is considered a nonrenewable resource because it cannot be replenished on a human time frame.There are four different types of coal: lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anchorite.Coal is ranked according to how much it has changed over time. Hilts law states that the deeper the coal seem the higher it ranks lignite-is the lowest ranking of coal. It has carbonized past the point of being peat, but contains low amount of energySub-bituminous coal is about 100 million years old also called black lignite, generally dark brown to black coal, intermediate in rank between lignite and bituminous coal according to the coal classification Bituminous- soft coal, it’s the most abundant form of coal, most commonly called steam coal Anthracite- hard coal it contains more fixed carbon about 86% it has a black steel gray color.

What are the primary uses of coal?

The most significant use of coal is electricity.

Around 6 billion tons of hard coal was used last year , and 1 billion in brown coal.

The five largest coal users are China, USA, India, Russia, and Japan they use about 76% of the worlds coal.

It was once heavily used to heat homes, power locomotives, and heat factories.

In order to use coal as energy you have to burn it through power generators.

Coal vs peat

Coal Literally means mineral of fossilized

carbon.

Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide

It was formed from the remains of vegetation that grew over 400 million years ago

peat Accumulation of partially decayed

vegetation, or organic matter, that are in peat lands and mires

Fuel peat is used in areas where coal and wood are scarce

Organic fuel consisting of a light, spongy material formed in temperate, humid environments by the accumulation and partial decomposition of vegetable remains under conditions of poor drainage

These are the different types of coalThis shows how long and how much pressure it takes to make the different types of coal.

How does coal create electricity?

Water is turned into steam which drives the turbines, and produces energy.

Coal fired power stations are not very efficient most do not reach 40% efficient.

Coal costs between 7-14 cents per kwhr

Environmental effects of coal

Coal fired plants cause 24,000 deaths per year

Acid rain from high sulfur coal

Contamination of ground water due to mining

Uncontrollable coal seam fire which may burn for decades or centuries

Releases of carbon dioxide causes climate change and global warming

PROS VS CONS

PROS Coal can be substantially cheaper

than other forms of heat, especially when compared to electricity

Coal produced 49 percent of electricity in the United States

Can be made low carbon and clean with CCS and various scrubbers.

CONS Coal is non renewable

Mining and burning harms the environment

It increases sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide releasing mercury into the environment

According to the EPA, coal contributes 31 percent of all CO2, the largest of any source.

Pollutant output

3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide

10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide

10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide.

220 tons of hydrocarbons

720 tons of carbon monoxide.

Coal mining

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXs6MaL0mbg

Strip mining- removing the overburden area to get the coal in long cuts or strips, they drill holes in the surface and blast it with explosives.

Contour mining- used in areas with rolling to steep terrain removing overburden land along a ridge or hill side, can cause landslide and erosion

Mountaintop removal- involves the removing of mountain tops to expose coal seams

Underground mining-accountants for 60% of world coal production the room and pillar method goes along the seam

Coal mining cont.

Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, either underground by shaft mining, or at ground level by open pit mining extraction.

Since 1953 the world top coal producer has been china.

In 2011 china produced 3520 million tones of coal.

History of coal

It was the fuel of the industrial revolution and although many other energy sources have replaced some of the applications in which coal was used, it still is an important fuel for electrical generation.

In 2010 coal was responsible for about 46% of the electricity generated in the United States.

Although there are a number of different designs for coal-fired powerplants, all use the heat produced in the combustion reaction to heat water to steam

Politics of coal / recent events

Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969- created the MESA mining enforcement safety administration, and addressed underground and surface mining.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/17/3710211/coal-ash-ponds-in-chatham-county.html

In recent news the Kentucky coal ash dumping was discovered on hidden cameras

f

Websites used

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/coal/nijhuis-text

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/coal/

http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/coal.html