COAL… AKA ANTHRACITE ; AKA ASH; AKA CHAR AKA CARBON; AKA CULM; AKA EMBER AKA ETHER; AKA SCORIA; AKA STOKE AKA CREOSOTE By Nathan Gamble and Jonathan Nicolas

Basic Information  Coal (derived from col, which means “mineral of fossilized carbon” occurs in rock strata in layers called coal beds or seams.  Harder forms of coal can be considered metamorphic because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure.  Coal is the primary source of energy for the world, being burned to create electricity and heat.  Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, either underground by shaft mining, or at ground level by open pit mining extraction.  Coal is distributed by train.

Why Do We Use Coal? Coal is: Combustible (due to the combustion reaction of fuel [i.t.c. a chemical mix of sulfur hydroxide] - it is used to produce heat and electricity, thus generating energy). Coal is used in electricity, aluminum, steel, cement, and just about everything.

First Discoveries  First recorded discovery of coal was by French explorers on the Illinois River in 1679, although the Chinese were known to have used it more than 3000 years ago.  The earliest recorded commercial mining occurred near Richmond, VA in 1748

Formation of Coal Over the course of millions of years, I. Dead plant matter is converted into peat. II. Peat is converted into lignite. III. Lignite is converted into sub-bituminous coal. IV. S-B coal is converted into bituminous coal. V. Bituminous coal is converted into anthracite.

Drawbacks of Coal Coal is the largest way of energy production; therefore, they have the largest anthropogenic casualties. Each megawatt-hour generated by coal-fired electric power generation (left) produces about 2,000 pounds of CO2. A natural gas-fired electric power plant (right) produces 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide for the same amount.

In 2013, the head of the UN climate agency advised that most of the world's coal reserves should be left in the ground to avoid catastrophic global warming, as illustrated by the graph below.

“Interesting” “Facts”  Coal deposits could be enough to satisfy current world energy needs for the next 300 years.  Coal is the official state mineral of Kentucky the official state rock of Utah.  The world's iron and steel industry depends on the use of coal.  The value of coal produced in the United States each year is nearly $20 billion.  The United States produces about 20%, or 1.1 billion tons, of the world's coal supply— second only to China.

Recap Who? China, US, India, EU, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Iraq What? Production and consumption of coal as an energy source, as well as a source of biohazards. When? Beginning from approximately 3000 years ago to modern day. Where? The entire world. Why? Coal is cheap compared to nuclear energy. It produces less of a carbon footprint and is relatively abundant for the time being. In addition the coal and oil industry dominate the US energy policy in order to protect their own interests and stifle competition.

Bibliography and-you/affect/coal.html /energy-environment/coal/ al_timeline.pdf