1. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Coal
Partially decomposed _____________
Slowly transformed in solid, brittle carbonaceous rock if buried in a sedimentary environment
Most abundant fossil fuel
At current consumption rate could last ___ years
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

3. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Coal
Classified according to its energy and ___________ content
Anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, lignite
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

4. Coal Mining and the Environment
In U.S.
1000s of square miles disturbed by coal mining
Only about _______ reclaimed
Reclamation
Process of restoring and improving disturbed land, often by __________ the surface and _______________ vegetation
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

5. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Strip Mining
__________ process
Overlying layers of soil and rock are stripped off to reach the coal
>1/2 of the coal in U.S. mined this way
Acid mine drainage
Side effect of strip mining
The drainage of _______ ________from mine sites
Common in eastern U.S. (abundant rainfall)
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

6. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Strip Mining
Acid mine drainage
Occurs where surface water infiltrates ______ banks
Water reacts with sulfide minerals to produce _________ _________
Acid pollutes streams and groundwater
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

7. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Strip Mining
In _________ and ___________regions the land is more sensitive to mining activities
Exploration and road building
Soil is thin and water scarce
Makes reclamation more difficult
Reclamation can minimize damage
Laws vary by site
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

8. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Tour of Black Thunder Coal Mine – surface coal mine
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

9. Underground Coal Mining

10. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Mountaintop Removal
Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia
Strip mining ________ ______ of mountains and fills _________ with mining waste
Flood hazard increases
Coal waste sludge dams formed by mine waste
Toxic waste water is stored
Also produces large amounts of ________ ________
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

11. Mountaintop Removal in West Virginia
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

12. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Strip Mining
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977
U.S. government required that mined land is restored to support pre-mining use
___________ mining on prime agricultural lan
Reclamation includes
__________ of wastes
Contouring the land
Replanting ____________
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

13. Surface Mining Reclamation

14. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Underground Mining
Accounts for __% of coal mined in the U.S.
Environmental problems:
Acid mine drainage and waste piles pollute streams
Land _________ can occur over mines
Coal ______ in underground mines
Naturally caused
Deliberately set
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

15. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
____________ Coal
Coal must get from mining areas to large population centers
Significant environmental issues
Methods
Freight trains
___________ pipelines
Require large amounts of water
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

16. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Impacts from Coal
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

17. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Future of Coal
Coal in U.S.
40% of electricity
25% of total energy consumed
Comprises __% of fossil fuel reserves
Coal power plants emit
70% of sulfur dioxide
30% of nitrogen oxides
35% of carbon dioxide
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

18. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Future of Coal
Clean Air Amendments of 1990 mandate reducing coal emissions
Options for cleaner coal include:
Chemical and/or physical _________ of coal prior to combustion
New boiler designs that permit lower temperature of combustion
Injection of material rich in calcium carbonate into the gases following burning
_____________—removes sulfur dioxides
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

19. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Future of Coal
Options (continued)
Conversion of coal at power plants into gas (syngas) before burning
Conversion of coal to ________
Consumer education about energy conservation and efficiency to reduce the demand for energy
Development of ______-________ coal-burning electric power plants
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

20. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Future of Coal
As oil and gas are used up, increased use of coal will have environmental impacts
More land strip mined
Air ______________
Aesthetic degradation
Noise
_________
Release of harmful or toxic trace elements into the water, soil, and air
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

21. Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Allowance Trading
EPA grants utility companies tradable allowances for polluting
One allowance good for one ton of sulfur dioxide
Can be traded and sold by brokers
Idea is to reduce overall pollution through ____________ ___________ _________
Environmentalists dislike this
They do not feel that companies should be permitted to buy their way out of polluting
Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

23. Odd Things Found in Coal
1912 in Oklahoma
1851 in Massachusetts
Romania in 1974
Hammer was dated back
more than 400 million year
1944 West Virginia
How can it take multi millions of years to form Coal?

24. Petroleum to Electricity
Tour of Coal Power Plant
Clean Coal Tech
stop at 10:45 min