1. COAL
Kentucky’s Black Gold

3. Anatomy of Coal
Solid formed from plants that lived between 300 – 400 million years ago.
Mostly carbon
Small amounts of sulfur
Trace amounts of mercury
Trace amounts of radioactive materials
Burning coal releases these materials into the air; which then are returned to the earth as secondary pollutants when it rains.

4. Coal Over Geologic Time
Although coal has been discovered in rocks as old as the Precambrian Era, most coal dates from the Devonian Period (some 400 million years ago.
As the geologic time scale shows, the two major world-wide coal forming periods were the Pennsylvanian (320 to 286 mya) and the Paleocene to Early Eocene (66 to 52 mya).
In the United States, eastern coals are of Pennsylvanian age whereas western coals are Paleocene to Early Eocene in age.

5. Formation of Coal The formation of coal goes in this order:
Peat.… Lignite ….. Bituminous coal….. Anthracite
The anatomy of a coal forming swamp looks like this:

8. Four “Ranks” of Coal Lignite 2) Sub-bituminous
Lowest level (quality) of coal
Soft, brownish
Can still see texture of original wood
Largest portion of the world’s coal reserves
2) Sub-bituminous
Second lowest in quality
Gives off a little more energy (heat) than lignite
US reserves are mostly in Montana, Wyoming and a few other western states.

9. Ranks of Coal (cont.) 3) Bituminous 4) Anthracite
Also called “soft coal”
Gives off more energy than sub-bituminous coal
Found primarily in Ohio, Illinois and in the Appalachian mountain range from Kentucky to Pennsylvania
4) Anthracite
Hardest coal and gives off a great amount of heat
US reserves are located primarily in Pennsylvania
Unfortunately, there is little anthracite coal to be mined in the US and elsewhere in the world

10. Ranks of Coal and BTUs

11. US Coal Fields

12. Coal Fields of the World
Note the huge coal reserves in the United States compared to those of Western Europe. Note also the lack of coal in the southern hemisphere. Siberia has enormous deposits but they are far from population centers.

14. Stats
Coal reserves in the US, Russia, and China could last hundreds to over a thousand years.
The US has 27% of the world’s proven coal reserves, followed by Russia (17%), and China (13%).
In 2005, China and the US accounted for 53% of the global coal consumption.

15. Interesting Facts Coal is burned in power plants to produce
62% of the world’s electricity.
50% of US electricity
3/4th of the world’s steel
A new coal-fired power plant goes on-line every 2 weeks.

16. Products made from Coal Miscellaneous Products
Other Uses of Coal
Products made from Coal
Coal Tar Products
Coke Products
Miscellaneous Products
insecticides
fuel
carbolic acid
fungicides
gas
fire proofing
moth balls
carbon dioxide
food preservatives
paint thinner
soda water
billiard balls
batteries
acetylene
medicines
wood preservative
synthetic rubber
perfumes
disinfectant
charcoal briquettes
ammonia
varnish
artificial silk
baking powder
insulation
rubber cement fertilizer
paint pigments
sulfur
TNT explosive
linoleum
sugar substitute

17. Coal
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel, but compared to oil and natural gas it is not as versatile, has a high environmental impact, and releases much more CO2 into the troposphere

18. Legislation – Reclamation Laws
Clean Air Act
Clean Water Act
National Environmental Policy Act
American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978
Antiquities Act of 1906
Archeological Historical Preservation Act of 1974
Bald Eagle Preservation Act of 1969
Endangered Species Act of 1963
Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934
Forest and Rangeland Resources Planning Act of 1974
Historic Preservation Act of 1966
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970
Multiple Use-Sustained Yield /Act of 1960
National Forests Management act of 1976
National Trails System Act
Noise Control Act of 1976
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974
Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Wilderness Act of 1964
Plus numerous state and local Acts and Laws, Procedures and Policies.

19. Clean Coal Technologies
Coal benefication – term for cleaning coal
“Scrubbers” – devices that “scrub” the sulfur out of the gases released by coal-burning boilers.
Required in all power plants built after 1978.
Most scrubbers use limestone to absorb the sulfur gases.

20. Coal Cleaning Processes
Physical cleaning – coal is crushed and washed; removes dirt, rocks and inorganic sulfur and iron.
Chemical cleaning – coal is submerged in a chemical bath to remove sulfur and nitrogen; very expensive.
Biological cleaning – involves using bacteria, fungi and/or enzymes that literally “eat” the sulfur out of the coal.

21. Future of Coal
Synthetic fuels (synfuels) – liquid fuels derived from coal.
Coal gasification – converts coal into synthetic natural gas (SNG or syngas); removes sulfur, nitrogen and particulates before fuel is burned.
Advantages
Can be transported by pipeline
More versatile than coal
Burns more cleanly
Disadvantages
Adds more carbon dioxide to the troposphere
Very expensive