Frequently Asked Questions about Coal

In the green energy debate raging around us today, we hear about Coal in the media all the time. Unfortunately, we hear only bits and pieces on the topic, such as "coal-fired power plants," "Fossil Fuels such as Coal," and the interests of the "Big Coal" industry. Rarely does our sound bytes saturated media stop to explain the details to us. We are left with only half-formed ideas and questions like:

What are Fossil Fuels?
What exactly is Coal?
Why is coal burned in power plants?

What Is Coal?

Coal is a rock with a unique property: it burns. This makes coal a source of energy, which is how it fits into the energy shortage and global warming debates.

What Exactly Are Fossil Fuels?

The term "Fossil Fuels" is slightly misleading. They are not, as the name implies, fuels made out of fossils. Rather, they are minerals used for fuel that formed in a similar way that fossils are.

During the Carboniferous Period in geological history (somewhere between 280 and 345 million years ago), most of the Earth was covered in bogs and swamps teeming with plant and animal life. As the swamp plants (mostly huge ferns) died, they sank to the bottom of the bog and slowly decomposed and formed peat, a damp, spongy material (which is also used as fuel today). Over millions of years, the peat was buried and compressed under the earth's crust. Pressure and heat eventually hardened the peat into Coal. Oil and other Fossil Fuels were formed in similar ways.

What Is Coal Used For?

Ninety percent of all coal mined is used to fuel power plants that generate electricity. Much of the remaining ten percent is used as fuel in other industries. For example, companies that produce iron and steel, which must be heated to very high temperatures to be become molten, use coal to fuel their fires. Some industries also use the minerals in Coal as raw materials to make, among other things, plastics, ceramics, cement, tar, fertilizers, medicines, chemicals, and some metals.

How Is Coal Turned Into Electricity?

Well, coal isn't really turned into electricity. Rather, Coal is the fuel that runs the power plants that generate electricity. In simple layman's terms, electricity is generated by turning an iron rotor wrapped in copper into a magnetic field. This knocks loose a flow of electrons, better known as electricity. But where do you get the energy to turn the rotor? That's where Coal comes in.

Coal is burned to heat water boilers. The heated water turns into steam. This steam is released to turn a steam turbine (similar to the way wind turns a pinwheel). The steam turbine is attached to the rotor of the electrical generator. As the turbine spins, it turns the rotor, generating electricity. Today, about 56% of all electricity in the United States is generated by Coal-burning Power Plants.

How Is Coal Involved in Global Warming?

Unfortunately, burning Coal releases gaseous chemical byproducts, including carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gasses trap the heat of the sun in the atmosphere, gradually increasing temperature of the planet. This is why many are promoting technologies that generate electricity without producing carbon dioxide byproducts.

FFF | Fossil Fuel Foundation of Africa

Since 1994

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