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Coal As A Fossil Fuel - All You Need To Know About Coal

Coal is a type of black or brownish sedimentary rock that burns very easily. It comes in soft and hard forms, and is made mostly of carbon, though other elements are also present. Coal comes from plant remains that did not decay properly because they were protected by water. This material was trapped in the ground, and the properties of these plant remains formed a solid substance. Currently, coal is the biggest source of energy used in electricity generation around the world, and is also one of the biggest human related sources of carbon dioxide emission, with gross emissions slightly more than emissions from oil and twice as much as from natural gas.

We get coal via mining, both open pit and underground mines, and coal mining is also an activity that has a major negative environmental impact. The process by which coal is produced over time begins with the creation of peat, a substance used as a fuel in some areas such as Finland and Ireland, and which is in danger of depletion. Eventually, the peat turns into lignite, which is also called brown coal. Considered the lowest quality, this kind of coal is used almost entirely to produce electric power. Jet, commonly used in antique jewelry, is actually a compact form of coal.

Sub-bituminous coal is the next highest quality of this fossil fuel, but this category varies widely. It can have properties that make it very similar to lignite, or it can be more similar to bituminous coal. It's an important source of light aromatic hydrocarbons, used in the chemical synthesis industry, and it's also used as to make electricity. Bituminous coal is denser and either dark brown or black. It may have well defined bands of dull and bright materials, and is also used mostly as fuel in steam electric power generation. However, a large amount of bituminous coal is also used as a source of heat for manufacturing and coke production.

The highest grade of coal is anthracite, the glossy black rock used mostly for commercial and residential space heating. This fossil fuel can be either metamorphically altered types, or it can be a type of petrified oil. Graphite is a form of carbon that is still harder, but is not common as fuel because of the difficulty of ignition. The individual grades may be divided into other rankings, such as cannel or candle coal - a high grade coal with a fine grain and high hydrogen content.

Coal has been used for thousands of years, and was made into ornaments as long ago as 4000 BCE. However, we have no record of its use as a fossil fuel until the Chinese Han dynasty - about 200 BCE to about 200 CE. Coal cinders have been found in hearths through Roman Britain, but it was not commonly used until about 1000 CE. Easily accessible sources where exhausted by the thirteenth century, when shaft mining had to be developed. Coal continued in use as a heating fuel until the Industrial Revolution, when the steam engine was developed and large scale use began to occur.

Currently, coal is mostly used to produce heat and electricity, and we consume about six billion tons every year, with China producing almost two and a half billion tons and India producing nearly half a billion tons. About two thirds of the electricity in China is produced by burning coal. The United States consumes around a billion tons per year, with ninety percent of that used to make electricity. For more information please visit Fossil Fuel