Coal

Introduction
Coal is a hard, black coloured rock-like substance. It is made up of carbon, hydrogen,
oxygen, nitrogen and varying amounts of sulphur. There are three main types of coal -
anthracite, bituminous and lignite. Anthracite coal is the hardest and has more carbon,
which gives it a higher energy content. ignite is the softest and is low in carbon but
high in hydrogen and oxygen content. !ituminous is in between.
Occurrence/ location
The distribution of coal reserves around the world varies notably from that of oil and
gas. "ignificant reserves are found in the #nited "tates and $ussia but not in the
%iddle &ast. The #nited "tates with '( percent and $ussia with )( percent account
for nearly half of global coal reserves. China *)+ percent,, Australia *- percent,, "outh
Africa *. percent,, and /a0akhstan *+ percent, also have significant amounts of the
world1s recoverable coal reserves
Reserves
The principal countries possessing coal reserves are the following *'22+ figures,3
Country Coal reserves (carbon coals + lignite) in billions of tonnes
United States 270.7
Russia 173.0
China 126.2
India 101.9
Australia 86.5
South Africa 53.7
Ukraine 37.7
Kazakhstan 34.5
Serbia!ontenegro 18.3
"oland 15.4
Reserves of coal (carbon coal + lignite) in #$$%& in billions of
tonnes'
Source( )nergy Infor*ation Ad*inistration + ,e-art*ent .f )nergy''

Consumption
4or thirty years, coal has represented more than a third of world consumption of
primary energy, less than oil, but more than gas.
The principal consumers *figures for '22+, are the following. 5ery often they are the
countries possessing significant reserves
Country Coal consu*-tion (carbon coals + lignite) in billions of tonnes
China 1,531
United States 1,094
India 430
/er*any 273
Russia 251
0a-an 176
South Africa 188
"oland 153
Australia 144
South Korea 81
/reece 76
1urkey 71
United Kingdo* 69
Ukraine 67
Czech Re-ublic 65
Consu*-tion of coal (carbon coal + lignite) in #$$%& in *illions of
tonnes'
Source( )nergy Infor*ation Ad*inistration + ,e-art*ent .f )nergy'

Methods of extraction
6ue to different geological formations different techni7ues were developed and
improved to extract coal. 4rom the earliest bell pit method to modern drift, opencast,
and deep mining extraction methods.
!ell 8it
The name bell pit comes from the shape of the excavation, with a narrow vertical
shaft sunk into the coal or iron ore seam, which was then opened out into a small
chamber. ittle timber was used, so once the roof became unsafe, the pit was
abandoned and another shaft sunk nearby. Coal was cut by using picks and shovels.
%an and coal were transported by a basket. Candles or lamps were used for
illumination. As indicated in the photograph this is the earliest system of underground
mining.
9pen Cast
The top soil and sub soil is stripped and stored. Coal is then mined, and once
operations are finished, the void is back filled with overburden, sub soil and top soil.
:round contours are graded. The 8otteries coalfield occurs in a syncline *dish shaped
structure,. At the edges coal is near the surface, which enables open-cast methods of
extraction to be used.
6rift
Inclined roadways were driven to exploit shallow coal which would be uneconomic to
be worked by shafts. 6ue to the geology some of the ;orth "taffordshire coal seams,
the drift mine was introduced to extract the coal. The photograph shows the )'<2 yard
long main intake drift at "ilverdale which )<ft wide, )'ft high and e7uipped with a
=>in conveyor belt capable of discharging (.2 tonnes of coal an hour.
6eep %ine
At the centre of the syncline, coal occurs at much greater depths and therefore it is
more economic to sink a shaft for the extraction of the coal.
Transportation
%ost coal is transported by train, but coal can also be transported by barge, ship,
truck, and even pipeline. About <> percent of coal in the #.". is transported, for at
least part of its trip to market, by train. It is cheaper to transport coal on river barges,
but barges cannot take coal everywhere that it needs to go. If the coal will be used
near the coal mine, it can be moved by trucks and conveyors. Coal can also be
crushed, mixed with water, and sent through a ?slurry? pipeline. "ometimes, coal-
fired electric power plants are built near coal mines to lower transportation costs.
Advantages of using coal
5ery large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal,
fairly cheaply.
Transporting oil and gas to the power stations is easy.
:as-fired power stations are very efficient.
Disadvantages of using coal
4irst of all, technical limitations3 coal cannot be used for transport purposes,
unless we go back to steam machines or, more seriously, if we move to electric
vehicles@
And then, ecological problems3 the burning of coal is very polluting. ike oil, coal
contains sulphur that gives off sulphur dioxide when it is burnt. In the atmosphere,
this becomes sulphuric acid, by oxidation, an irritant for the lungs and the main
component of Aacid rainB, so harmful to forests. The burning of coal also gives off
oxides of nitrogen *;9x,. "everal efficient processes exist for sulphur and
nitrogen cleaning of gas emissions from the burning of coal. Action can be taken
both upstream, before burning, or downstream, by treating the fumes. In the latter
case, the proportion of "9' can be reduced by -2C and that of nitrogen oxides by
>2C. These procedures are gradually being put into operation in all fuel oil and
coal power plants throughout &urope, in order to respect the new &uropean norms.
%ining coal can be difficult and dangerous. "trip mining destroys large areas of
the landscape.
Coal-fired power stations need huge amounts of fuel, which means train-loads of
coal almost constantly. In order to cope with changing demands for power, the
station needs reserves. This means covering a large area of countryside next to the
power station with piles of coal.
Supply and demand & future prospect
It has been estimated that there are over >=( billion tonnes of proven coal reserves
worldwide. This means that there is enough coal to last us over )+2 years at current
rates of production. Coal is located worldwide - it can be found on every continent in
over (2 countries, with the biggest reserves in the #"A, $ussia, China and India.
All fossil fuels will eventually run out and it is essential that we use them as
efficiently as possible. Coal reserves could be extended still further through a number
of developments including3
The discovery of new reserves through ongoing and improved exploration
activities
Advances in mining techni7ues, which will allow previously inaccessible
reserves to be reached.
Additionally, significant improvements continue to be made in how efficiently coal is
used so that more energy can be generated from each tonne of coal produced.