Origin of Coal

Contents

• Introduction
• Formation of Coal
• Classification of Coal
• Chemistry of coalification
• History
• Damage to the environment
• Latest Efforts To Reduce Pollution
• Economics
 Introduction

• Coal is a brown or black carbon-rich mineral.

• It is also known as black diamond.
• One of the most important primary fossil fuel.
• There are over 861 billion tons of coal reserves
in the world.
• This coal will last us around 112 years at
current rate of production.
• North America and Asia possess over 25% and Europe
about 30% of the world’s coal reserves.
• North American reserves are about half bituminous coal
and half sub bituminous or lignite.
• Asia has higher proportion of bituminous coal.
• Sub- bituminous/lignite coals are more prevalent in
European reserves.
 Formation of Coal
• Coal forms from the remains of plants and other organic
materials.
• During the Carboniferous period, vast swamps and wetlands
covered much of the Earth's surface.
• As plants died and fell into stagnant waters, they began to
accumulate and form thick layers of organic material.
• Over time, these layers were buried under sediment and
rock.
• The pressure and heat from the overlying layers caused the
organic material to undergo a process called coalification.
• During coalification, the organic material is compressed and
heated.
• The type and quality of coal that is formed depend
on various factors.
• The factors are the type of plant material present,
the temperature and pressure conditions, and the
length of time buried.
• The most common types of coal include lignite,
sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, and
anthracite, which differ in their carbon content and
energy content.
Classification of Coal

Coal can be classified into four types:

• Lignite
• Bituminous
• Sub-Bituminous
• Anthracite
• Jet is a compact form of lignite, used for ornamental purposes.
• Sub-bituminous coal is used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation.
• Bituminous coal is used as fuel in steam-electric power generation and to make coke.
• Anthracite coal is a harder, glossy black coal used primarily for residential and
commercial space heating.
• Graphite is not commonly used as fuel; it is most used in pencils or for lubrication.
• Cannel coal is a fine-grained, high-rank coal with significant hydrogen content.
• Coal is classified based on its volatiles content, with the most important distinction
between thermal coal (burnt for electricity) and metallurgical coal (burnt for steel
production).
 Chemistry of coalification
• Woody tissue of plants is made up of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
• Peat is mostly lignin, with a varying content of cellulose and hemicellulose.
• Bituminous coal contains mostly carbon, with small amounts of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and
sulfur.
• Carbonization is a process that removes oxygen and hydrogen, leaving carbon.
• Dehydration, decarboxylation, and demethanation are the main chemical processes during
carbonization.
• Aliphatic compounds are replaced by aromatic compounds and rings of carbon atoms begin to fuse
during carbonization.
• Physical changes, such as decreasing average pore size, accompany chemical changes during
carbonization.
• Maturation of coal is characterized by changes in its composition and appearance, with huminite
being replaced by vitrinite and then bitumenization occurring.
• Debitumenization occurs during the maturation of anthracite, which also becomes more brittle.
• Dehydration
2 R–OH → R–O–R + H2O
2 R-CH2-O-CH2-R → R-CH=CH-R + H2O

• Decarboxylation removes carbon dioxide from the maturing coal

RCOOH → RH + CO2

 Demethanation proceeds by reaction such as

2 R-CH3 → R-CH2-R + CH4
R-CH2-CH2-CH2-R → R-CH=CH-R + CH4
DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT DUE TO COAL MINING

1. Destruction of Landscapes and Habitats : If a mountain happens to be standing in the way

of a coal seam within, it will be blasted or levelled
effectively leaving a scarred landscape and disturbing ecosystems
and wildlife habitat.

2. Deforestation and Erosion : Trees are cut down or burned, plants uprooted
and the topsoil scraped away (it can no longer be used for planting
crops). The loosened topsoil is washed down by rains and the
sediments get into rivers( damage to aquatic life and causes floods)

3. Contaminates Ground Water : The minerals from the disturbed earth can seep
into ground water and contaminate it with chemicals that
are hazardous to our health. Example – Due to
mining some exposed rocks contain the Sulphur
bearing mineral Pyrite which reacts with air and water to form
sulphuric acid.

4. Chemical, Air & Dust Pollution : Examples of toxins are mercury, arsenic, fluorine
and selenium. The amount of dust generated in mining
operations can be carried to nearby towns by the wind.
5. Methane in the Atmosphere : Coal mine methane emissions from underground mining are
often caught and used as fuel for towns, industries etc but very
rarely is everything captured. Methane is less prevalent in the
atmosphere as compared to CO2 but is 20 times more powerful
as a greenhouse gas.

6. Coal Fires: Fires from underground mines can burn for centuries. These
fires release smoke into the atmosphere - smoke which
contains carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2)
and other toxic greenhouse gases.

7. Health Hazards: Coal dust inhalation can cause black lung disease. Miners and
those who live in nearby towns are the most affected.
Cardiopulmonary disease, hypertension, COPD, and kidney
disease are found in higher than normal rates in people who live
near coal mines.

8. Displacement of Communities: All of these negative effects force people to move to other
places as their air and water gets polluted and expanding
coal mines make use of more and more of their habitat.
 Latest Efforts To Reduce Pollution Due To
Coal Mining

•Control blasting techniques with proper delay detonators and explosives are used for mitigation of
dust generation and ground vibration during blasting operations.

•Coal companies are deploying modern equipment having environment friendly features, like
Surface Miner in coal that eliminates the drilling, blasting and crushing operations in coal and
hence, in turn, obviates pollution caused due to these operations.

•Use of drills fitted with wet drilling and dust extractors in order to control generation of dust.

•To avoid spillage of Coal from trucks on road - all loaded coal transporting trucks are covered by
tarpaulin and also overloading of trucks are prohibited
•Transport haul roads are kept well maintained and Concrete/black topped roads are being
developed for better stability and durability;

•Mines have deployed mechanical sweepers and other methods for dry sweeping of roads.

•First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects are being implemented to replace road transport
through mechanical loading and conveying systems

•Avenue and peripheral plantation to arrest the propagation and dispersion of dust
significantly.

•Installation of Wind barriers for dust trapping.

 History
• Earliest known use of coal for carving ornaments dates back to 4000
BC in the Shenyang area of China.
• Coal from the Fushun mine in northeastern China was used to smelt
copper as early as 1000 BC.
• Marco Polo described coal as "black stones ... which burn like logs"
during his travels to China in the 13th century.
• The Greek scientist Theophrastus mentioned the use of coal as fuel
in his geological treatise On Stones, dating back to the 3rd century
BC
• Cooking and home heating with coal has been done throughout
history in places where coal was available and firewood was scarce.
• London in the late 16th and early 17th centuries was the first place
where coal became a widespread fuel for home hearths, and this
switch to coal had significant socioeconomic effects
.
• The Industrial Revolution led to large-scale use of coal, as steam engines
replaced water wheels.
• Britain was the world's largest coal producer in 1700 and coal was
crucial in allowing Britain to continue industrial development.
• Small "steam coal" was widely used as a fuel for steam locomotives and
domestic water heating.
• Coal played an important role in industry in the 19th and 20th century
and the European Coal and Steel Community was based on trading coal.
• Even today, coal continues to wash up on beaches and is used as a
significant, and sometimes primary, source of home heating fuel in some
areas.
ECONOMICS OF CBM
Cost of production:
 cost of producing CBM is typically higher than conventional natural gas
 It includes drilling and extraction costs, transportation costs and processing costs.

Market demand:
 Demand for CBM depends on factors such as natural gas prices,the availability of alternative
energy source and government policies and regulations.

Environmental Impacts:
 CBM production can have significant environmental impacts, including groundwater
contamination, surface water depletion, and air pollution.
 Infrastructure:
 The infrastructure required for CBM production, including drilling rigs, pipelines, and processing
facilities, can be expensive to build and maintain.
 it may be more expensive to transport CBM to market if infrastructure is lacking.

Competition:
 CBM production competes with other energy sources, including conventional natural gas, oil, and
renewable energy sources.
 The availability and cost of these competing energy sources can affect the profitability of CBM
production.

Government Policies and Incentives:

 Government policies and incentives, such as tax credits or subsidies, can affect the economics of
CBM production.

Technological Advances:
 Technological advances in drilling and extraction techniques can improve the
economics of CBM production
 By reducing production costs and increasing efficiency.
Price Volatility:
 The price of CBM, like other energy commodities, can be volatile, which can affect the
profitability of CBM production.
 Price volatility can make it difficult for producers to forecast revenues and plan future
investments.

Social Acceptability:
 The social acceptability of CBM production can affect the economics of the industry.
 Concerns about the environmental impacts of CBM production can lead to increased regulatory
oversight and public opposition.
 Conclusion

In conclusion, coal is a fossil fuel that is formed from the accumulation and gradual
transformation of dead plant matter under specific geological conditions over millions of
years. Its origin dates back to the Carboniferous period, approximately 360 million years
ago, when extensive forests covered large parts of the Earth's surface. Over time, geological
processes and tectonic movements caused the formation of different types of coal, each with
specific properties and uses. Coal has been used for various purposes throughout human
history, including cooking, home heating, and as a primary source of energy for
industrialization. Despite its long history and widespread use, coal has significant
environmental impacts, including air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,
leading to efforts to transition to more sustainable and cleaner sources of energy.
 Bibliography
• Coal." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2023.
https://www.britannica.com/science/coal.

• "Coal - Energy Education." Energy Education. University of Calgary, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2023.
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Coal.

• "Coal: A Complex Natural Resource." USGS. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 18 Apr.
2023. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nmic/coal-complex-natural-resource.

• "History of Coal Mining." Coal Mining and Durham Collieries. Durham Mining Museum, n.d.
Web. 18 Apr. 2023. http://www.dmm.org.uk/history/.

• "Coal." World Coal Association. World Coal Association, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2023.
https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/.

• "Coal." National Geographic Society. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2023.
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/coal/.
Thank you !