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. Lignite is the softest and is low in carbon but
high in hydrogen and oxygen content. Bituminous is in between.
Occurrence/ location
The distribution of coal reserves around the world varies notably from that of oil and
gas. Significant reserves are found in the United States and Russia but not in the
Middle East. The United States with 27 percent and Russia with 17 percent account
for nearly half of global coal reserves. China (13 percent), Australia (9 percent), South
Africa (5 percent), and Kazakhstan (3 percent) also have significant amounts of the
world's recoverable coal reserves

Reserves
The principal countries possessing coal reserves are the following (2003 figures):
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-Montenegro

18.3

Poland

15.4

Reserves of coal (carbon coal + lignite) in 2003, in billions of

tonnes.
Source: Energy Information Administration / Department Of Energy..

Consumption
For 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 2003) are the following. Very often they are the
countries possessing significant reserves
Country

Coal consumption (carbon coals + lignite) in billions of tonnes

China

1,531

United States

1,094

India

430

Germany

273

Russia

251

Japan

176

South Africa

188

Poland

153

Australia

144

South Korea

81

Greece

76

Turkey

71

United Kingdom

69

Ukraine

67

Czech Republic

65

Consumption of coal (carbon coal + lignite) in 2003, in millions of

tonnes.
Source: Energy Information Administration / Department Of Energy.

Methods of extraction

Due to different geological formations different techniques were developed and

improved to extract coal. From the earliest bell pit method to modern drift, opencast,
and deep mining extraction methods.
Bell Pit

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. Little 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.
Man 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.

Open 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.
Ground contours are graded. The Potteries 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.
Drift

Inclined roadways were driven to exploit shallow coal which would be uneconomic to
be worked by shafts. Due to the geology some of the North Staffordshire coal seams,
the drift mine was introduced to extract the coal. The photograph shows the 1260 yard
long main intake drift at Silverdale which 16ft wide, 12ft high and equipped with a
48in conveyor belt capable of discharging 750 tonnes of coal an hour.
Deep Mine

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
Most coal is transported by train, but coal can also be transported by barge, ship,
truck, and even pipeline. About 68 percent of coal in the U.S. 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. Sometimes, coalfired electric power plants are built near coal mines to lower transportation costs.
Advantages of using coal

Very large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal,
fairly cheaply.

Transporting oil and gas to the power stations is easy.

Gas-fired power stations are very efficient.

Disadvantages of using coal

First of all, technical limitations: 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 problems: the burning of coal is very polluting. Like 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 acid rain, so harmful to forests. The burning of coal also gives off
oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Several 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 SO2 can be reduced by 90% and that of nitrogen oxides by
80%. These procedures are gradually being put into operation in all fuel oil and
coal power plants throughout Europe, in order to respect the new European norms.
Mining coal can be difficult and dangerous. Strip 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 847 billion tonnes of proven coal reserves
worldwide. This means that there is enough coal to last us over 130 years at current
rates of production. Coal is located worldwide - it can be found on every continent in
over 70 countries, with the biggest reserves in the USA, Russia, 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 including:

The discovery of new reserves through ongoing and improved exploration

activities
Advances in mining techniques, 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.