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Coal
The Definition of Coal: Van Krevelen offers an encompassing definition of coal: Coal is a
rock, a sediment, a conglomerate, a biological fossil, a complex colloidal system, an enigma in
solid-state physics, and an intriguing object for chemical and physical analyses.
In short, coal is a chemically and physically heterogeneous, “combustible” sedimentary rock
formed from vegetation that consists of both organic and inorganic material. Organically, coal
consists primarily of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with lesser amounts of sulfur and
nitrogen. Inorganically, coal consists of a diverse range of ash-forming compounds distributed
throughout the coal. The inorganic constituents can vary in concentration from several
percentage points down to parts per billion of the coal.
In other words coal is a fossil fuel is formed from remains of dead plants that lived millions of
years ago being put under significant pressure and temperature for millions of years. Due to its
origin in ancient living matter like oil and gas and it takes too much time to form, it is known
as a fossil fuel or nonrenewable source of energy.
rock
conglomerate
sediment
History of Coal Use
The earliest established regular use of coal was around 2000 BC in northern and western China. At that time wood was the fuel
most commonly used for heating and cooking in most parts of the world but the availability of wood was scant in this Chinese
region while coal was available close to or at the earth’s surface.
The commercial use of coal can be traced back to 1000 BC by China. By A.D. 1000, coal was the primary fuel source in China.
Archeologists have also found evidence that the Romans in England used coal in the second and third centuries (100–200 AD).
The first scientific reference to coal may have been made by the Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle, who referred to a
charcoal like rock. It was during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries that demand for coal surged. The
introduction of the steam engine by James Watt in 1769 was largely responsible for the growth in coal use.
Although the Greeks and Romans knew about coal by 400 B.C., they mostly used wood for fuel, since it was so plentiful. Coal
was used as a domestic heating fuel in some parts of the Roman Empire, particularly in Britain, but it never made more than a
marginal contribution as a fuel resource. As the Romans invaded northward, they saw coal being mined and used in the vicinity
of St. Etienne in Gaul (France) and in Britain, where coal cinders that have been discovered in Roman ruins show that coal was
used during the Roman occupation from approximately A.D. 50 to 450. During the middle Ages, coal had to be rediscovered in
Europe, and for some time coal was of little local importance. Evidence of Roman coal-fueled fires has also been discovered
on the northern English frontier along Hadrian’s Wall. It does not appear that European coal was used for hundreds of years
after the fall of the Roman Empire.
History of Coal Use
Coal was discovered in the United States by explorers in 1673. However, the Hopi Indians used coal for cooking, heating and to
bake the pottery during the 1300s. Commercial coal mines started operation around 1740s in Virginia. During the Civil War,
weapons factories were beginning to use coal. By 1875, coke (which is made from coal) replaced charcoal as the primary fuel
for iron blast furnaces to make steel.
The use of coal for electricity generation started around the nineteenth century. The first practical coal-fired electricity generating station,
developed by Thomas Edison, went into operation in New York City in 1882, supplying electricity for household lights.

Coal was the primary source of energy until 1960s. The use of oil for transportation overtook coal as the largest source of primary energy in the
1960s. However, coal still plays a vital role in the world’s primary energy mix, providing 24.4% of global primary energy needs in 2003 and
40.1% of the world’s electricity.

Small-scale use of coal continued into the eighteenth century when the Industrial Revolution stimulated the widespread use of coal both for
industrial processes and as a fuel to drive steam engines of various types. Surface mining initially provided most coal but as the eighteenth
century progressed, deep mining began to develop. Mining also developed in Germany and Poland during the eighteenth century, and to a small
extent in India, then part of the British Empire, but it was not until the nineteenth century that it became widespread elsewhere. At the turn of
the twentieth century Britain was still the second-largest coal producer in the world, its production exceeded only by the USA. Ironically
Britain, which still has major coal reserves, is now a large importer of coal.
Formation of Coal
Coal is found in deposits called seams that originated through the accumulation of vegetation
that has undergone physical and chemical changes by natural agencies. These changes include
decaying of the vegetation, deposition and burying by sedimentation, compaction, and
transformation of the plant remains into the organic rock found today. Coal forms less than one
percent of the sedimentary rock record. Coals differ throughout the world in the kinds of
plant materials deposited (type of coal), in the degree of metamorphism or coalification
(rank of coal), and in the range of impurities included (grade of coal).
There are two predominant theories that have been proposed to explain the formation of coal:
(i) the plant remains which eventually form coal were accumulated in large freshwater swamps
or peat bogs during many thousands of years. This first theory supposes that growth-in-
place of vegetable material (the autochthonous theory, also often referred to as the swamp
theory),
(ii)the coal strata accumulated from plants which had been rapidly transported and deposited
under flood conditions (the allochthonous theory, also often referred to as the drift theory)
(i) Autochthonous theory, is most accepted because it explains the origin of most coals, is
that the coal formed in situ—that is, where the vegetation grew and fell—and such a
deposit is said to be autochthonous in origin.
Most coal deposits began with thick peat bogs where the water was nearly stagnant and plant
debris accumulated as swamps. As the plants and trees grew and perished, the plant the
swamps was buried under Earth’s wet surface, where insufficient oxygen slowed their decay.
Over the time, the swamps became submerged and were covered by sedimentary deposits and
led to the formation of peat. The plant debris converting into peat was through a biochemical
process.
Over millions of years, these layers of peat are altered physically and chemically and coal seam
was formed. When this cycle was repeated, over hundreds of thousands of years, additional
coal seams were formed and started to become a tightly packed and compressed sediment
under combined effect of heat (from the Earth’s interior or near volcanic source) and pressure.
These cycles of accumulation and deposition were followed by geochemical process, i.e.,
biological and geological actions.

This means, peat underwent several changes as

a result of bacterial decay, compaction, heat,
and time. Depending upon the extent of
temperature, time, and pressure exerted,
different types of coal (from peat to lignite coal,
to sub-bituminous coal, to bituminous coal, and
to anthracite coal) were formed and are mined
today. It is estimated that three to seven feet of
compacted plant matter is needed to form one
foot of coal.
(ii) Allochthonous origin: While the formation of most coals can be explained by the
autochthonous process, some deposits are not easily explained by the autochthonous theory.
Some coals appear to have been formed through the accumulation of vegetal matter that was
transported by water to another location. According to this theory, the fragments of plants were
carried by streams and deposited on the bottom of the sea or lakes where they build up strata,
which later became compressed into coal.
Coalification (A metamorphic process, called coalification)
The geochemical process that transforms plant material into coal is called coalification. The
consecutive stages, from the initial peat stage are: lignite (brown coal), sub-bituminous coal,
bituminous coal, and anthracite is often expressed as.

4 stage (peat isnt coal)

1. lignite
2. sub bbituminous
3. bituminous
4. anthracite
These stages, along with the main chemical reactions, are shown in following Table 3.1
where some of the main chemical reactions that occur during coalification are listed.
 Types of Coal and their Characteristics:
 Coal is generally divided into two main categories: Anthracite (or Hard Coal)
and Bituminous (or Soft Coal).
 The classification is mainly based on the carbon content and moisture content
of the coal. As the coalification process continues the rank of the coal
increases. The rank of coal is defined as the degree of changes
(metamorphism) that occurs as a coal matures from peat to anthracite.
 The coal may be classified in a number of ways as described below. Several
classification systems for coal have been proposed and are generally based on
(a) ash content; (b) its structure: anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous,
lignite; (c) heating values, (d) sulfur content, low or high; (e) coke grade; and
(f) caking properties.
1. By ash content: Low ash (<5%), High ash (>20%)
2. Its structure: Anthracite (nearly pure carbon), Bituminous (more bound
hydrogen), Sub-Bituminous (less bound hydrogen), Lignite
3. Sulfur content: Low (<1%), High (about 7%)
4. Caking properties: Caking, Non-caking
5. Coke grade: Metallurgical coke (premier grade), Non metallurgical coke (low
grade)
The four main constituents of coal are volatile matters, hydrogen, carbon, and
oxygen. The percentage of these elements determines the heating value of coal
rank. Coal is classified into four main types, depending on the amount of
carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen present: (1) lignite, (2) subbituminous coal, (3)
bituminous coal, and (4) anthracite.
Peat: Peat is not actually coal, but rather the precursor to coal. Peat is a soft organic
material consisting of partly decayed plant and, in some cases, deposited mineral matter.
When peat is placed under high pressure and heat, it becomes coal.
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter, first stage of coal
formation.
 For the peat to become coal, it must be buried by sediment.
 10 vertical feet of original peat material is required to produce 1 vertical foot of coal.
 High moisture content
 Carbon : 60-64%
 Oxygen : 35-30%
 Coparatively low CV
 Light brown colour
 CV of 18000 J/kg
Lignite: Lignite coal, aka brown coal, is the lowest grade coal with the least concentration of
carbon with a heating value of 4,000 to 8,300 Btu per pound (ASTM D388) and is mainly used
to produce electricity. Lignite is the least mature of the coal types and provides the least yield of
energy; it is often crumbly, relatively moist, and powdery. It is the lowest rank of coal.
Lignite is considered to be "immature" coal at this stage of development because it is still
somewhat light in color and it remains soft.
 Second stage of coal formation
 Moisture up to 60%
 Carbon : 60-75%
 Oxygen : 30-20%
 Brown appearance
 CV of 14000 to 19000 J/kg
Subbituminous: Lignite increases in maturity by becoming darker and harder
and is then classified as sub-bituminous coal. With increasing rank (i.e.,
progressing from lignite to subbituminous coal to bituminous coal to anthracite)
the moisture content decreases while the carbon content and the energy content
both increase.
 Low moisture content
 Carbon : 70-80%
 Oxygen : 10-20%
 Black and Smooth
 CV of 19000 to 26000 J/kg
The combustion of subbituminous coal can lead to hazardous emissions that include particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides
(SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and mercury (Hg). Subbituminous coals produce combustion ash that is more alkaline than
other coal ash.
Bituminous: After sub-bituminous process of burial and alteration continues, more chemical
and physical changes occur and a the coal is classified as bituminous. At this point the coal is
dark and hard.
 Low moisture content (<10%)
 Carbon : 75-90%
 Oxygen : 5-10%
 Black and Brittle
 CV of 31000-37000 J/kg

Bituminous coal combustion releases more pollution into the air than subbituminous coal combustion, but due to its greater
heat content, less of the fuel is required to produce a given output of electricity. Therefore, bituminous and subbituminous
coals produce approximately the same amount of pollution per kilowatt of electricity generated.
Anthracite: Anthracite is the last of the classifications, and this terminology is used when
the coal has reached ultimate maturation. Anthracite coal is very hard and shiny
 Highest rank of coal
 Very low moisture content
 Carbon : 93+%
 Oxygen : 1-2%
 Harder,glossy and black
 Zero caking power
 CV of 8000-8500 kcal/kg
Compared to other coal types, anthracite is much harder, brittle, and has a glassy luster, and is denser and blacker with few
impurities. When burned, anthracite produces a very hot blue flame and, as a result, is primarily used for space heating by
residences and businesses in and around the northeastern region of Pennsylvania, where much of it is mined.
Anthracite is considered the cleanest burning of all coal types: it produces more heat and less smoke than other coals, and is
widely used in furnaces. It is largely used for heating domestically as it burns with little smoke. Also, it is used most often in
fluidized bed combustion (FBC) boilers.
Advantages of using coal to produce electricity:

Coal energy is an affordable energy source because of the coal’s stable price compared to other fuel sources
Coal is easy to burn
Coal produces high energy upon combustion
Coal energy is inexpensive
Coal is abundant
Coal energy is a reliable energy source

Disadvantages of using coal to produce electricity:

Coal energy produces large amount of carbon dioxide which leads to global warming and climate change
The burning of coal is not environmental friendly because it produces harmful byproducts and gas emissions such as sulfur
dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide that causes pollution to the environment including acid rain
Coal energy is nonrenewable energy source
Coal is fast depleting because we consume too much of it
Coal mining ruins the environment and puts the lives of people specially the coal miners in danger