Coal Flashcards
Primary energy consumption
coal = 25%
electricity generation
coal = 40%
Top coal producers
China USA India Australia S Africa
Coal reservers
almost every country, resources in around 70
proven coal reserves (time)
147 years
proven oil and gas (time)
41 and 63 years
68% oil 67% gas where?
Middle East
Coal prices
varied, currently quite high (US$63.67/tonne)
properties of coal
high C and H
Volatile content of coal
> 30% RICH easy to ignite
LOW hard to ignite but smoke free flame
calorific values of coal
15-25kJg-1 lignites
31-35kJg-1 bituminous coals
30-33kJg-1 anthracites
low rank coals [2]
lignite (power) and sub-bituminous (power gen, cement)
hard coal [2]
bituminous and anthracite (domestic)
bituminous [2]
thermal (steam) or metallurgical (cooking)
coal seam env
marine/non-marine interface
Coal - organic constituents=
macerals
macerals
vitrinite - plant
intertinite - woody tissue
liptinite -spores, resin algae
Present day coal accumulations
Humus - fresh decay
peat - more resistant to decay, anaerobic and colder
sapropel - shallow marine basins
environments of coal formation
swamps similar to deltas
habitat where peat accumulates
mires e.g. swamps, fen, marsh, bog
Biochemical decomposition
accumlate dead plant material, loss of volatiles e.g. CO2, H2O, CH4 > PEAT
Coalification
accretion of peat deposits arrested by burial under mud/sand/silt
inc T and P
Age of coal formation
none before 400ma
first from caroniferous
younger coals are brown, lignites
UK coalfields
carboniferous
