Lecture 17 - Energy minerals Flashcards
Coal Production
Top coal producers - china, india, usa, indonesia, austrailia
Coal reserves
In almost every country with reserves in 70 countries
Global coal trade 1445 Mt in 2019
Electrification patterns
Growth in developing countries 2.3-4.4%
Much lower growth in developed countries
Coal Properties
High content of C and H
Rich in volatiles so easy to ignite
Coal Present day accumulations
Humus - fresh decayed organics in upper soil
Peat - plants more resistant to decay
Sapropel - subaqeous - shallow to deep marine basins
Biochemical decomposition
Accumulation of dead plant material
Loss of volatiles co2 h20 and ch4
Coalification
Accretion of peat deposits is arrested by burial under mud, sand and slit
Involves physical changes imposed by increasing T, P and time
Geochemical characterization of types of coal
Expulsion of water vapour co2 and ch4.
North sea gas are accumulations of methane from coalfields below
UK Coal formation
It is all from Carboniferous Age.
Shallow seas over the UK where there was a delta
Coastal swamps here covered by extensive forests.
