Coal

Coal is the largest source of energy and it generate 40% of electricity of worldwide. 75 % of the coal mined is used to generate electricity. In 2008 approximately 49% of the United States electricity came from which is burned to make steam that rotates the turbine and generates electricity. Depending upon the carbon content, coal is classified as:  · Anthracite: more than 85 % carbon  · Bituminous: 45-85 % carbon  · Sub-bituminous: 35-45 % carbon  · Lignite: less than 35 % carbon
 * Coal Plants**

Distribution: The coal deposits although exist in nearly every region, but commercially exploitable deposits occur in Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. It is mined commercially in over 50 countries and the top coal mining nations (figures in brackets are 2009 estimate of total coal production in millions of tons) are:  · [|China] (3,050 Mt)  · [|USA] (973 Mt)  · [|India] (557 Mt)  · [|Australia] (409 Mt)  · [|South Africa] (250 Mt)  · [|Russia] (298 Mt)  · [|Indonesia] (252 Mt)  · [|Poland] (135 Mt)  · [|Kazakhstan] (101 Mt)  · [|Colombia] (72 Mt)



**Plant Types** The rank of coal is based on the degree to which the orginal plant material has been transformed into carbon and can be seen as a rough indication of how old the coal is: the older coal contains high carbon (generally). The ranks of coal (from most to least carbon content) are as follows: anthracite, bituminous coal, subbituminous coal, and lignite.

> Used almost exclusively for electric power generation lignite is a young type of coal. It is brownish black, has a high moisture content (up to 45 %), and a high suphur content. Lignite is more like soil than a rock and tends to disintegrate when exposed to the weather. Lignite is also called brown coal. > It has a colorific value of less than 5 kw/kg approximately. > Subbituminous coal is also called black lignite. Subbituminous coal black and contains 20-30 % moisture. Subbituminous coal is used for generating electricity and space heating. > Subbitumnious coal has calorific values ranging from 5 - 6.8 kW/kG approximately. > Bituminous coal is a soft, dense, black coal. Bituminous coal often has bands of bright and dull material in it. Bituminous coal is the most common coal and has a moisture content less than 20 %. Bituminous coal is used for generating electricity, making coke, and space heating. > Bituminous coal has calorific values ranging from 6.8 - 9 kW/kG approximately. > Often referred to as hard coal, anthracite is hard, black and lustrous. Anthracite is low in suplhur and high in carbon. It is the highest rank of coal. moisture content generally is less than 15 %. > Anthracite has a calorfific values of around 9 kW/kG.
 * Lignite coal:
 * Subbituminous coal:
 * Bituminous coal:
 * Anthracite coal:

**Plant Sizes** Coal mine sites vary in size, but typically involve a large commitment of land, especially for surface mining. Coal seams vary in depth and quality, and the mining of the coal will only occur in seams that are economically viable and in locations that are technically feasible to mine. The size of the mining operation will depend on the site characteristics, the coal reserve, and the [|method chosen for mining].

Coal Preparation Plant (Coal Beneficiation Plant)
Crushing and cleaning of mine-run coal is commonly referred to as beneficiation or preparation. Often, crushing and sizing is all that is required, but many coal seams, especially those which contain enough impurities to necessitate further cleaning. Whether the cleaning process is wet or dry, it is commonly referred to as washing. The dry washing method uses high pressure, pulsating airflow to blow dust from the coal. Wet washing starts with breaking and screening the coal to remove the large, hard pieces of impurities. Additional cleaning depends upon the amount, size, and nature of impurity, how it is dispersed in the coal, and how the coal is to be used. Equipment can include any or all of the following: jigs, screens, landers, heavy-medium cyclones, tricone separators, concentrating tables, froth flotation, cells, filters, and driers.

Coal Transport System
Transporting coal off-site may be accomplished by rail, truck, barge, or some combination thereof. **Plant Costs & Running Costs** The [|US Energy Information Administration] provides a comparison of levelized costs for different power generation sources. Levelized cost represents the present value of the total cost of building and operating a generating plant over a period of time, and reflects overnight capital cost, fuel cost, operation and maintenance costs, financing costs, and an assumed utilization rate for each plant type. To convert from dollars per megawatt-hour to cents per kWh, move the decimal point in the table below one spot to the left (for example, conventional coal is 9.48 cents per kWh on average).

**SWOT Analysis** <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">**Strengths:**
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Coal is one of the most abundant sources of energy, more so than oil and natural gas
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Coal is inexpensive when compared to other fossil fuels (or alternative energy sources)
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Coal is versatile enough to be used for recreational activities such as BBQ’s or simply for home fires
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Burning coal can produce useful by-products that can be used for other industries or products
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Electricity produced from coal is reliable
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Coal can be safely stored and can be drawn upon to create energy in time of emergency
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Coal based power is not dependent on weather which cannot be said for alternative forms of renewable energy such as wind or solar power
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Transporting coal does not require the upkeep of high-pressure pipelines and there is no requirement for extra security when transporting coal
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Using coal reduces the dependence on using oil, which is often found in nations where there is unstable

**Weaknesses:** **Threats:** · Coal combustion produces carbon dioxide and other GHG that are suspected to cause global warming. · It is a source of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, which are harmful to human health and may be largely responsible for acid rain. · Releases from coal burning contain naturally occurring radioactive materials mainly, uranium and thorium.
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Burning coal emits harmful waste such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphuric acids, arsenic and ash. It also emits twice as much carbon dioxide when compared with natural gas to produce the same level of heat, which increased the levels of harmful greenhouse gases emitted into the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels now account for about 65 per cent of the extra carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">The burning of coal by large-scale factories to power industry has led to acid rain in some regions
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Coal can be cleaned and/or turned into a liquid of gas but this technology has yet to be fully developed and adds to the expense of creating fuel via coal
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Coal mining can scar the landscape and the equipment used for mining is large and noisy which may affect local wildlife
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Transporting coal can be problematic because it requires an extensive transportation system and can also cause additional pollution in the form of emissions from transportation vehicles such as lorries, etc
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">There are limited stocks of coal remaining – they will be entirely depleted this millennium if we continue to burn coal in the future at the same rate we are today coal can be considered as a non-renewable energy source
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">The mining industry can cause health difficulties for miners and fatalities due to the potentially dangerous nature of the work
 * <span style="direction: ltr; line-height: normal; margin-left: 36pt; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Burning dirty coal can create significant pollution problems

THE WAY OF DO IT