1. Coal By: Josephine Latimer Jonathan Klosop Evan Sedor

2. Topics to Cover Is coal a source of air pollution; what are the impacts of it? Health risks of mining Clean coal Surface and Underground Mining: Comparing their effects on the environment.

3. Coal: Source of Air Pollution? ●Pollution from coal powered plants produce smog ○Doctors say inhaling smog is like sunburn for lungs ○Triggers asthma attacks and causes lung damage ●Soot pollution- a by product of burning coal ○Exposure leads to heart attacks and lung damage

4. Reduction of Impacts ●Improvements in technology ○highly effective technologies developed to detect release of pollutants ●Pre Planning projects, pollution controls, monitoring effects of mining, coal industries minimizing impacts on communities ●Coal washing ○reduces ash content by over 50%

5. Health Effects of Mining ●Acid Rain ●Dust and Noise Pollution ●Water Pollution

6. “Clean Coal” From 1970 to 2012 emissions of major pollutants from coal-fueled power plants has reduced 90% It’s not entirely clean but a lot cleaner and efficient than in the past

7. Can coal be converted to other forms of energy? Yes, a major source of the United States electricity comes from coal Coal is used to generate electricity in 48 states 39% of electricity in the U.S. comes from coal There are over 600 coal power plants in the U.S.

8. Methods of Coal Extraction ●There are two methods of coal extraction: ○Underground Mining ○Surface Mining

9. Underground Mining ●Deep Mining ●Can be used to mine coal up to 1,000 feet underground. ●Early form of mining ●They used elevators, hand tools, and several machines to bring up coal.

10. Underground Mining: Environmental Impacts ●Methane gas trapped in the mines ●Grounds above the mines can collapse ●Water can get into the mines ●Contaminated water left in abandoned mines

11. Surface Mining ●Two thirds of coal is mined using this method. ●Coal beds less than 200 feet below the surface. ●Cheaper mining ●The use of heavy machinery to remove soil and rocks to uncover coal streams.

12. Surface Mining: Environmental Impacts ●Mountaintop removal and valley filling ●Dirt and rocks polluting streams ●Other chemical pollutants in the water

13. Comparing Impacts of Mining Methods ●Methane Emissions: ○Underground Mining: 7% of total US Methane emissions ○Surface Mining: 2% of total US Methane emissions ●Surface and Water Pollution: ○Surface mining is considered more dangerous.

14. Does Clean Coal Exist? ●A question that has been greatly debated. ●Many believe that there will never be a way to capture the emissions from burning coal. ●However, there are advancements being made that could make this possible.

15. Clean Coal ●DOE’s (Department of Energy) Carbon Capture Program ○Conducted research on two different areas of technology: ■Pre-Combustion Capture ■Post-Combustion Capture

16. Pre-Combustion Capture ●Removing CO2 before burning it in a power plant ●The coal is turned into a synthesis gas. ●Water gas shift reaction ●The CO2 is then captured and separated.

17. Post-Combustion Capture ●Deals with capturing CO2 after the coal is burned. ●Not used currently ●Not cost effective or efficient ●Research in the field consists of: ○Improvements on current CO2 separation ○CO2 capture options for larger existing plants ○Advancing CO2 Compression technologies.

18. Post-Combustion Capture

19. Clean Coal: Issues and Outlooks ●These processes are still not ready for large scale use. ●The power generated would greatly decrease. ●Equipment would not be cost effective. ●However, this could change in the near future. ●Some still remain skeptical of the idea of clean coal.

20. Conclusion Coal is a source of pollution, causes problems such as asthma and lung damage o Health risks from pollution come in forms of acid rain, dust and noise pollution and water pollution. Coal extraction has many harmful effects on the environment. However, underground mining, which is much more dangerous, is not as harmful to the environment as surface mining. Clean coal technology is used in small scale today, but is not ready for large scale plants. However, it may be in the near future.

21. Works Cited ●“Carbon Capture R&D.” Energy.gov. U.S. Department of Energy, N.d. Web. 15 October 2013.. ●U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. Energy Information Administration: Independent Statistics and Analysis. U.S. Department of Energy, 2011. Web.15 October 2013.. ●"Coal Mining & the Environment."N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. ●Walsh, Bryan. “Exposing the Myth of Clean Coal Power.” Time. Time Inc. 10, January 2009. Web. 15 October 2013. ●"How Air Pollution Threatens Our Health N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. ●"Coal Use & the Environment." N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2013. ●Google Images