1. FOSSIL FUELS III
Coal

2. Should the use of coal in America be expanded?
Yes No

3. Formed from ancient plants. Coal beds were prehistoric swamps.
Can be considered to be “stored” solar energy.
Photosynthesis:
CO2 + H20 + solar energy  carbohydrates + O2
We can also run the process backwards and burn carbs to get energy, water and carbondioxide.

4. Normally when a plant dies it decomposes.
If there is not enough Oxygen, it can’t completely decompose, thus we get a slow accumulation of energy.
In a swamp, the bacteria that decompose the plants also use up the Oxygen.
Coal found today formed between 1 and 440 million years ago.

5. Steps to becoming coal:
Peat
Lignite
Subbituminous
Bituminous
Anthracite
The major difference is the percentage of the coal that is Carbon. Higher Carbon concentration means better quality coal. (in general)

7. Coal progresses through the stages with increase pressure and temperature.
Type
% Carbon
Energy Content (Btu/lb)
Lignite 30
Subbituminous 40
Bituminous
50-70
Anthracite 90
14000

8. The largest amount of US coal is Bituminous.
Approximately 1% is Anthracite. (Found in Pennsylvania.)
Many coal veins have a high sulfur content.
Significant contributor to acid rain.
S+O2SO2
SO2 combines with water in atmosphere to form sulfuric acid.
Limits the use of those coals (some progress is being made in technology to use high sulfur coal)

9. Coal Mining Coal veins can be 1in to 400 ft thick.
Must be at least 2 ft thick to make mining profitable.
Two basic ways to get to it
Tunnels (deep reserves) (40%)
Strip mining (near surface) (60%)

10. Tunnel Mining Tunnel Mining Video

11. Strip Mining

12. Mountain Top Removal video

13. Should mountain top removal be removed?
Yes No

14. US Coal Reserves by Type

15. Coal Reserves Sulfur Content

16. World Coal Reserves

19. Coal Production

21. A thick shroud of haze lingers over China, turning the sky an opaque grey. Beijing, China's capital, is situated under the densest portion of the smog layer. The aerosol pollution can be seen blowing eastward across the Bo Hai Bay and Yellow Sea reaching as far as North and South Korea and the islands of Japan. (NASA)

22. Coal Consumption

23. Mix of Fuels in US

24. US Coal Production

29. Estimated that we have enough reserves for 200-300 years at current production rates.
Use may be expanded
Replace aging oil/natural gas/nuclear electric plants
More demand for electrical energy
Alternative uses such as coal gasification.

30. Coal Gasification
Coal gasification can be used to produce syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) gas. This syngas can then be converted into transportation fuels like gasoline and diesel. Alternatively, the hydrogen obtained from gasification can be used for various purposes such as powering a hydrogen economy, making ammonia, or upgrading fossil fuels.

31. Adverse Effects of Coal
Millions of tons of waste products
Acid rain from high sulfur coal
Interference with groundwater
Impact of water use on flows of rivers and consequential impact on other land-uses
Coal-fired power plants without effective fly ash capture are one of the largest sources of human-caused background radiation exposure
Coal-fired power plants shorten nearly 24,000 lives a year in the United States, including 2,800 from lung cancer[44]
Coal is the largest contributor to the human-made increase of CO2 in the air[46]

32. Should the use of coal in America be expanded?
Yes No