Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Coal
Deep down and dirty
Coal is the very widespread residue of ancient plant remains, most of
which have been transformed over time into first peat, then lignite
and finally high-quality anthracite. It is the largest energy source
for generating electricity, accounting for around 47 percent of the
world's power.
The basics
Coal is extracted by deep mining (tunnelling underground) or strip min-
ing (stripping off surface soil and mining the exposed coal seams with
huge bucket and shovel machines). Apart from making electricity and
heat, a variant of coal - coking coal - is vital to making steel. It used to be
the main source of synthetic gas, known as town gas because it was stored
in large tanks dotted around towns and cities. Town gas has now been
totally replaced by natural gas but the cylindrical structures that once sur-
rounded the gas tanks are still to be seen in many UK cities.
The top six coal producers in 2008 (in millions of tonnes
oil equivalent)
China
1,414.5
United States
596.9
Australia
219.9
India
194.3
Russia
152.8
South Africa/Indonesia
141.1 (each)
World production
3,324.9
Source:
BP Statistical Review
