Coal

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Recommended: Positive and negative impacts of coal on people and the environment

Table of Contents

Introduction Page

Extraction Page

Refinement Page

Utilisation Page

Sustainability Page

Referencing Page

Introduction

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel produced in the United States. Hundreds of millions of years ago swamps occurred in areas where coal is now existing. Coal is one of the world’s most significant sources of energy, fuelling almost 40% of electricity worldwide. Coal has been the world’s fastest growing energy source in recent years – faster than gas, oil, nuclear, hydro and renewables.

Extraction

When extracting this precious coal from either an open pit or an underground mine there is a valuable technique that needs to be followed. This technique used depends on the depth of the layers, or seams. To reach the coal by extracting the ore from the bowels of the earth is a huge undertaking. If the deposit is not too deep, wells are drilled sideways so trucks can circulate. If it is very deep down, vertical wells are drilled and a system of elevators and connections to the surface are installed. The well is then drilled horizontally to follow each coal layer or seam as far as possible.

Refinement

This sedimentary rock is essentially formed when plants and animals gather in wet peat bogs. A wet peat bog is an area of wet marshy ground, largely consisting of accumulated decomposing plant material. As plants die off in a moist area, they pile up to form a peat. This describes why coal is frequently found in coastal plains or in river deltas. Refining coal is a process that utilizes some coal upgrading technology to get rid of moisture and other toxins from low-ranking coals. The proce...

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/5966969/A-sustainable-future-for-coal.html

Bibliography

100 uses. (n.d.). Retrieved from tatasteel 100: http://www.tatasteel100.com/gallery/100uses.asp

down under. (n.d.). Retrieved from australiaminesatlas: http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/education/down_under/iron/used.html

Elements . (n.d.). Retrieved from chemicool: http://www.chemicool.com/elements/iron.html

how does iron rust. (n.d.). Retrieved from curiosity.descovery: http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/how-does-iron-rust

how is iron mined. (n.d.). Retrieved from Life 123: http://www.life123.com/career-money/commodities-2/iron-ore/how-is-iron-mined.shtml

iron and copper more sustainable than modern materials. (n.d.). Retrieved from GreenBang: http://www.greenbang.com/iron-and-copper-more-sustainable-than-modern-materials_3608.html

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