Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). It is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. It is composed primarily of carbon along with assorted other elements, including sulfur. Often associated with the Industrial Revolution, coal remains an enormously important fuel and is the largest single source of electricity world-wide. In the United States, for example, the burning of coal generates 50% of the electricity consumed. Coal - Etymol ...

Including:

• Coal - Etymology and folklore
• Coal - Composition
• Coal - Creation
• Coal - Types of coal
• Coal - Uses
• Coal - Coal as fuel
• Coal - Coking and use of coke
• Coal - Harmful effects of coal burning
• Coal - Coal fires
• Coal - World coal reserves

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See also:

Coal, Coal - Etymology and folklore, Coal - Composition, Coal - Creation, Coal - Types of coal, Coal - Uses, Coal - Coal as fuel, Coal - Coking and use of coke, Coal - Harmful effects of coal burning, Coal - Coal fires, Coal - World coal reserves

Read more here: » Coal: Encyclopedia II - Coal - World coal reserves

It has been estimated that, as of 1996, there is around one exagram (1 × 1015 kg) of total coal reserves accessible using current mining technology, approximately half of it being hard coal. The energy value of all the world's coal is well over 100,000 quadrillion Btu (100 zettajoules). There probably is enough coal to last for 300 years. However, this estimate assumes no rise in population, and no increased use of coal to attempt to compensate for the depletion of natural gas and petroleum. A recent (2003) study by scientist Gre ...

See also:

Coal, Coal - Etymology and folklore, Coal - Composition, Coal - Creation, Coal - Types of coal, Coal - Uses, Coal - Coal as fuel, Coal - Coking and use of coke, Coal - Harmful effects of coal burning, Coal - Coal fires, Coal - World coal reserves

Read more here: » Coal: Encyclopedia II - Coal - World coal reserves

Coal tar is the liquid by-product of the distillation of coal to make coke. The gaseous by-product produced by this process is commonly known as town gas. Coal tar is very viscous brown or black liquid, with smell of naphthalene and aromatic hydrocarbons. Being inflammable, it is sometimes used for heating or to fire boilers. Like most oils, it must be heated before it will flow easily. It can be made into coal tar soap, and is used in medicated shampoo to kill and repel head lice ...

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Coal dust is a fine powder form of coal. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust may occur during mining or transportation, or whenever coal is handled mechanically. Coal dust - Risks. Coal dust suspended in air is explosive. Coal dust has far more surface area per unit weight than chunks of coal, and is more susceptible to spontaneous combustion. Note this may mean that a nearly empty coal store is a greater explosion risk than a full one. Coal workers' Pneumoconiosis, or bl ...

Including:

• Coal dust - Risks
• Coal dust - Coal dust in energy generation

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Coal assay techniques are specific analytical methods designed to measure the particlar physical and chemical properties of coals. These methods are used primarily to determine the suitability of coal for coking, power generation or for iron ore smelting in the manufacture of steel. Coal assay - Chemical properties of coal. Coal comes in four main types or ranks: lignite or brown coal, bituminous coal or black coal, anthracite and graphite. Each type of coal has a certain set of physical parameters which ar ...

Including:

• Coal assay - Chemical properties of coal
• Coal assay - Physical and Mechanical Properties
• Coal assay - Special Combustion Tests

Read more here: » Coal assay: Encyclopedia - Coal assay

Coal oil is an oil used for illuminating purposes, also called "lamp oil." It was formerly obtained from the distillation of mineral wax, bituminous shale, etc., and hence called coal oil. It is now produced primarily by the distillation and purification of petroleum. It consists mainly of several hydrocarbons of the alkane series, having from 10 to 16 carbon atoms in each molecule, and having a higher boiling point (175–325°C) than gasoline or the petroleum ethers, and a lower boiling point than the oils.

A coal measure (stratigraphic unit) is the name given to any rock sequence that occurs in the upper part of the Carboniferous System in Europe. It is equivalent to the Pennsylvanian of North America. These rocks are typically coal-bearing. The term coal measure is also used to describe a succession of sedimentary rocks comprising of claystones, shales, siltstones, sandstones, conglomerates, and limestones that are interstratified with beds of coal. Such succession occur worldwide and may not necessarily be Carboniferous in age (such as the Permian coal measures of Australia and the late Cretaceous and ...

Including:

• Coal measure - References and further reading

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Anthracite (Greek Ανθρακίτης, literally "a form of coal", from Anthrax [Άνθραξ], coal) is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. It has the highest carbon count and contains the fewest impurities of all coals, despite its lower caloric content. Anthracite coal is the highest of the metamorphic rank, in which the carbon content is between 92% and 98%. The term is applied to those varieties of coal which do not give off tarry or other hydrocarbon vapours when heated below their point of ignition. Anthracite ignites with diffic ...

Including:

• Anthracite coal - Properties
• Anthracite coal - Economic value
• Anthracite coal - Major Reserves
• Anthracite coal - Classifications

Read more here: » Anthracite coal: Encyclopedia - Anthracite coal

Bituminous coal is a soft coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen. It is of better quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than anthracite coal. Bituminous coal is an organic sedimentary rock formed by diagenetic and submetamorphic compression of peat bog material. Bituminous coal has been compressed and heated so that its primary constituents are the macerals vitrinite, exinite, etc. The carbon content of bituminous coal is aound 60-80%, the rest being comprised of water, as well as oxygen, hydrogen and sul ...

Including:

• Bituminous coal - Uses
• Bituminous coal - Coking Coal
• Bituminous coal - Jurassic Coals
• Bituminous coal - Triassic Coals
• Bituminous coal - Permian Coals
• Bituminous coal - Carboniferous Coals

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Coal mining is the extraction of coal from the Earth for use as fuel. Coal mining - Methods of extraction. The most economical of methods of coal extraction from coal seams depends on the depth and quality of the seams, and also the geology and environmental factors of the area being mined. If the coal seams are near the surface, the coal is extracted by strip mining. Strip mining exposes the coal by the advancement of an open pit or strip. As the coal is exposed and extracted, the overburden from th ...

Including:

• Coal mining - Methods of extraction
• Coal mining - History
• Coal mining - Dangers to miners
• Coal mining - Environmental impacts
• Coal mining - External link

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Coal Miner's Daughter is a 1980 biographical film which tells the story of country music performer Loretta Lynn. It stars Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones and Levon Helm, and was directed by Michael Apted. The movie was adapted from Lynn's biography by George Vecsey. Loretta Lynn was one of the first female superstars in country music and remains a defining presence within the genre; with her strong, clear, hard-country voice and tough, no-nonsense songs about husbands who cheat and wives who weren't about to be pushed arou ...

Including:

• Coal Miner's Daughter - Awards

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The Coal Region is a term used to refer to an area of Northeastern Pennsylvania in the central Appalachian Mountains comprised of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Schuylkill, Dauphin, and Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The region's population was 890,121 people as of the most recent census. Many of the names in the region are from the Delaware Indians or Lenapes and Susquehanna native American Indians. The region is home to the largest known deposits of anthracite coal found in the Americas, with an estimated reserve of se ...

Including:

• Coal Region - Geography
• Coal Region - Brief History and Miscellany

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Clean coal is coal chemically washed of minerals and impurities, sometimes gasified, burned and the resulting flue gases treated with steam and reburned so as to make the carbon dioxide in the flue gas economically recoverable. The carbon dioxide will then be sequestered by some means (several are being explored - see Carbon dioxide sink). The primary example of clean coal is the proposed US FutureGen ...

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Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is the lowest rank of coal and used almost exclusively as fuel for steam-electric power generation. It is brownish-black and has a high inherent moisture content, sometimes as high as 45 percent, and very high ash content compared to bituminous coal. The heat content of lignite ranges from 9 to 17 million Btu per short ton (10 to 20 MJ/kg) on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. The heat content of lignite consumed in the United States averages 13 million Btu/ton (15 MJ/kg), on the as-received basis (i.e., containing both inherent moisture and mineral matter).

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Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. Materials recovered by mining include bauxite, coal, diamonds, iron, precious metals, lead, limestone, nickel, phosphate, rock salt, tin, and uranium. Any material that cannot be grown from agricultural processes must be mined. Mining in a wider sense can also include extraction of petroleum, natural gas, and even water. Mining - History. The oldest kno ...

Including:

• Mining - History
• Mining - Mining techniques
• Mining - Extractive metallurgy
• Mining - Environmental effects
• Mining - Mining industry
• Mining - Mine Planning Software

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The Carboniferous is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359.2 Ma (million years ago), to the beginning of the Permian period, about 299.0 Ma (ICS 2004). As with most older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by 5–10 million years. The Carboniferous is named for the extensive coal beds of that age found in Great Britain and Western Europe. The first third of the Carboniferous is cal ...

Including:

• Carboniferous - Subdivisions
• Carboniferous - Gzhelian most recent
• Carboniferous - Kasimovian
• Carboniferous - Moscovian
• Carboniferous - Bashkirian/Morrowan
• Carboniferous - Serpukhovian
• Carboniferous - Visean
• Carboniferous - Tournaisian oldest
• Carboniferous - Paleogeography
• Carboniferous - Rocks and coal
• Carboniferous - Life

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There are hundreds of coal fires burning around the world.[8] Those burning underground can be difficult to locate and many can not be extinguished. Fires can cause the ground above to subside, combustion gases are dangerous to life, and breaking out to the surface can initiate surface wildfires. Coal seams can be set on fire by spontaneous combustion or contact with a mine fire or surface fire. A grass fire in a coal area can ...

See also:

Coal, Coal - Etymology and folklore, Coal - Composition, Coal - Creation, Coal - Types of coal, Coal - Uses, Coal - Coal as fuel, Coal - Coking and use of coke, Coal - Harmful effects of coal burning, Coal - Coal fires, Coal - World coal reserves

Read more here: » Coal: Encyclopedia II - Coal - Coal fires

Bridgend (Welsh: Pen-y-bont) is a town in the traditional county of Glamorgan and the main town in the county borough of Bridgend. Bridgend is in South Wales, roughly midway between the principal cities Cardiff and Swansea. The river crossed by the original bridge which gave the town its name is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes through the south of the town. Bridgend has greatly expanded in size since the early 1980s and now has a population of around 40,000. Bridgend - Castles and foundati ...

Including:

• Bridgend - Castles and foundation
• Bridgend - Coal and industry
• Bridgend - The Second World War and Bridgend
• Bridgend - Post-war Bridgend
• Bridgend - Modern Bridgend and the future
• Bridgend - Culture
• Bridgend - Famous people from Bridgend
• Bridgend - Links

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Coal comes in four main types or ranks: lignite or brown coal, bituminous coal or black coal, anthracite and graphite. Each type of coal has a certain set of physical parameters which are mostly controlled by moisture, volatile content (in terms of aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons) and carbon content. Moisture Moisture is an important proerty of coal, as all coals are mined wet. Groundwater and other extraneous moisture is known as adventitious moisture and is readily evaporated. Moisture held within the c ...

See also:

Coal assay, Coal assay - Chemical properties of coal, Coal assay - Physical and Mechanical Properties, Coal assay - Special Combustion Tests

Read more here: » Coal assay: Encyclopedia II - Coal assay - Chemical properties of coal