Coal


 * Coal Rebuttal**

[|coal]http://www.ohiocitizen.org/campaigns/coal/baard/pile.jpg ||
 * CoalStudent Groups**
 * **Student Names** || **Wikispaces Usernames** || ** Responsible for Researching This: ** ||
 * *Jessica C || jessicac234 || They recognize coal in 4 main types: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. So the higher the rank the more heat-producing it contains. There is two main types of coal mines: underground and surface.
 * Tanner Curtin || tanner.c10 || 60% of electricity and 25% of total energy in the United States is made up of coal. ||
 * John M || atsumauchiha || http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Science/coal_energy.html

Coal is also called a fossil fuel and is one of the major problems usually on a greater scale then the use of oil or gas. || coal research page: ||
 * Violet Holcomb || violet21 || Not all coal is composed of the same compounds. Different types of coal are characterized by their unique properties, which produce different results when burned. Coal is a useful resource that we use to burn as a fossil fuel for the production of electricity and/or heat. It is also used for industrial purposes such as refining metals. Coal is a fossil fuel that is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, as well as on of the largest worldwide anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide releases.
 * Austin Reed ||  || * Coal is one of the most abundant sources of energy, more so than oil and natural gas
 * Coal is inexpensive when compared to other fossil fuels (or alternative energy sources)
 * Coal is versatile enough to be used for recreational activities such as BBQ’s or simply for home fires
 * Burning coal can produce useful by-products that can be used for other industries or products
 * Electricity produced from coal is reliable
 * Coal can be safely stored and can be drawn upon to create energy in time of emergency
 * Coal based power is not dependent on weather which cannot be said for alternative forms of renewable energy such as wind or solar power
 * Transporting coal does not require the upkeep of high-pressure pipelines and there is no requirement for extra security when transporting coal
 * Using coal reduces the dependence on using oil, which is often found in nations where there is

80% of all homes are powed by coal. || www.wikipedia.org/wiki/coal Coal is one of the most abundant sources of energy, more so than oil and natural gas. Coal is inexpensive when compared to other fossil fuels (or alternative energy sources). Coal is versatile enough to be used for recreational activities such as BBQ’s or simply for home fires. Burning coal can produce useful by-products that can be used for other industries or products. Electricity produced from coal is reliable. Coal can be safely stored and can be drawn upon to create energy in time of emergency. Coal based power is not dependent on weather which cannot be said for alternative forms of renewable energy such as wind or solar power. Transporting coal does not require the upkeep of high-pressure pipelines and there is no requirement for extra security when transporting coal. Using co al reduces the dependence on using oil, which is often found in nations where there is unstable political regimes ---> http://fossil-fuel.co.uk/coal/advantages-of-coal
 * J8acquelynn Ruwwe || jacquelynn.r || There is seven types of coal, Peat, Lignite, Sub-bituminous, Bituminous, Steam, Anthracite, and Graphite.

coal comes directly from the earth, and when its burned it is able to create energy. --> http://www.ifpaenergyconference.com/Coal-Energy.html ||
 * TaylorB || taylorb309184 || http://www.worldcoal.org/coal/

Not only does coal provide electricity, it is also an essential fuel for steel and cement production, and other industrial activities. Coal is a combustible, sedimentary, organic rock, which is composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It is formed from vegetation, which has been consolidated between other rock strata and altered by the combined effects of pressure and heat over millions of years to form coal seams. Coal is a fossil fuel and is far more plentiful than oil or gas, with around 118 years of coal remaining worldwide. || According to the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, Texas, the United States has 25 percent of the world's known coal reserves. * Coal is not only burned directly, but it can also be transformed into liquid or gas form. Proponents claim that liquefied or gasified coal burns cleaner, meaning less air pollution. -Read more: [|Pros & Cons of Coal Energy | eHow.com] [|http://www.ehow.com/facts_5479102_pros-cons-coal-energy.html#ixzz1kg0BoOyZ] * Nearly 60% of electricity and 25% of total energy in the United States today *World’s most abundant fossil fuel; Many coal-fired plants are inplace; 250 years worth of fuel. - http://www.danielbbotkin.com/2007/03/19/pros-and-cons/  *The conversion of dead vegetation into coal is called carbonization. *The USA consumes about 14% of the world total, using 90% of it for generation of electricity. ||
 * *Nick Corder || n.corder || *
 * Coal is primarily used as a solid [|fuel] to produce electricity and heat through combustion. World coal consumption was about 6.75 billion [|short tons] in 2006 [|[25]] and is expected to increase 48% to 9.98 billion short tons by 2030.
 * Shawn Dean ||  || **Coal** is a [|combustible] black or brownish-black [|sedimentary rock] usually occurring in [|rock strata] in //layers or veins// called **coal beds** or **coal seams**. The harder forms, such as [|anthracite coal], can be regarded as [|metamorphic rock] because of later exposure to elevated temperature and [|pressure] . Coal is composed primarily of [|carbon] along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly [|hydrogen] , [|sulfur] , [|oxygen] , and [|nitrogen] . [|[1]]

Throughout history, coal has been a useful resource for human consumption. It is primarily burned as a [|fossil fuel] for the production of electricity and/or heat, and is also used for industrial purposes such as refining metals. Coal forms when dead plant matter is converted into [|peat], which in turn is converted into [|lignite] , then [|anthracite]. This involves biological and geological processes that take place over a long period of time.

About 300 million years ago, the earth had dense forests in low-lying wetland areas. Due to natural processes, like flooding, these forests got buried under the soil. As more and more soil deposited over them, they were compressed. The temperature also rose as they sank deeper and deeper. For the process to continue, the plant matter was protected from [|biodegradation] and [|oxidization], usually by mud or acidic water. This trapped the carbon in immense [|peat] [|bogs] that are eventually covered and deeply buried by sediments. Under high pressure and high temperature dead vegetation got slowly converted to coal. As coal contains mainly carbon, the conversion of dead vegetation into coal is called carbonization. [|[3]]

The wide shallow seas of the [|Carboniferous] [|period] provided ideal conditions for coal formation, although coal is known from most geological periods. The exception is the [|coal gap in the Lower Triassic], where coal is rare: presumably a result of the mass extinction which prefaced this era. Coal is known from Precambrian strata, which predate land plants: this coal is presumed to have originated from algal residues. [|[4]][|[5]]

Coal, a [|fossil fuel], is the largest source of energy for the [|generation of electricity] worldwide, as well as one of the largest worldwide [|anthropogenic] sources of [|carbon dioxide] releases. Gross [|carbon dioxide emissions] from coal usage are slightly more than those from [|petroleum] and about double the amount from [|natural gas]. [|[6]] Coal is extracted from the ground by [|mining], either underground by [|shaft mining] through the seams or in [|open pits]. Coal is primarily used as a solid [|fuel] to produce electricity and heat through combustion. World coal consumption was about 6.75 billion [|short tons] in 2006 [|[25]] and is expected to increase 48% to 9.98 billion short tons by 2030. [|[26]] [|China] produced 2.38 billion tons in 2006. [|India] produced about 447.3 million tons in 2006. [|68.7%] of China's electricity comes from coal. The USA consumes about 14% of the world total, using 90% of it for generation of electricity. [|[27]]

When coal is used for [|electricity generation], it is usually pulverized and then combusted (burned) in a [|furnace] with a [|boiler]. The furnace heat converts boiler water to [|steam], which is then used to spin [|turbines] which turn [|generators] and create electricity. The [|thermodynamic efficiency] of this process has been improved over time. Simple cycle steam turbines have topped out with some of the most advanced reaching about 35% thermodynamic efficiency for the entire process. Increasing the combustion temperature can boost this efficiency even further. [|[28]] Old coal power plants, especially "grandfathered" plants, are significantly less efficient and produce higher levels of [|waste heat]. At least 40% of the world's electricity comes from coal, [|[29]] and in 2008 approximately 49% of the United States' electricity came from coal. [|[30]] The emergence of the [|supercritical turbine] concept envisions running a boiler at extremely high temperatures and pressures with projected efficiencies of 46%, with further theorized increases in temperature and pressure perhaps resulting in even higher efficiencies. [|[31]] An experimental way of coal combustion is in a form of [|coal-water slurry fuel] (CWS, which was well-developed in Russia (since [|the Soviet Union] time). [|CWS] significantly reduces emissions saving the heating value of coal. Other ways to use coal are [|combined heat and power cogeneration] and [|an MH][|D topping cycle].

The [|energy density] of coal, i.e. its [|heating value], is roughly 24 [|megajoules] per kilogram. [|[58]] The energy density of coal can also be expressed in [|kilowatt-hours], the units that electricity is most commonly sold in, per units of mass to estimate how much coal is required to power electrical appliances. One kilowatt-hour is 3.6 MJ, so the energy density of coal is 6.67 kW·h/kg. The typical thermodynamic efficiency of coal power plants is about 30%, so of the 6.67 kW·h of energy per kilogram of coal, 30% of that—2.0 kW·h/kg—can successfully be turned into electricity; the rest is waste heat. So coal power plants obtain approximately 2.0 kW·h per kilogram of burned coal. As an example, running one 100-watt lightbulb for one year requires 876 kW·h (100 W × 24 h/day × 365 day/year = 876000 W·h = 876 kW·h). Converting this power usage into physical coal consumption:. http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=coal_home-basics : ||
 * Juliann Antle || juliann.nicole || A combustible black or dark brown rock consisting mainly of carbonized plant matter, found mainly in underground deposits and widely...: "a coal fire" Coal is a solid but brittle, carbonaceous black sedimentary rock that burns. It is made up of carbon, hydrogen, o xygen, nitrogen, and lesser amounts of sulfur and other trace elements. Coal is divided into four classes: lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite. Of the commonly minable coals, anthracite is the hardest and has the most carbon, giving it a higher heat value. Lignite is the softest coal and has the least amount of carbon. By definition, coal is a combustible rock containing more than 50 percent by weight carbonaceous material formed from compaction of variously altered plant remains originally derived from peat.

What Is Coal Used For?
Coal is used primarily as an energy source, either for heat or electricity. It was once heavily used to heat homes and power locomotives and factories. Bituminous coal is also used to produce coke for making steel and other industrial process heating. Coal and coal liquefaction (coal-to-liquids) are also possible uses of coal for producing synthetic fuel. Approximately 4% of the coal mined in the United States is exported, and most of the exported coal is used for making steel.

How Is Electricity Generated from Coal?
In the United States, coal accounts for approximately 50% of the electricity produced. Mined coal is delivered to coal-fired power plants, where electricity is generated. At the power plant, the coal is combusted to boil water and produce steam to operate a conventional steam and , which produces electricity. The electricity is sent to users through a transmission system that consists of electric, towers,  and other components (see the [|Energy Transmission] section to learn more). For a complete listing of the impacts tied to energy production from coal, the impacts from mining and the construction and operation of power plants and [|transmission systems] should be considered. Access to modern energy services not only contributes to economic growth and household incomes but also to the improved quality of life that comes with better education and health services. All sources of energy will be needed to meet future energy demand, including coal. Coal has many important uses worldwide. The most significant uses are in electricity generation, steel production, cement manufacturing and as a liquid fuel. Around 6.1 billion tonnes of hard coal were used worldwide last year and 1 billion tonnes of brown coal. Since 2000, global coal consumption has grown faster than any other fuel. The five largest coal users - China, USA, India, Russia and Japan - account for 77% of total global coal use. Different types of coal have different uses. Steam coal - also known as thermal coal - is mainly used in power generation. Coking coal - also known as metallurgical coal - is mainly used in steel production. The biggest market for coal is Asia, which currently accounts for over 65% of global coal consumption; although China is responsible for a significant proportion of this. Many countries do not have natural energy resources suffi cient to cover their energy needs, and therefore need to import energy to help meet their requirements. Japan, Chinese Taipei and Korea, for example, import significant quantities of steam coal for electricity generation and coking coal for steel production.

Other important users of coal include alumina refineries, paper manufacturers, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Several chemical products can be produced from the by-products of coal. Refined coal tar is used in the manufacture of chemicals, such as creosote oil, naphthalene, phenol, and benzene. Ammonia gas recovered from coke ovens is used to manufacture ammonia salts, nitric acid and agricultural fertilisers. Thousands of different products have coal or coal by-products as components: soap, aspirins, solvents, dyes, plastics and fibres, such as rayon and nylon. Coal is also an essential ingredient in the production of specialist products:

Coal is a chemically complex fuel.Whenever it is burned, gases are given off and particles of ash, called "fly ash," are released. The sulfur in coal combines with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide, which can be a major source of air pollution if emitted in large enough quantities.

http://www.coaleducation.org/lessons/twe/envi.htm || The use of coal in energy production causes many major problems, usually on a greater scale than the use of oil or gas. Coal-burning produces [|acid rain], sulfur oxide emission, carbon dioxide emission, poorer land, [|hazardo][|us waste] , and other problems. []
 * Gage Stagner || GageS44 || Coal is a [|fossil fuel] that is commonly used in producing energy. It is available in different forms, with some more common and more useful than others.

Earth is a closed system. Anything that is changed on Earth causes a series of changes in the land, water and air.

Forest fires, highway traffic and even parking lots cause changes in the systems on Earth. When coal seams are disturbed, changes occur in Earth’s systems too. Mining coal releases dust and gas into the air. Water is used to wash impurities from the coal. The surface of the land may be changed a lot or a little. New laws and technology help minimize effects on our environment.

http://www.commerce.state.il.us/NR/rdonlyres/B2E9D4DE-E1D3-4266-849F-7A2A363E8467/0/Howdoescoalaffecttheenvironmen1.pdf

Statistics alone should tell us all how bad coal is. Producing about 23 percent of the world's energy needs, coal is now sold cheaply. However, the impact of this fossil fuel on our health and our atmosphere is one dirty, expensive proposition. Coal emits more carbon per unit of energy than oil, and 80 percent more than natural gas. It accounts for 43 percent of global emissions (2.7 billion tons of it every year). http://www.greenenergyhelpfiles.com/articles/3.htm ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   || Source is ; http://www.google.com/imgres?q=coal+production&hl=en&safe=active&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&biw=1230&bih=599&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=9XgDAEte629XSM:&imgrefurl=http://www.worldcoal.org/coal/coal-mining/&docid=BWasidLm3Omm4M&imgurl=http://www.worldcoal.org/media/jpg/585/074647section2_diagram.jpg&w=585&h=595&ei=Wz8oT6WRLau_2QXb7Zy2Ag&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=940&sig=111990324075640518224&page=1&tbnh=126&tbnw=124&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=106&ty=89 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USenergy2009.jpg^^^^



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http://advantagesofcoal.com/ ||  ||
 * Some people think that coal is “old-school” as an energy source. In fact, coal is still the most abundant and widely used energy source in the world and since 2000 the use of coal has grown faster than the usage of any other fuel
 * Some people think that coal is “old-school” as an energy source. In fact, coal is still the most abundant and widely used energy source in the world and since 2000 the use of coal has grown faster than the usage of any other fuel