Page 32 - New Trends In Coal Conversion

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Coal

Isabel Su arez-Ruiz, María Antonia Diez, Fernando Rubiera
Instituto Nacional del Carb on, INCAR-CSIC, Oviedo, Spain

Chapter Outline

1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 General concepts about coal 3
1.2.1 Coal definition 3
1.2.2 Coal formation 3
1.3 Coal resources 5
1.3.1 Geographical distribution of coal 5
1.3.2 Distribution of coal by geological age 5
1.4 Coal reserves, production, and consumption 8
1.5 Coal quality 10
1.5.1 Fundamental characteristics of coal 11
1.5.1.1 Coal composition 12
1.5.1.2 Coal rank, determination, and classification of coals 14
1.5.2 Characterization of coal for industrial use 17
1.5.2.1 Coal utilization 17
1.5.2.2 Coal characterization: analysis and test 17
1.5.2.3 Coal weathering and coal oxidation 22
1.6 Environmental issues related to coal 24
1.6.1 Coal mining 24
1.6.2 Coal utilization 24
1.6.2.1 Coal combustion for power generation 24
1.6.2.2 Utilization of coal at coking plants 25
1.6.2.3 Other uses of coal sources of pollution 26
1.7 The coal in the future 26
1.8 Concluding remarks 27
Acknowledgments 28
References 28

1.1 Introduction

Coal is an organic sedimentary rock that belongs to the category of fossil fuels together
with oil and natural gas. It is considered a nonrenewable natural resource because it
requires millions of years to form and therefore it cannot be replenished within the hu-
man time frame. Although coal may have been used for ornamental purposes in

New Trends in Coal Conversion. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102201-6.00001-7
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