Page 58 - New Trends In Coal Conversion

26 New Trends in Coal Conversion

notably reduced by ensuring the effective sealing, smoother operation, and regular
maintenance of all the equipment (see Hein and Kaiser, 2012; Pilarczyk et al., 2013).

1.6.2.3 Other uses of coal sources of pollution
As mentioned above, coal is also used as a source of heat in a significant number of
industries. In this case, as in the previous cases, the main effect of coal on the environ-
ment is the release of emissions. Modern industry particularly in developed countries
has notably reduced the use of coal for heating by replacing it with gas or oil. This has
led to a substantial reduction in the amount of polluting emissions derived from the use
of coal. However, there are some exceptions to this as it is the case of the industry
related to cement manufacture that still uses significant amounts of coal to produce
cement. According to the National Coal Council (2015), about 177 kg of coal are
needed for the production of 1 tonne of cement.
On the other hand, in most developed countries, the use of coal has been replaced
by gas and fuel oil as household fuel due to the strict regulations on air quality in the
urban areas. However, in the less-developed or underdeveloped countries, the use of
coal as a source of heat in homes and workplaces and also for cooking is still prevalent,
and therefore atmospheric pollution is significant. In extreme cases, the effects of the
coal use in inappropriate conditions on human health can be very serious as evidenced
by cases of hyperkeratosis, Bowen’s disease, dental fluorosis, cancer, etc., reported by
Finkelman and Greb (2008).

1.7 The coal in the future

The future of coal for power generation is very uncertain. It is clear that since 2013 the
trend in world coal consumption has experienced a slight decrease (Enerdata, 2017)
mainly because of lower gas prices, the surge in renewables, improvements in energy
efficiency, and the strict regulations related to the emissions contributing to green-
house gases, etc. According to the IEA (2017a,b) and its International Energy
Agency’s annual coal market report, the global demand for coal should remain nearly
stable between 2017 and 2022, resulting in a decade of stagnation for coal consump-
tion. The same report also foresees a global coal demand by 2022 of about 5530 Mtce,
the same as the average of the last 5-year period, which means that coal demand is
going to probably experience a decade-long period of stagnation. The coal’s share
in the global energy mix is forecast to decline due to the increasing demand for other
fuels. The growth in coal demand through 2022 will mainly be concentrated in India,
Southeast Asia, and other countries in Asia but will decline in Europe, Canada, and the
United States. Because of this, the IEA (2017a) forecast a structural but slow decline in
coal demand, with some fluctuations linked to short-term market requirements. Like-
wise, Arias et al. (2017) using data from the US Energy Information Administration
indicated that the decreasing trend in coal demand in the United States is favored
by the increase in strict regulations on carbon emissions, the development of clean
coal technologies, and at the same time the decline in natural gas prices, all of which