What does coal produce

Geoscience Australia , Coal fact sheet, Australian atlas of minerals resources, mines and processing centres, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

You might also like. What is electricity? Electricity is part of our lives, providing light and heat to us for generations. When it combines with water, it forms sulfuric acid—creating acid rain. In the s and s, sulfur rain was a common phenomenon in the US and other countries. Since then, most power plants have been required to install equipment that pulls sulfur emissions from the smokestack, but some sulfur still slips into the atmosphere.

Nitrogen oxides: Like sulfur, nitrogen in coal combines with oxygen in the air to form a mixture of nitrogen oxides. These are irritants and can cause respiratory diseases like pneumonia.

Nitrogen oxides are also chemically active, which means they mix with other pollutants in the atmosphere to create new ones, such as ozone.

Volatile organic compounds VOCs : Coal mining and coal burning release harmful carbon-based compounds that persist in the atmosphere as gases. These are what nitrogen oxides can react with to form ozone and other pollutants. These chemicals are harmful to humans, other animals, and plants. Carbon monoxide: Sometimes, instead of carbon combining with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, it will react to create carbon monoxide—a poisonous gas.

Over the years, regulations at coal power plants have helped cut some of these pollutants. Indian coal power plants, however, are seriously lagging. In , the government set a deadline for for power plants to install equipment that will cut sulfur and nitrogen emissions. Few power plants had complied by the deadline, so now the government has extended it to That delay is likely to cause at least 26, premature deaths and the loss of many millions of work days each year.

More advanced countries already have these scrubbers installed—and some of them are even going a step further. Two coal power plants, one in Canada and one in the US , now capture most of the carbon dioxide they produce. Coal is black or brownish-black, and has a composition that including inherent moisture consists of more than 50 percent by weight and more than 70 percent by volume of carbonaceous material.

It is formed from plant remains that have been compacted, Filter Total Items: 2. Year Published: Assessing U. Shaffer, Brian N. View Citation. Shaffer, B. Geological Survey Fact Sheet —, 6 p. Year Published: Coal--a complex natural resource : an overview of factors affecting coal quality and use in the United States Schweinfurth, Stanley P.

Coal--a complex natural resource : an overview of factors affecting coal quality and use in the United States; ; CIR; ; Schweinfurth, Stanley P. Date published: October 23, Date published: May 8, Filter Total Items: 8. List Grid. July 20, April 12, December 31, The steel industry uses coal indirectly as coal coke to smelt iron ore into iron to make steel.

The high temperatures created by burning coal coke give steel the strength and flexibility needed for bridges, buildings, and automobiles. Source: BBC copyrighted. Coal can be turned into gases and liquids that can be used as fuels or processed into chemicals to make other products.

These gases or liquids are sometimes called synthetic fuels or synfuels. Synthetic fuels are made by heating coal in large vessels. These fuels produce fewer air pollutants when burned than burning coal directly. Syngas produced from coal can also be used to produce electricity and hydrogen.

Currently, no commercially operating facilities in the United States produce liquids from coal, but coal has been converted to liquids in South Africa for decades. EIA no longer tracks coal consumption in these sectors. Coal explained Use of coal. What is energy? Units and calculators. Use of energy. Energy and the environment. Also in What is energy?