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Question
Coal is most abundantly found fossil fuel. Explain.
Coal is most abundantly found fossil fuel. Explain.
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Solution
Coal is a black or brownish-black sedimentary rock that can be burned for fuel and used to generate electricity. It is composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons, which contain energy that can be released through combustion (burning).
Coal is the largest source of energy for generating electricity in the world, and the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States.
Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of ancient organisms. Because coal takes millions of years to develop and there is a limited amount of it, it is a nonrenewable resource.
The conditions that would eventually create coal began to develop about 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. During this time, the Earth was covered in wide, shallow seas and dense forests. The seas occasionally flooded the forested areas, trapping plants and algae at the bottom of a swampy wetland. Over time, the plants (mostly mosses) and algae were buried and compressed under the weight of overlying mud and vegetation.
As the plant debris sifted deeper under Earth’s surface, it encountered increased temperatures and higher pressure. Mud and acidic water prevented the plant matter from coming into contact with oxygen. Due to this, the plant matter decomposed at a very slow rate and retained most of its carbon (source of energy).
These areas of buried plant matter are called peat bogs. Peat bogs store massive amounts of carbon many meters underground. Peatitself can be burned for fuel, and is a major source of heat energy in countries such as Scotland, Ireland, and Russia.
Under the right conditions, peat transforms into coal through a process called carbonization. Carbonization takes place under incredible heat and pressure. About 3 meters (10 feet) of layered vegetation eventually compresses into a third of a meter (1 foot) of coal!
Coal exists in underground formations called “coal seams” or “coal beds.” A coal seam can be as thick as 30 meters (90 feet) and stretch 1,500 kilometers (920 miles).
Coal seams exist on every continent. The largest coal reserves are in the United States, Russia, China, Australia, and India.
In the United States, coal is mined in 25 states and three major regions. In the Western Coal Region, Wyoming is the top producer—about 40% of the coal mined in the country is extracted in the state. More than one-third of the nation’s coal comes from the Appalachian Coal Region, which includes West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Coal extracted from Texas in the Interior Coal Region supplies mostly local markets.
Types of Coal
Coal is very different from mineral rocks, which are made of inorganic material. Coal is made of fragile plant matter, and undergoes many changes before it becomes the familiar black and shiny substance burned as fuel.
Coal goes through different phases of carbonization over millions of years, and can be found at all stages of development in different parts of the world.
Coal is ranked according to how much it has changed over time. Hilt's Law states that the deeper the coal seam, the higher its rank. At deeper depths, the material encounters greater temperatures and pressure, and more plant debris is transformed into carbon
Coal is the largest source of energy for generating electricity in the world, and the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States.
Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of ancient organisms. Because coal takes millions of years to develop and there is a limited amount of it, it is a nonrenewable resource.
The conditions that would eventually create coal began to develop about 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. During this time, the Earth was covered in wide, shallow seas and dense forests. The seas occasionally flooded the forested areas, trapping plants and algae at the bottom of a swampy wetland. Over time, the plants (mostly mosses) and algae were buried and compressed under the weight of overlying mud and vegetation.
As the plant debris sifted deeper under Earth’s surface, it encountered increased temperatures and higher pressure. Mud and acidic water prevented the plant matter from coming into contact with oxygen. Due to this, the plant matter decomposed at a very slow rate and retained most of its carbon (source of energy).
These areas of buried plant matter are called peat bogs. Peat bogs store massive amounts of carbon many meters underground. Peatitself can be burned for fuel, and is a major source of heat energy in countries such as Scotland, Ireland, and Russia.
Under the right conditions, peat transforms into coal through a process called carbonization. Carbonization takes place under incredible heat and pressure. About 3 meters (10 feet) of layered vegetation eventually compresses into a third of a meter (1 foot) of coal!
Coal exists in underground formations called “coal seams” or “coal beds.” A coal seam can be as thick as 30 meters (90 feet) and stretch 1,500 kilometers (920 miles).
Coal seams exist on every continent. The largest coal reserves are in the United States, Russia, China, Australia, and India.
In the United States, coal is mined in 25 states and three major regions. In the Western Coal Region, Wyoming is the top producer—about 40% of the coal mined in the country is extracted in the state. More than one-third of the nation’s coal comes from the Appalachian Coal Region, which includes West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Coal extracted from Texas in the Interior Coal Region supplies mostly local markets.
Types of Coal
Coal is very different from mineral rocks, which are made of inorganic material. Coal is made of fragile plant matter, and undergoes many changes before it becomes the familiar black and shiny substance burned as fuel.
Coal goes through different phases of carbonization over millions of years, and can be found at all stages of development in different parts of the world.
Coal is ranked according to how much it has changed over time. Hilt's Law states that the deeper the coal seam, the higher its rank. At deeper depths, the material encounters greater temperatures and pressure, and more plant debris is transformed into carbon
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