Question

describe the formation and types of coal ?

Answer 1

Coal is formed from the decay of remains of vegetation/ land plant debris which got under the soil due to natural calamities like flood etc. The process of formation of coal requires extreme conditions like high temperature, high pressure and a long time (say millions of years).

Coal is a bulky material, which loses weight on use as it is reduced to ash. The types of coal are
1. Lignite
2. Bituminous coal
3. Metallurgical coal
4. Anthracite

Features:

1. Lignite is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content. It is used for generation of electricity.
2. Coal that has been buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures is bituminous coal. It is the most popular coal in commercial use.
3. Metallurgical coal is high grade bituminous coal which has a special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.
4. Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal.