Explain the process of formation of coal.
Answers
Coal formed millions of years ago when the earth was covered with huge swampy forests where plants - giant ferns, reeds and mosses - grew. ... Heat and pressure produced chemical and physical changes in the plant layers which forced out oxygen and left rich carbon deposits.
Coal formation begins when thin layers of silt covers plant material that died and fell into a swamp or bog. Each year new layers of plant material falls into the swamp until the weight of the overlying sediments drives the water out forming peat. As the heat and pressure increased due to more overlying sediment peat turns into true coal when the carbon content reaches 25 percent.
Peat :-
Peat is partially carbonized vegetable matter that formed in bogs and swamps. Peat is the first stage in the formation of coal. Peat is a brown to black accumulation of woody plant material. It has a high moisture content of about 75%. Peat burns freely when dried.
Lignite coal :-
Coal formation continues as increasing
heat and pressure turns peat into lignite
brown or black coal. It is the first true
coal. Lignite coal is between 25-35%
carbon. It often displays the original
woody structure in the rocks. It burns
readily with a smoky flame and has a
strong odor. Generating plants use lignite
coal to produce electricity.
Bituminous coal structure :-
Bituminous coal is black and has a glassy luster with distinct bands and no evidence of a wood structure. Subbituminous coal has a carbon content of 35-45 percent.
Bituminous coal uses :-
Bituminous coal has a higher carbon content between 44 to 86 percent pure carbon. This coal does not crumble when exposed to air. It is used to make coke for the steel industry and supplies heat for industrial processes.
Anthracite coal :-
Anthracite coal is a metamorphic rock with a glassy luster. It has a shell-like fracture and is harder to ignite than sedimentary coals. Anthracite coal has the highest carbon content of all the coal. It is between 86 and 98 percent pure carbon. Anthracite coal is used for heating homes because it burns with little smoke or odor.
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