The formation of coal is a continuous process and is being formed even today. Then why is it
considered
to be an exhaustible natural resource?
Answers
What is coal?
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons.
Coal is made of the remains of ancient trees and plants that grew in great swampy jungles in warm, moist climates hundreds of millions of years ago. The chemical and organic process these dead organisms undergo to become coal is known as Carbonization. Coal is ranked very high if it has undergone a longer carbonization period. An example is Anthracite. Coal that has not undergone too much carbonization is ranked low, and an example is Peat.
Answer:What is coal?Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons.Coal is made of the remains of ancient trees and plants that grew in great swampy jungles in warm, moist climates hundreds of millions of years ago. The chemical and organic process these dead organisms undergo to become coal is known as Carbonization. Coal is ranked very high if it has undergone a longer carbonization period. An example is Anthracite. Coal that has not undergone too much carbonization is ranked low, and an example is Peat. 1. Coal is milled to a fine powder, allowing it to burn more quickly. It is blown into the combustion chamber of a boiler where it is burnt at high temperature.2. The hot gases and heat energy produced converts water in tubes lining the boiler into steam.3. The high-pressure steam is passed into a turbine containing thousands of propeller-like blades. The steam pushes these blades causing the turbine shaft to rotate at high speed. The steam is condensed and returned to the boiling chamber where it is heated again.4. The shaft rotation engages the wire coils and magnets in a generator connected to it. This charged magnetic field produces electricity5. Electricity is sent to the switchboard (transformer) where it is regulated and sent via on-land cables to homes.Using coal to produce energy causes many some problems, usually on a greater scale than the use of oil or gas. These problems include acid rain, sulfur oxide emission, carbon dioxide emission, poorer land, hazardous waste and others.Several forms of coal exist in the world. Anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite, and sub-bituminous coal are all different types that are used by humans.How is coal converted into electricity?
Let us take a look at the diagram below:
coal combustion diagram
1. Coal is milled to a fine powder, allowing it to burn more quickly. It is blown into the combustion chamber of a boiler where it is burnt at high temperature.
2. The hot gases and heat energy produced converts water in tubes lining the boiler into steam.
3. The high-pressure steam is passed into a turbine containing thousands of propeller-like blades. The steam pushes these blades causing the turbine shaft to rotate at high speed. The steam is condensed and returned to the boiling chamber where it is heated again.
4. The shaft rotation engages the wire coils and magnets in a generator connected to it. This charged magnetic field produces electricity
5. Electricity is sent to the switchboard (transformer) where it is regulated and sent via on-land cables to homes.
Using coal to produce energy causes many some problems, usually on a greater scale than the use of oil or gas. These problems include acid rain, sulfur oxide emission, carbon dioxide emission, poorer land, hazardous waste and others.
Several forms of coal exist in the world. Anthracite, bituminous coal, lignite, and sub-bituminous coal are all different types that are used by humans.
Answer:
nexhaustible Natural Resources: Some natural resources are available in huge quantity and cannot be finished by human activities. Such resources are called inexhaustible natural resources, e.g. air, water, sunlight, etc.
Explanation:
Exhaustible Natural Resources: Some natural resources are available in limited quantity and can be finished by human activities. Such resources are called exhaustible natural resources, e.g. coal, petroleum, minerals, etc.
Fossil Fuels: Coal and petroleum were formed from dead remains of plants and animals which got buried millions of years ago. Due to this, coal and petroleum are called fossil fuels.
Fossil: Dead remains of organisms which are more than 10,000 years old are called fossils.
Coal is a fossil fuel. It is hard as stone, black in colour and is mainly composed of carbon.
Formation of Coal:
There were dense forests in low lying areas on earth; about 300 million years ago.
Those forests got buried under the soil due to natural processes.
More layers of soil were deposited on these buried forests in due course of time.
Those plants were converted into coal due to intense pressure and heat inside the earth.
Carbonisation: The process of conversion of vegetation into coal is called carbonization. The buried plants underwent carbonization and changed into coal.
Uses of Coal
Coal burns in air to produce heat and carbon dioxide. Coal is used as fuel because it provides high amount of heat.
C + O2 → CO2
Coal was used as fuel in steam engines.
Most of the thermal power plants still use coal as fuel.
Coal is still being used as kitchen fuel in some households, dhabas and restaurants.
Many useful products; like coke, coal tar and coal gas; are made by processing coal.
Coke: Coke is almost pure form of carbon, is tough, porous and black. Coke is used in manufacture of steel and extraction of many metals.
Coal Tar: It is a black thick liquid with an unpleasant smell. Coal tar is a mixture of about 200 substances. It is used as raw material for making various items; like synthetic dyes, drugs, explosives, perfumes, plastics, paints, photographic materials, roofing materials, naphthalene balls, etc. It is used for making the surface of roads. Bitumen (a petroleum product) has almost replaced coal tar for making road surface.
Coal Gas: Coal gas is produced during processing of coke from coal. Coal gas is used as fuel in many industries which are situated near coal mines.