what are the benefits of coal

Here Are the Advantages of Coal

1. It is available in an abundant supply. Industrialized countries, including the United States, India, China, and...
2. It has a high load factor. Using coal as a fuel provides a society with the potential for continuous power. Many...
3. Coal offers a rather low capital investment. Many of our fuel and power generation technologies are...

Full Answer

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using coal?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Coal Energy. Coal energy is an affordable energy source because of the coal’s stable price compared to other fuel sources. Coal is easy to burn. Coal produces high energy upon combustion. Coal energy is inexpensive. Coal is abundant. Coal energy is a reliable energy source.

What are the positives and negatives of coal?

What are advantages and disadvantages of using coal?

• Coal energy is an affordable energy source because of the coal’s stable price compared to other fuel sources.
• Coal is easy to burn.
• Coal produces high energy upon combustion.
• Coal energy is inexpensive.
• Coal is abundant.
• Coal energy is a reliable energy source.

What useful things can we make with of coal?

• "Clean coal" usually means capturing carbon emissions from burning coal and storing them under Earth.
• Carbon capture and storage works, but is expensive to build or to retrofit onto old plants.
• There are other dangers associated with burning coal, too.

What are the pros and cons of coal?

Pros: Coal power plants can be built anywhere in the world. Pros: Coal is also very versatile, it can be burn and it can be transformed into liquid or gas. Cons: Produce large amount of pollution, the dirtiest source of electricity comes from coal according to the Environmental Defense Fund. Cons: Coal burning produce acid rain and release carbon dioxide which cause global warming.

How does coal benefit the environment?

Environment Impact Coal-fired power plants can reduce CO2 emissions by capturing the gas and injecting it into deep geological formations for storage. Mining also produces methane gas, which has a much greater global warming potential than carbon dioxide.

What are the pros and benefits of coal?

Coal has three primary advantages compared to other fuel sources, both non-renewable and renewable: abundance, affordability and low capital expense needed to build coal-powered generation plants.

What are 3 pros and 3 cons of coal?

Top 10 Coal Pros & Cons – Summary ListPros of CoalCons of CoalCheap energy sourceNot greenReliable energyNot sustainable nor renewableAbundance of coalGlobal warmingMature technologyAir pollution6 more rows

Why is coal used in power plants?

Coal-powered plants – Because coal is still plentiful and easy to obtain, it is a cheap source of fuel for our power plants. However, burning coal releases carbon and other environmentally harmful gases into the atmosphere. We must rely on expensive technologies to “scrub” the emissions from coal power plants.

What is coal reclamation?

Coal surface mining law requires that land be reclaimed and industry advocates say that coal reclamation improves land, making it available for multiple uses. Environmentalists counter this argument by pointing out the loss of natural habitat for wildlife. They also document post-reclamation pollution problems.

How does coal mining affect the environment?

Coal mining also harms the environment, just as other forms of mining do. We must dig up tons of earth and dispose of that unneeded material. The discarded dirt and rock damages water systems and wildlife habitats. There are other dangerous byproducts of all mining industries, too.

What is the difference between charcoal and coal?

It is all carbon regardless of what source material was used. So in a way you could say that the primary difference between charcoal and coal is about 300 million years of heat and pressure.

What is the most controversial source of energy?

Coal is one of the most controversial sources of modern energy. In America about 29% of the electricity we use is generated by power plants that burn coal. Coal is a plentiful but non-renewable resource. But coal is a form of carbon and when we burn coal we release carbon into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.

How many people are employed by coal power plants?

Coal-powered plants also create jobs. In fact, a typical modern coal-burning power plant may employ anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 people. This can be a substantial boon to local economies. But just as the mining industries are constantly improving their technologies, so too are the power plant industries.

How did the dead vegetation in the swamps get compressed?

Through millions of years this dead vegetation was compressed by heat and pressure built up from changes in the environment, including rising seas.

Coal is a cost-effective solution

Coal is one of the most affordable sources of energy available to us, and it’s a much more cost-effective solution than other options such as nuclear, oil, and natural gas.

Coal is reliable

Coal can be burned 24 hours a day, seven days a week to produce energy fit for sustaining the needs of our modern society. It is predictable, pragmatic, and reliable, which is not the case with alternative solutions such as solar or wind.

Coal provides thousands of American jobs

The coal industry is responsible for providing tens of thousands of jobs to hard-working Americans. This is due to the fact that there are numerous jobs in the areas of coal removal, transportation, burning, and disposal.

Using coal as an energy source has little environmental impact

Coal gets a bad rap, but few know that this resource can be mined and burned with little environmental impact, especially considering the recent improvements in environmental responsibility and the arising clean coal technologies.

Coal is an abundant resource

According to recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the demonstrated reserve base (DRB) of coal contains approximately 475 billion short tons, with over 253 billion of these deemed recoverable. Over one-fourth of the world’s supply of known coal reserves are located in the United States.

Final thoughts

Coal has been fueling American lives since the onset of the Industrial Revolution and continues to be a major staple in energy production to this day.

How are synthetic fuels made?

Synthetic fuels are made by heating coal in large vessels. These fuels produce fewer air pollutants when burned than burning coal directly. In North Dakota, the Great Plains Synfuels Plant converts coal into synthetic natural gas (syngas). Syngas produced from coal can also be used to produce electricity and hydrogen.

How does coal power work?

Coal-fired power plants burn coal to make steam and the steam turns turbines (machines for generating rotary mechanical power) to generate electricity. Many industries and businesses have their own power plants, and some use coal to generate electricity for their own use and mostly in combined heat and power plants.

What is the main use of coal in the United States?

Although coal use was once common in the industrial, transportation, residential, and commercial sectors, today the main use of coal in the United States is to generate electricity. The electric power sector has accounted for the majority of U.S. coal consumption since 1961.

How much coal will be consumed in 2020?

In 2020, about 477 million short tons (MMst) of coal were consumed in the United States. On an energy content basis, this amount was equal to about 9.2 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) and to about 10% of total U.S. energy consumption.

What industries use coal?

Many industries use coal and coal byproducts. The concrete and paper industries burn large amounts of coal to produce heat. 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.

Can you use coal to make electricity?

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. 1 Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, Table 1.3 and Table 6.2, ...

How does coal create jobs?

Coal creates jobs. The coal industry is generally labor-intensive. That means it requires a huge number of people to operationalize and actualize it. It stands in contrast to other sources of energy like hydroelectricity and nuclear power, which are capital-intensive.

How does coal affect the environment?

Coal destroys natural habitats. In extracting coal for heating and industrial use, the habitats of plants and animals inevitably get destroyed. On the same note, many groundwater sources are also compromised. The situation is compounded by fire outbreaks that are more likely to arise in extracting the coal.

What are some examples of harmful substances that coal emits?

Other than the carbon and greenhouse emissions, coal also emits other harmful substances into the atmosphere. Examples of these include arsenic, selenium, mercury, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and steam.

What happens if you find coal?

If the coal is discovered in areas that humans already inhabit, such deposits may render the area inhospitable by humans later. Such an extraction definitely has a toll on the environment from which coal is extracted. Though the environment may be restored later, such may never happen. Such damages ordinarily bring about untold economic side effects. Chief among these is the fact that the affected persons have to relocate to other areas. Then, the homes which were already in existence before the destruction have to be compensated somehow.

What are the causes of coal deaths?

Some sources of coal-related deaths include premature deaths, suffocation, asthma, pneumonia, lung cancer, and oxygen deprivation. Many people also suffer from fatigue and sleep deprivation.

What are the advantages of biomass?

With this combination comes many advantages. Among these are reduced carbon emissions, reliable long-term energy production, and higher long-term economic output. Also, if the coal eventually depletes, it is possible to use the same facilities to provide other sources of power to the same population at any given time.

What does it mean to be able to determine the power output?

Being able to determine the power output also means that you are in charge of the production process. On the same note, you have the power to determine the costs aspects of the production exercise altogether. 9. Cheaper to come by coal. Compared to other leading alternatives, it is cheaper to come by coal.

What are the issues with coal?

Another big issue not only from coal but also from other fossil fuels is that the use of those fossil fuels leads to heavy dependence on other countries. Coal exporting countries are in a quite comfortable position since they have plenty of coal to export.

What are the negative effects of coal?

Another big downside of coal is that in the energy production process, large amounts of greenhouse gases are emitted into the air. In turn, this contributes to global warming and the related horrible effects.

Why is coal used as a natural shield?

Our ozone layer can be regarded as natural shield in order to protect us and the local flora and fauna from excessive sunlight and radiation.

How does coal affect biodiversity?

Biodiversity loss. Through global warming, mining practices and other issues related to the use of coal as energy source , the overall level of biodiversity will decline significantly. This is especially true in areas where excessive mining is executed in order to extract large amounts of coal.

What are the advantages of coal?

One advantage of coal is that it is a rather cheap source of energy. Since plenty of research has been done on coal, processes have been optimized over time and the efficiency has been increased significantly over the past decades. Thus, it is possible to produce energy from coal at a low cost per energy unit.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of coal?

Advantages & Disadvantages of Coal. Coal is one of the most important energy sources in order to meet our global energy demand. It has been used over the past decades and significantly improved our overall wealth. However, coal also has many serious downsides. In this article, the pros and cons related to the use of coal are examined in detail.

Can coal be converted into liquid fuel?

Can be converted into cleaner energy sources. The burning of coal implies the emission of many harmful gases into our atmosphere. However, instead of burning coal, coal can be converted into liquid fuels, which emit lower amounts of harmful gases into the air.

What is coal reclamation?

Coal mining reclamation can give the surface landowner many more options for developing his land. In the mountainous terrain, a mining process call mountaintop removal can create very valuable and useable level land for the surface owner.

How much does a surface owner get paid?

The surface owner not only gets his land developed, he usually is paid 50 cents a ton for the inconvenience of the use of his surface. Surface mining cannot occur without the specific consent of the surface owner.

What are the jobs of coal?

Coal provides many jobs. Unlike other forms of energy (nuclear, natural gas, oil, hydroelectric), coal provides many jobs in removing coal from the earth, transporting it to the utility, burning it, and properly disposing of coal ash. Coal is American made.

When was the Surface Mining Law passed?

In 1977 the federal Surface Mining Law was passed that required coal operators to reclaim the land in an equal, if not better, condition that existed prior to mining. We're doing an excellent job with our reclamation efforts. I would suggest that you go to http://www.osmre.gov/ .

Is coal American made?

Coal is American made. We do not have to import this product into this country. Coal can be mined and burned with little environmental impact. There has been tremendous strides in environmental responsibility with mining coal and burning coal. However, there still is pressure of global warming.

Is coal good for Kentucky?

It provides 95% of Kentucky's electricity. Electrical rates in Kentucky are the second lowest in the nation---because of coal. Coal is good for Kentucky's economy.

Is hydroelectricity cheaper than nuclear energy?

Cheapest source of energy. It is by far cheaper than nuclear, natural gas, oil. Hydro usually will be slightly cheaper. However, problems with hydro include: no new facilities because of public outcry when river valleys are dammed; and, peak demand time problems (rivers running dry in the dead of summer when peak air conditioning is needed ...

How to reduce mercury emissions from coal?

Research is underway to address emissions of carbon dioxide from coal combustion. One method is carbon capture, which separates CO2 from emissions sources and recovers it in a concentrated stream.

Why is methane vented out of mines?

This coalbed methane must be vented out of mines to make mines safer places to work. In 2018, methane emissions from coal mining and abandoned coal mines accounted for about 11% of total U.S. methane emissions and about 1% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (based on global warming potential). Some mines capture and use or sell ...

How can CO2 be used to reduce the environmental impact of coal mining?

The CO2 can then be injected underground for permanent storage, or sequestration. Reuse and recycling can also reduce the environmental effects of coal production and use. Land that was previously used for coal mining can be reclaimed and used for airports, landfills, and golf courses.

What are the effects of coal mining?

These mining operations remove the soil and rock above coal deposits, or seams. The largest surface mines in the United States are in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, where coal deposits are close to ...

What laws require that coal mining be controlled?

U.S. laws require that dust and water runoff from areas affected by coal mining operations must be controlled, and the area must be reclaimed close to its original condition.

What are the two main gases that contribute to acid rain?

Sulfur dioxide (SO2), which contributes to acid rain and respiratory illnesses. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to smog and respiratory illnesses. Particulates, which contribute to smog, haze, and respiratory illnesses and lung disease. Carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the primary greenhouse gas produced from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, ...

What is fly ash?

Fly ash and bottom ash, which are residues created when power plants burn coal. In the past, fly ash was released into the air through the smokestack, but laws now require that most emissions of fly ash be captured by pollution control devices. In the United States, fly ash and bottom ash are generally stored near power plants or placed in ...