ENERGY AND COAL

Energy
In physics, energy is one of the basic quantitative properties describing a physical system or
object's state. Energy can be transformed (converted) among a number of forms that may each
manifest and be measurable in different ways. The law of conversation of energy states that the
(total) energy of a system can increase or decrease only by transferring it in or out of the system.
The total energy of a system can be calculated by simple addition when it is composed of
multiple non-interacting parts or has multiple distinct forms of energy. Common energy forms
include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the radiant energy carried by light and
other eclectromagnetic radiation, and various types of potential energy such
as gravitational and elastic. Energy is measured in SI units of joules ( J ). Common types of
energy transfer and transformation include processes such as heating a material, performing
mechanical work on an object, generating or making use of electric energy, and many chemical
reactions.
What is Energy
Physicists, who are scientists who study force, motion and energy, say that energy is the ability
to do work, and work is moving something against a force, like gravity. There are a lot of
different kinds of energy in the universe, and that energy can do different things.
Energy can be found in many things, and takes many forms. There is a kind of energy
called kinetic energy in objects that are moving. There is something that scientists call potential
energy in objects at rest that will make them move if resistance is removed.

The molecules making up all matter contains a huge amount of energy. Energy can also travel in
the form of electromagnetic waves, such as heat, light, radio, and gamma rays.


History of Energy
The word energy likeman derives from Greek (energeia), which
appears for the first time in the work Nicomachean
Ethics
[1]
of Aristotle in the 4th century BCE.
Thomas Young - the first to use the term "energy" in the modern
sense.
The concept of energy emerged from the idea of vis viva (living
force), which Leibniz defined as the product of the mass of an
object and its velocity squared; he believed that total vis viva was
conserved. To account for slowing due to friction, Leibniz claimed
that heat consisted of the random motion of the constituent parts of
matter a view shared by Isaac Newton, although it would be
more than a century until this was generally accepted.
milie marquise du Chtelet in her book Institutions de Physique (Lessons in Physics),
published in 1740, incorporated the idea of Leibniz with practical observations of Gravesande to
show that the "quantity of motion" of a moving object is proportional to its mass and the square
of its velocity (not the velocity itself as Newton taughtwhat was later called momentum).
In 1802 lectures to the Royal Society, Thomas Young was the first to use the term "energy" in its
modern sense, instead of vis viva.
[2]
In the 1807 publication of those lectures, he wrote,
The product of the mass of a body into the square of its velocity may properly be termed its
energy.
COAL
Coal an organic remain formed from accumulation of plant material buried beneath the surface
that has undergone incomplete oxidation.
HISTORY OF COAL
- The Chinese recorded the use of coal 1,100 years before the Christian Era. At first, all coal was
hewed by hand from the solid bed by use of pick and bar. It was shoveled into baskets, boxes, or
wheelbarrow and dragged by men outside or to the foot of the a shaft. But later mechanization of
coal was adapted. In the primitive time, coal was used mainly for cooking, heating during cold
weather.
Origin of Coal
Coal was formed from accumulation of plant material buried beneath the surface that has
undergone incomplete oxidation.
Condition Necessary for Coal Formation
1. Swamps or marsh environment and climate favorable to plant growth;
2. Some subsidence (sinking) of the area during accumulation of vegetal debris, or compaction of
deposited plant material, permitting further accumulation;
3.Sufficiently wet conditions to permit exclusion of air from much of the vegetal material before
it decays, and sufficiently rapid accumulation to thwart bacterial action, even in water of the
swamp;
4. Proximity to the sea or a subsiding area so that vegetal material can be buried by sediments
when the sea level rises or the land subsides;
5. Site of accumulation such that removal by erosion does not subsequently occur.
Factors to Consider for Usage of Coal:
Heating value, ash melting temperature, sulfur and other impurities, mechanical strength, and
many other chemical and physical properties.
The carbon content of coal supplies most of its heating value, but other factors also influence the
amount of energy it contains per unit of weight. (The amount of energy in coal is expressed in
British thermal units per pound. A BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of
one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.)
Ranks of Coal

The kinds of coal, in increasing order of alteration, are lignite (brown coal--immature), sub-
bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite (mature).
Coal starts off as peat. After a considerable amount of time, heat, and burial pressure, it is
metamorphosed from peat to lignite.
Lignite - is considered to be "immature" coal at this stage of development because it is
still somewhat light in color and it remains soft.
As time passes, lignite increases in maturity by becoming darker and harder and is then
classified as sub-bituminous coal.
As this process of burial and alteration continues, more chemical and physical changes
occur and the coal is classified as bituminous. At this point the coal is dark and hard.
Anthracite is the last of the classifications, and this terminology is used when the coal has
reached ultimate maturation. Anthracite coal is very hard and shiny.
The degree of alteration (or metamorphism) that occurs as a coal matures from peat to
anthracite is referred to as the "rank" of the coal. Low-rank coals include lignite and sub-
bituminous coals. These coals have a lower energy content because they have a low
carbon content. They are lighter (earthier) and have higher moisture levels. As time, heat, and
burial pressure all increase, the rank does as well. High-rank coals, including bituminous and
anthracite coals, contain more carbon than lower-rank coals which results in a much higher
energy content. They have a more vitreous (shiny) appearance and lower moisture content
then lower-rank coals.
Classification of Coal by Ranks (LowHigh)
I. Peat - below 4,000 Btu/lb
2. Lignite - 4,000-8,300 Btu/lb
3. Subbituminous - 8,300-13,000Btu/lb
4. Bituminous -10,500-14,500Btu/lb
5. Anthracite - 15,000 & more
Peat
The lowest rank of coal and has an estimated heat value below 4,000 Btu/lb.
Lignite
Lignite is a geologically young coal which has the lowest carbon content, 25-35 percent,
and a heat value ranging between 4,000 and 8,300 BTUs-per-pound. Sometimes called
brown coal, it is mainly used for electric power generation.
Sub-bituminous
Ranking below bituminous is sub-bituminous coal with 35-45 percent carbon content and
a heat value between 8,300 and 13,000 BTUs-per-pound. Although its heat value is lower,
this coal generally has a lower sulfur content than other types, which makes it attractive for
use because it is cleaner burning.
Bituminous
Bituminous coal is used primarily to generate electricity and make coke for the steel
industry. The fastest growing market for coal, though still a small one, is supplying heat for
industrial processes. Bituminous coal has a carbon content ranging from 45 to 86 percent
carbon and a heat value of 10,500 to 14,500 BTUs-per-pound.
Anthracite
Anthracite is coal with the highest carbon content, between 86 and 98 percent, and a heat
value of nearly 15,000 BTUs-per-pound. Most frequently associated with home heating.
Determining the Rank of Coal
Based on;
Fixed Carbon (FC) the carbon residue of the organic material that involves the removal of
volatile constituents (as a gas) of the organic matter by heat without combustion .
Volatile Matter (VM) refers to that portion of the organic matter which is driven off as a
gas.
Calorific Value is the heat produced by combustion of coal. The British thermal unit (Btu),
commonly used to express heating (calorific) value, is the amount of heat required to raise 1
lb of water 1 degree Fahrenheit and is normally reported as Btu per pound of coal.
Agglomerating Character refers to a standard test made to determine whether a pulverized
sample of coal will or will not fuse and form a solid button at an elevated temperature.
Components of Mineral Matter Found in Coal

In addition to the organic constituents in coal, the INORGANIC MINERAL MATTER
(which forms the ash when coal is burned) is an important part of most coal seams.
MINERAL MATTER is generally an undesirable constituents and is the source of variety of
problems associated with the use of coal.
The principal mineral matter of most coal seams are CLAYS, similar those found in
rocks in the coal-bearing sequence, & QUARTZ in the form of fine particles, largely SAND
& SILT. SULFUR was usually present in swamps and taken by plants. Under favorable
condition, Sulfur in the peat-swamp was converted to Mineral Pyrite. Sulfate Minerals form
as coal weathers & are normally present only in very small amounts in fresh coal. In addition
to sulfur, elements such as Na, K, Ca, Cl, Fe, Al, Si, are found principally as constituents of
mineral matter.
Properties of Coal
Physical Properties of Coal
1. Specific Gravity-ranges from 1.23 to 1.72
2. Hardness a term related to coals structure & rank. Its hardness depends on
composition & location of coal beds.
3.Grindability determines the relative ease of pulverizing or grinding of coal
4. Friability or Size Stability ability to withstand breakage in handling and shipping.
5. Fracture and Structure Fractures refers to manner which coal pieces breaks
6. Weathering tendency especially lower ranks, to break apart in exposure to weather
particularly when alternately wetted and dried or subjected to hot sunshine.
Chemical Properties
Chemical properties of coal is based on its chemical constituents. These characteristics are
based on following factors:
1. type of vegetation which the coal originates;
2. the extent to which decay was permitted to proceed;
3. the pressure to which the decaying vegetation was subjected;
4. the foreign matter deposited on the decaying vegetation during coal formation;
5. the heat which the decaying vegetation was subjected.
Uses of Coal
1. Transportation
2. Power Generation
3. Cement Manufacturing
3. Road Construction (coal ash)
4. Hollow Block Making (coal ash)
Markets of Coal
1. Industries (cement plants,etc.)
2. Shipping & Railway Transportation
3. Power Plants
4. Iron and Steel
5. Oil Refinery and Chemical Plants
6. Gas Utility
Environmental Problems in the Use of Coal
Products of Coal Combustion
1.Gas (SO
2
, NO
2
, C)
2. Particulate Matter (Coal Ash)
Control Strategies of Toxic Effect of Coal
Particulate Matter :
- Mechanical Dust Separator
- Electric Precipitator
- Scrubbers
Sulfur Oxide
- FGD (Fuel Gas Desulfurization)
- Dry Scrubbing
Fluidized Bed Combustion (FBC)
A stream of hot air is blown into a boiler from below to suspend a mixture of sand
powdered coal and crushed limestone. The upward flow of air constantly churns and tumbles
this powdered mixture so that it resembles a boiling liquid with the consistency of thin
oatmeal. When the mixture is heated red hot to about 480 degrees celsius, the powdered coal
is burned very efficiently and the limestone is converted to calcium oxide which reacts with
sulfur dioxide released from the coal to form dry, solid calcium sulfate or gypsum. The
process removes 90 to 98 percent of the sulfur dioxide gas produced during combustion.
FBC Boilers :
1. have lower construction and operating costs;
2.can burn a variety of low-grade fuels including rice hulls, heavy oils, wood and wood wastes,
urban and industrial trash, sewage sludge and high sulfur coal;
3. can be retrofitted to a conventional boiler;
4.simpler, more reliable and use less water than scrubbers for sulfur dioxide removal;
5. produce fewer nitrogen oxides than conventional coal boilers because coal is burned at a lower
temperature;
6. have useful byproduct, namely solid calcium sulfate, which can be removed and sold as a road
subbase, or for cement, soil conditioner, or other uses;
Major Disadvantage of Coal Usage:
Perhaps the high cost of transport and the imminent depletion of coal worldwide
Carbonization
By Gasification conversion of coal into a clean gaseous fuel called Low Btu Gas. It is
made by injecting an air-steam mixture into the coal gasifiers.
By Liquefaction conversion of coal to synthetic liquid fuels such as gasoline, petroleum
and chemical feedstock and this can be accomplished by two means:
1. Direct Liquefaction processes produce liquids by reacting coal at high temperature and
pressure and generally in the presence of solvents, catalysts, and hydrogen.
2. I ndirect Liquefaction is accomplished by gassifying the coal to produce a hydrogen and
carbon monoxide mixture (called synthesis gas). The synthesis gas is then reacted in the
presence of catalysts to produce liquids.












ENERGY
AND
COAL





Submitted by,

Jay Rod F. Awit
Sumitted to,
Engr. Osita L. Catipay