APRIL JOY S.

LENTORIO MARCH 20, 2023

BSEM 3 ENGR. NATHANIEL TIU

ACTIVITY 1
COAL MINING

Guide Questions:

1. Discuss the following types of coal below: (Part of your discussion should have
the following details:

LIGNITE
(a) other names and its different types if they have:
• Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary
rock formed from naturally compressed peat. The three main types of lignite
are brown, black, and subbituminous. Lignite is a low-rank coal that is brown or
black in color and has a higher moisture content than other coals.

(b) physical properties (color, specific gravity, hardness and etc.)

• Color: Brownish-black
• Specific gravity: 1.29
• Hardness: 3-4, slightly harder than amber

(c) origin (what era does this type of coal was formed? how it is formed?
• The Tertiary Period, roughly 60 million years ago, is when lignite coal was primarily
formed. It is produced when peat is heated and subjected to a lot of pressure. It is
the initial step in the formation of coal. In the center of mountains, lignite is
frequently discovered.

(d) chemical properties (carbon content, heat value, etc)

• Carbon content: 25%-35%
Heat value: 5,000 to 7,500 british thermal units per pound [Btu/lb], on a wet basis
(e) where can it be found and its uses?
• lignite can be found in Nigerian states such as Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa,
Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Imo State. Although it can be used for residential
heating and some industrial activities, lignite is a solid fuel that is mostly used for
electricity generation.

SUB-BITUMINOUS
(a) other names and its different types if they have
• Subbituminous coal, also called black lignite, generally dark brown to black coal,
intermediate in rank between lignite and bituminous coal according to the coal
classification used in the United States and Canada.

(b) physical properties (color, specific gravity, hardness and etc.)

• Color: black and is mainly dull (not shiny)
• Specific gravity: 1.30
• Hardness: 2 and 2.5 CV

(c) origin (what era does this type of coal was formed? how it is formed?
• A coal's rank is more influenced by the temperature reached during burial than it
is by its age, even though most subbituminous coal is relatively young geologically,
typically dating from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras (between about 251 million
years ago and the present). When compared to the conditions that brown coals
and lignite undergo, later stage coalification the creation of subbituminous coal,
bituminous coal, and anthracite results from deeper burial and exposure of
biological matter to more intense temperatures and pressures.

(d) chemical properties (carbon content, heat value, etc)

• Carbon content: 35%-45%
• Heat value: 8,300 to 11,500 Btu/lb
(e) where can it be found and its uses?
• Subbituminous coal and lignite are thought to make up over half of the world's
confirmed coal reserves, including resources in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
Germany and other western European nations, Russia, Ukraine, and the United
States. Sub-bituminous coal is mostly utilized as a fuel for steam-electric power
generating

BITUMINOUS
(a) other names and its different types if they have
• bituminous coal, also called soft coal, the most abundant form of coal,
intermediate in rank between subbituminous coal and anthracite according to the
coal classification used in the United States and Canada. In the United States and
Canada bituminous coal is divided into high-volatile, medium-volatile, and low-
volatile bituminous groups.

(b) physical properties (color, specific gravity, hardness and etc.)

• Color: dark brown to black
• Specific gravity: 1.32
• Hardness: 2 and 2.5

(c) origin (what era does this type of coal was formed? how it is formed?
• Bituminous coal is 100 to 300 million years old and is created under higher heat
and pressure. It is named after bitumen, a tar-like, sticky material that is also
present in petroleum. Carbon makes up between 45 and 86 percent of it.

(d) chemical properties (carbon content, heat value, etc)

• Carbon content: 45% - 86%
• Heat value: 24.423 to 32.564 KJ/Kg

(e) where can it be found and its uses?

• Bitumen is mostly used in industrial settings. In the construction industry, it is
usually referred to as asphalt because it is used to construct roadways. Due to its
adhesive and waterproofing properties, it is effective for roofing.
ANTHRACITE
(a) other names and its different types if they have
• Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of
coal that has a submetallic luster. Anthracite coal is categorized into three types of
grades. These are (i) semi-anthracite or standard grade, (ii) anthracite or high
grade, and (iii) meta-anthracite or ultra-high grade.

(b) physical properties (color, specific gravity, hardness and etc.)

• Color: chalky, very dark tone of grey almost black
• Specific gravity: 1.47
• Hardness: 2.75-3

(c) origin (what era does this type of coal was formed? how it is formed?
• About 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period of Earth's history,
anthracite coal was formed. At that time, the temperature was extremely warm and
humid, and vast swathes of horsetails, ferns, and lepidodendron trees grew on
swampy soil. Anthracite coal is produced by a very low grade metamorphism of
bituminous coal that is followed by structural deformation.

(d) chemical properties (carbon content, heat value, etc)

• Carbon content: 86%-97%
• Heat value: gross calorific value is equal to or greater than 24 000 kJ/kg

(e) where can it be found and its uses?

• Anthracite is mostly found in northeastern Pennsylvania. Anthracite is mostly used
as a residential fuel nowadays, either in hand-fired stoves or mechanical stoker
furnaces. It is perfect for this use since it burns cleanly with little soot and provides
high energy per its weight. Its high value makes using it in power plants
prohibitively expensive.
2. Enumerate at least “Five (5) factors to consider for the usage of Coal” and
discuss each of these factor and why is it a significant factor in the utilization of
coal.

• Heating value – a calculation is made to determine how much heat or energy is

released per kilogram of coal that has completely burned in air or oxygen. This is
a crucial factor in the utilization of coal since a higher heating value means that the
ash and moisture content are low. Efficiency is quite high when using high calorific
coals.

• Ash melting temperature - is a measurement of the temperature at which the ash

will either melt, soften, or completely deform into a blob, changing its state from
solid to liquid. It is essential for thermal conversion processes that ash melts at
extremely high temperatures. Ash melting temperature should be considered when
utilizing coal since it affects the efficiency of conversion processes and raises the
risk of slagging if the temperature is too low.

• Sulfur and other impurities – Sulfur and other pollutants should be taken into
consideration when burning coal. A higher sulfur concentration in coal will boost
its heating value, but heating and oxidizing coal may cause corrosion. How coal is
utilized depends on how much sulfur and other impurities it contains. Industries
must first remove sulfur from the coal to avoid damaging environmental effects.
The amount of nitrogen in coal is unfavorable and has no impact on how effective
it is as a heat source. Higher grade coal has less oxygen since more oxygen limits
the amount of heat it can produce.

• Mechanical strength - The ability of the coal to be ground or its resistance to

being crushed. The Hard grove Grindability Index is used to determine grindability.
When the HGI is low, it takes more effort and time to grind the coal. The grindability
of coal is one of the factors to be taken into account.

• Many other chemical and physical properties - One of the physical properties
of coal is porosity, which is a measurement of an object's capacity to contain empty
spaces. The coal has a larger surface area the higher the porosity. When analyzing
the microstructures of materials, porosity is a critical component. It is correlated
with the amount of interstices that may hold fluid in relation to the total volume of
the material.
3. Enumerate at least “Three (3) Basis in determining the Rank of Coal” and explain
each of these basis and why do you think it is relevant in determining the rank of
coal.

In "coalification," which is a long, natural process, buried plant matter turns into a harder,
denser, drier, and more carbon-rich substance through a series of stages that are
described by Rank.

• Anthracite - The highest rank of coal. The coal is sometimes referred to as hard
coal since it is a brittle, hard, glossy, black substance. It has a significant amount
of fixed carbon and little volatile material.

• Bituminous - Bituminous coal is a middle rank coal between subbituminous and

anthracite. Bituminous coal, which typically has a high heating (Btu) value, is used
in the United States to manufacture power and steel. Bituminous coal is smooth,
bright, and blocky when you first come across it. But if you look carefully, you might
see that it has thin, alternating layers of shiny and dull.

• Lignite - Lignite coal, aka brown coal, Lignite is the lowest rank of coals with the
least concentration of carbon. Lignite has a high moisture content and a low
heating value, making it largely used in the production of electricity.

Coal rank, a measurement of coal maturity, is the most essential element that relates to
a coal's history of coalification as well as its potential for usage.
4. Do you consider coal as a mineral?
• Coal is known to have originated from biological sources, so it is not categorized
as a mineral.

The Mineralogical Society of America defines a "mineral" as: "a naturally-

occurring, inorganic solid which possesses a characteristic internal atomic
structure and a definite chemical composition."

If we define a mineral term by term, it will be clearer to understand what each one means:

• Minerals must be found in nature. This suggests that synthetic materials, such as
steel, are not made of minerals.

• A substance is defined as being inorganic if it is neither alive nor produced by living

things.

• The atoms that make up crystalline solids repeat and arrange themselves in a
predictable fashion.

• Minerals will always have set chemical compositions, despite the fact that these
chemical compositions may alter within specified limits.