Coal Around the World

Coal is one of the world`s fastest growing fuels at the moment. The demand for coal is almost twice the amount for natural and hydro-power and is almost four times the amount for oil consumption. Coal has expanded nearly 50 percent in the last decade. Coal can be found all around the world; there are coal reserves in every country.

http://www.worldcoal.org/coal/where-is-coal-found/

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_use_and_production_of_coal

Coal Use in Alberta

Coal is one of the most abundant resources in our province - Canada has the 10th largest coal reserves in the world and 70% of that coal is found in Alberta (Alberta Energy, 2007). Currently, coal is responsible for producing 74% of Alberta’s electricity (The Pembina Institute, n.d.).  Despite coal’s abundance in our province and our reliance on it, its use may ultimately be limited by the fact that coal is a dirty energy source and not a very energy efficient one. Approximately two-thirds of the energy produced by coal is lost through smoke stacks in the coal plants (The Pembina Institute, n.d.).

Alberta Energy. (2007). What is coal? Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://www.energy.alberta.ca/coal/645.asp.

The Pembina Institute. (n.d.). Greening the Grid: Fact Sheet. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/greeningthegrid-fs.pdf.

Fun Facts

• Electricity generation from coal is now 8 times more efficient than at the end of the 19th century.
• There is more stored energy in Canadian coal than all the country’s oil, natural gas, and oil sands combined.
• Coal is the world’s most abundant fossil fuel and second to oil as a source of energy.
• Coal generates about 39% of the world’s electricity.
• Coal is the single largest commodity carried by Canadian railroads.

How Coal Works

Stage 1:  The first conversion of energy takes place in the boiler.  Coal is burnt in the boiler furnace to produce heat.  Carbon in the coal and oxygen in the air combine to produce carbon dioxide and heat.

Stage 2:  Thermodynamic process:  The heat from the combustion of the coal boils water in the boiler to produce steam.  The steam is the piped to a turbine.  The high pressure steam impinges and expands across a number of sets of blades in the turbine.  The impulse and the thrust created rotates the turbine.  The steam is then condensed and pumped back into the boiler to repeat the cycle. 

http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htm 

 

How Coal is Used

Coal is the largest single source of electricity worldwide. It helps produce over 70% of the world's steel and is used in industrial processes like cement manufacturing. In the past it was used to power trains.

Coal can be processed many different ways to create a wide variety of products, from carbon filters to pharmaceuticals. It is used to produce fertilizer, paint and preservatives, plastics, computer chips and circuit boards, perfumes, explosives, insulation, roofing materials and sugar substitutes.

Gases, oil and tars extracted can be extracted from coal and used to manufacture products ranging from gasoline and perfumes to mothballs and baking powder. 

Coal tar is used for paving roads and tarring roofs.

Coal gas in the 1940’s was used for residential lighting and cooking, but it was phased out because it was expensive.  Today coal gasification processes are being developed to be more cost effective.  Methanol is now being developed and used as a fuel for engines.

Is Coal Renewable?

No, coal is non-renewable. We would have to wait around millions of years to regenerate the coal - we would have to wait around longer than humans have existed so far! Alberta has around 37 billion tonnes of coal remaining to be mined which is approximately

70% of Canada’s total coal reserves.

Economic Costs for Building Coal Facilities

The cost to build coal power plants range from $1-3 billion American per facility. Operating costs range from $1,800-$3,00 per kilowatt. The plants are expensive because the cost of coal is has risen over the past few years. It is also expensive to transport coal to and from the already overloaded facilities. 

http://www.synapse-energy.com/Downloads/SynapsePaper.2008-07.0.Coal-Plant-Construction-Costs.A0021.pdf

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/building-more-coal-fired-power-plants-big-mis