OBJECTIVES:

To give information about Coal power production

To state its advantages and disadvantages and its contribution to climate
change

Introduction:

Coal Production through Mining and Processing has an effect on Global

Warming. It makes our planet hotter by not allowing reflected heat from the
sun, not escape our planet. According to Sergio Lee (2012), if global
warming continues, glaciers will melt. The result of which will be erasing the
Philippines from the planet. Our country will be submerged in the ocean. All
life in the Philippines will be non-existent. He further stated that cities like
New York and London will be flooded.
Global warming is grounded in the First Law of Thermodynamics: The
increase in internal energy of a closed system is equal to total of the energy
added to the system. In particular, if the energy entering the system is
supplied as heat and energy leaves the system as work, the heat is
accounted as positive and the work is accounted as negative. This can be
explained using lay mans language. It means that energy can be neither
created nor destroyed. However, energy can change forms, and energy can
flow from one place to another. A particular consequence of the law of
conservation of energy is that the total energy of an isolated system does
not change.
The heat from the sun cannot be absorbed all by plants. Those
unabsorbed heat will be reflected back so that heat can escape our planet. It
is the application of the First Law of Thermodynamics. Unfortunately, Carbon,
a by-product of burning coals, traps the heat in our planet, like a blanket on a
cold night, so it cannot escape. This contributes to global warming.

Advantages of using coal to produce electricity:

Coal energy is very affordable due to its stable price unlike any other forms
of energy in the market.
2. The abundance of coal energy is in a large number.
3. It is also easy to burn.
4. Coal energy is a renewable form of energy.

5. Reliability is entailed and presented in this form of energy.

6. Aside from its reliability, coal energy is also inexpensive unlike any other
sources of energy.
7. This form of energy is producing high energy upon its combustion process.
8. The power generation scale of coal is great that makes it possible for
building a range of sizes of generation plants.
9. Coal is used to build power stations in different parts of the world since it
is a fossil fuel as long as there are huge amounts of it.

Disadvantages of using coal to produce electricity:

1. Coal energy is producing tremendous amount of carbon emissions that
results in climate change and global warming.
2. Coal burning is considered not environmental friendly due to the
production of harmful by-products like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and sulphur
dioxide.
3. Coal burning can cause pollution to the environment like acid rain.
4. Coal energy is fast depleting because many people consume a large
amount of it inefficiently.
5. This form of energy is not a renewable one.
6. It is also ruining the ecosystem and environment and putting many
peoples lives in danger especially miners.
7. Underground mining is very hazardous because cave-ins and explosions
are common.
8. Unstoppable damages could occur when mining coals.
Reference: http://occupytheory.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-coal/
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE
A large number of environmental problems are associated with the
production and combustion of coal. One significant impact is acid mine
drainage, where acidic run-off is formed through a chemical reaction
between water and sulfur-bearing rocks. This run-off contaminates creeks
and rivers, and, because it diffuses easily, can be difficult to contain.
Another significant impact is the practice of mountaintop mining. As the tops
of mountains are removed to reveal coal seams, the sediment and waste
becomes valley fill, impacting water quality and resulting in the loss of
headwater ecosystems, or the species and environmental processes that are
native to river sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses the

best-available science and incorporates feedback from the public and key
stakeholders to provide guidance to protect water quality and peoples
health regarding abandoned mines and mountaintop removal mining, among
other things.
In terms of greenhouse gases, mining can result in the direct release of
methane (which has a global warming potential 23 times higher than CO 2,
but only persists in the atmosphere for 12 17 years), particularly from
underground mines. In 2012, methane emissions from U.S. coal mining were
0.9 percent of overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA estimates
that coal mine methane contributes 8 10 percent of human-made methane
emissions worldwide.
Table 1: Global Methane Emissions from Coal Mining
Methane Emissions

Countr
y

Rank

Coal Production

Emissio
ns
Volume

Rank

MMTCO2
e

Billio
n m3

Surfac
e
mining
%

Undergrou
nd mining
%

China

135.7

8.7

10

90

USA

55.3

3.5

67

23

Ukrain
e

26.3

1.7

11

99

Russia

26.2

1.6

56

44

Austral
ia

21.8

1.4

80

20
(NSW
59)

India

19.5

1.2

85

15

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005

Carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion for electric power and
industry were responsible for 24.5 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions in 2012. Moreover, combustion emits common air pollutants, such
as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and mercury as well as
other heavy metals. These air pollutants have adverse effects on both public
health and the environment. Consequently, many but not all coal plants use
a variety of technologies, such as scrubbers, to reduce most of the pollutants
from combustion emissions. Some governments and companies are
developing carbon capture and storage technologies that will capture,
transport and store CO2 emissions underground.
Additionally, coal combustion residuals, commonly referred to as coal ash,
contain a broad range of metals, including arsenic, selenium and cadmium;
however, the EPA considers the amounts of chemicals leached from these
residuals to be non-hazardous. Coal combustion residuals are one of the
largest waste streams generated in the United States, and must be managed
to prevent environmental impacts such as the Kingston, Tennessee spill in
2008. Finally, considerable water usage for coal-fired power generation can
stress aquifers and watersheds, and in many instances, water must be
cooled to near ambient levels before being returned to the surroundings to
protect ecosystems.
REFENCE: http://www.c2es.org/energy/source/coal

RECOMMENDATION
We recommend to lessen the production of coal as it effects the environment
by contributing to greenhouse effect. It is also better to look for an
alternative to coal power production to produce electricity as it contributes to
pollution. We cannot deny the fact that using coal energy is very important
to us. All of us want an affordable and reliable energy source which we can
only get by using coal energy. Although using coal energy is very significant
for us and living without it would become impossible, we should always open
our minds to the damage the continuous use of coal energy will eventually
bring to us and to our environment.