} 4 FUELS AND COMBUSTION 4.1 Energy resources ‘At the turn of the century, coal was the major source of energy in the United ‘States, and in many parts of the world itis stil the principal fuel, But in the United States, petroleum and natural gas have superseded coal as the primary sources of energy, followed by bituminous coal, lignite, anthracite, hydroelectric power, thorium, and uranium. Wood, wind power, and geothermal sources contribute in only a minor way. In recent years the prices of petroleum and natural gas have risen sharply. The informed consensus is that the United States must curb imports of petroleum and rely more heavily on coal, of which we have vast reserves, and also invest in the development of solar and nuclear energy sources. ‘The primary production and demand for fuel minerals in the United Statss for 1973 are shown in Table 4~1. The metals industry consumed a significant portion, of the total energy used. Table 4~2 lists data on the consumption of various fuels by the metals industry during 1973. Iron and steeimaking operations, which account for a large fraction of the total energy consumed by the metals industry, relied on coal for nearly 70% of the total energy used, 4.2 Coal resources ‘The world’s coal resources are estimated at 10,872 billion tons." Of this total, 1297 billion tons have been classified as measured reserves. Table 4~3 provides esti- mates of measured reserves and total resources and data on annual production for all major countries. Three countries, the USSR, the United States, and China, contain nearly 90% of the world’s coal resources. At the present time, coal furnishes up fo one-third of the total energy consumed in the world. A detailed breakdown of the world’s coal production in 1973 is given in Table 4~4. Bitumi nous coal is by far the most dominant variety of coal produced, accounting for 68.5% of the total; coking coal, which is used in ironmaking, is included in this category. In 1972, nearly 450 million tons (coke yield 305 million tons) of coking coal were used in the manufacture of metallurgical coke needed for making pig iron.’ The world’s reserves of coking coal have been estimated* to be 928 billion tons; this figure includes the reserves of both low-volatile and medium-volatile bituminous coals. Of this total, approximately 464 billion tons are considered suitable for the manufacture of metallurgical coke.' More than 75% of the world’s ‘coking coal reserves are distributed among the United States, the USSR, and China, Other countries that have significant reserves are the United Kingdom, Poland, South Africa, Canada, and India. The United States is a major exporter 88seed 4.2, Coal resources 89 Table 4~1. Primary production and demand for fuel minerals in the United States in 1973 Primary Primary Commodity Units production demand ‘Anthracite ‘Thousand tons 6169 571 Bituminous coal and lignite Million tons 5368 508.8 Hydrogen Billion standard cubie meters no no Natural gas Billion cubic meters a3 ena Peat ‘Thousand tons 516 356 Petroleum Million barrels" 3360.9 6297.5 Thorium Tons — 2 Uranium Tons 10,181, 060 “One barrel = 42 U.S. gal. The dash indicates that data are not available, Source: Mineral Facts and Problems, 1975 edition, Bulletin 667, Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department‘of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 1976, Table 4~2. Consumption of primary energy resources by the metas industry in the United States in 1973 Percentage oftotal Commodity Units Quantity U.S. consumption Anthracite ‘Thousand tons 635 123 Bituminous coal and lignite Million tons 95.6 19.0 Hydrogen Millionstandardcubiemeters 481.4 07 Natural gas Billion cubic meters 317 51 Petroleum Million basrels* 6 al "One barrel = 42 U.S. gal Source: Mineral Facts and Problems, 1975 edition, Bulletin 667, Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 1976. of coking coal, mainly to Japan, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, and Brazil; in 1973, its exports of coking coal totaled 41 million tons.* ‘The coal resources of the United States.are enormous; nearly 25 states produce coal. The major coal-producing states and their annual production rates for the Years 1965 and 1974 are shown in Table 4~5. In recent years, exploitation of the low-sulfur coal reserves of the Western states (Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Colorado, and Utah) has increased considerably. One of the Principal reasons for this development is that coal-burning power plants must now comply with more stringent sulfur oxides emission standards. It is noteworthy that90 4 Fuels and combustion Table 43. World coal resources, reserves, and production by country, with data on ratios of measured reserves to production ‘Reserves and resources (ition ons) = Annual Ratio of Percentage production, measured Measured Tot) of world 1973 reserves to Country reserves resources resources (thousandtons) production USSR (including Asian USSR) 273,204 S,713,681 53.0 743,014 3677 United States 363,562 2924,508 27.4 se2)902 669.7 China 200,000 101100 “9.4 28,104 4672 ‘West Germany gost1 287054 2.7 215,952 4603 Australia. 74381 198,567 19 35.363, #709 United Kingdom oes? 1ezgie 15 130,188, 1598 Canada 9034 105,777 1.0 i918 453.6 India 97708 0.284 2885 Poland 0306 195,806 1985 Republic of South Africa 453904 ap 3886 France = 3128203 28,432 9s East Germany 30,000 03 246,990 7 ‘Yugoslavia 27102 sats 554.1 C2cehoslovaki 21,60 02 105 00 1264 Mexico 00 04 429 S70 Japan BOB 01 nm 3799 Other countries oss) os _ 7913s World 10,781,957 3,356,811 4110 “All cous: includes anthracite, bituminous, and lignite, Sources: Data {rom Risser and Malhotra (reference 1), p. 463; Greene and Gallagher (reference), p. 57; Bureau of Mines (reference 3), p. 73: and Bureau of Mines (reference 4), p. 3. the fraction of the U.S. coal mined in Western states rose from only 5.4% in 1965 to 15.4% in 1974, an increase of almost threefold over a span of nine years. From a long-term point of view, the situation regarding supplies of high-grade ‘coking coals cannot be considered satisfactory. It is probable that if new tech- nologies for ironmaking that can free us from dependence on high-quality coking coals are not developed, there will be shortages of coking coal n some parts of the world.! Coal analysis ‘The principal elements that compose coals are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, along with lesser amounts of sulfur and nitrogen; in addition, some inorganic mineral matter is also present. There are two primary methods for analysis of coals: proximate analysis and ultimate analysis. The former is a simpler method most commonly used for characterizing coals. Proximate analysis involves deter- mining the percentages of four ingredients (or four different groups of com pounds) in the coal:? 1, Water oF moisture. The water present in the coal may be free (or mechanically admixed) ot bound, The bound form of water, also known as the inherent