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Coal fundamentals

A brief overview

German coal excavator for surface mining of brown coal

Mikael Höök
UHDSG
2007-01-22
Stone coal
Coal basics
What is coal? As most people know, coal consists of organic matter from
prehistoric times that have been altered chemically during high pressures and long
exposure, quite similar to the creation of oil in many ways.
The accumulation of silt, muck and similar organic ingredients started in
swamps and bogs millions of years ago. Tectonic shifts and movements in the
earths crust buried these areas, sometimes down to enormous depths. The high-
pressure environment combined with the heat from the Earths interior transformed
the organic matter by altering its chemical nature. First it was transformed into
peat and the peat was then refined into coal of different types.
The quality of a coal deposit is defined by the pressure and temperature
together with the time. A high quality coal has been subjected to the higher
pressure, temperature and longer transformation times than coal of lower quality.
The quality is often related to as “organic maturity”.
Time timescales for creation of different types of coal vary much. A peat
deposit can be created in as little as 9000 years, while anthracite requires millions
of years to form.

Low-rank coals
The first stage in the coal maturity scale is called peat. Due to the acidic conditions
the organic material is prohibited from decaying completely. Approximately 60%
of the worlds swamp areas are peat. Due to very high water content and the
presence of lots of non-carbon materials peat is not as energy-rich as brown coal
and limited to local small-scale heating.
The stage after peat is called lignite or “brown coal”, with a carbon content
in the range of 25-35%. The water content is high (up to 66%) and the color can
go from dark black to different shades of brown. This type of coal is mainly used
for large-scale power generation.
Next stage is sub-bituminous coal. The carbon content is 35-45% with a
reasonable energy content. It is still quite soft and brittle with quite high water
content (20-30%). Used in cement manufacturing and a large array of industrial
processes along with power generation.

High-rank coals
The following stage forms bituminous coal. The carbon content of bituminous coal
is around 60-86%, the rest is composed of water, air, hydrogen, and sulphur. This
type is divided into two sub-groups called steam coal and coking coal. Coking coal
and steam coal are the two types of coal that is most frequently traded.
The steam coal is used as sub-bituminous coal in power generation. It has
higher energy content than brown coal and contains less ash, thus making it an
better fuel for coal-fired power plants.

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Coking coal is a vital fundament in the metallurgical industry. High carbon
content and low amounts of sulphur, phosphor and other unwanted materials are
the typical properies of coking coal.
The final type is called anthracite and consists of almost pure carbon (86-
98%) together with some impurities. Barely 1 percent of all coal is classified as
anthracite and it is mainly used in domestic situations as a smokeless fuel. It is
harder to ignite than steam coal and the scarce supplies have greatly limited the
uses.

Higher carbon content than 98% leads to graphite or diamonds. Graphite is


not used as a fuel, due to the problems of igniting it. Both graphite and diamonds
have many uses in industry and are not treated as normal coal.

Coal mining
There are two ways of mining coal, surface mining and underground mining.
Which method that is used depends on the local properties of the coal seams.
Underground mining currently stands for approximately 60% of the worlds coal
production. However the worlds largest coal exporter, Australia, uses 80% surface
mining.

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Underground mines normally takes longer time to finish and tend to make a
larger portion of the coal seam unusable, however it is the only viable choice for
coal seams deep down. Two different mining methods exist, room-and-pillar
mining and longwall mining.
The first one is cheaper, but leaves more coal unrecoverable while the long
wall mining option is more expensive but can recover more coal. The choice of
mining technique is always based on economic considerations and differences in a
single mine can lead to both methods being used.
A problem with underground coal mining is the risk of explosions. Coal
seams contain small amounts of methane and other combustible gases that might
be ignited by sparks, leading to explosions when the gas conditions are right. This
is not a problem in surface mining.
Surface mining can recover as much as 90% and more of the coal. But is
only economical when the coal seam is located near the surface. Surface mining is
simply a matter of soil relocation that uncovers the coal by moving the overlying
dirt. This temporarily damages the area, but if proper refilling and recuperation is
undertaken the mining site can completely restored.
Coal that comes directly from a mine often needs to be treated in various
ways. This treatment can be everything from crushing the coal into fine powder to
complex chemical cleaning processes to reduce certain impurities. Coal cleaning
can reduce the amount of ash by over 50% and thus cutting down the amount of
waste from coal combustion.

Coal production
The world currently consumes over 4000 Mt on coal each year. The largest
consumers are mainly power generation and steel industry. Cement manufacturing
and coal liquefaction are two a medium consumers. A small proportion of coal is
also used for various chemical processes.
Coal production has increased with 38% the last 20 years. Asia is the fastest
growing coal producer, while European production actually has declined. Global
coal production is expected to reach 7 billion tones in 2030 with China accounting
for nearly half the increase.

Coal transportation
How coal is transported depends on the distance to the place where it will be used.
Coal is generally transported over short distances with trucks or conveyors. Trains
and barges are used for longer distances within a domestic market, alternatively
the coal can be grinded into a fine powder and mixed with water to form a coal
slurry that can be transported through pipelines.
Ships are used for the longest distances. Around 700 million tones of coal
were traded internationally in 2003 and around 90% was seaborne trade1. Coal

1
WCI – The Coal Resource

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transportation can be very expensive. In many cases up to 70% of the total cost is
due to transportation expenses.
Only high-rank coal is traded internationally. Lignite and sub-bituminous
coal can be traded regionally but is too expensive for shipment over longer
distances, due to the low energy content compared to high-rank coals.

Coal market and trade


Coal contributes to around 39% of the global electricity and this number is
expected to change very little over the next 30 years. The growth of steam coal
and lignite, both used for power generation, is projected to an increase of around
1% per year. Demand for coking coal in steel industry is likely to increase with a
similar number.
Most of the coal is consumed in the same country as it was produced,
typically due to high transportation costs involved in coal trade. Only around 18%
of hard coal production goes the international market.
The biggest market for coal is Asia. Currently 54% of the global coal
consumption takes place in Asia, mostly in China, Japan, India and Korea. Even
though many Asian countries have large coal assets they import a significant
amount. The importance of obtaining certain types of coal, for example good
coking coal, is an important factor to consider.
Logistical reasons is another explanation of why a major coal producer
imports foreign coal. It is easier to import foreign coal directly to major
consumption areas than mining domestic coal in faraway regions with undersized
transportation systems.
Australia, with a total hard coal production equal to 274 Mt, is the worlds
largest coal exporter, exporting 207 Mt2. Australia is also the world’s largest
supplier of coking coal, accounting for 51% of world total export. Coking coal is
quite expensive compared to other types of coal and that makes it possible for
Australia to afford the high freight costs involved in exporting coal worldwide.

2
Year 2003. Source WCI – The Coal Resource

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Coal is traded all over the world, mostly by shipping lanes. Seaborne trade of
steam coal as increased with an average of 8% per year, while seaborne coking
coal trade has grown by 2% annually. Still international trade only constitutes of a
small proportion of the total global coal production.

Transportation costs account for a large part of the total delivered price of coal.
The international market is therefore effectively divided into two regional markets,
the Atlantic and the Pacific. The Atlantic market consists of major European
importers like UK, Germany and Spain. The Pacific market is made up of various
Asian countries with China, Japan and Korea as the largest importers. Currently
the pacific market accounts of 60% of the worlds steam coal trade. The two
regions tend to overlap during good times and South Africa is a natural point of
convergence between the two regions.
Asia is probably the most active market and is likely to continue to be that
for a long time. Both steam and coking coal are imported to high consumption
areas like major cities and industrial zones near the coast.

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Security
Coal is the most abundant of all fossil fuels. It is present in over 70 countries and
mined in 50 of them. All the worlds’ largest economies have significant domestic
coal supplies. The global market is very diverse with a large number of available
exporting countries.
Furthermore coal doesn’t come from one specific area and the dependence
of political stability in certain regions becomes non-existing. The price of coal
have been much more stable historically compared to oil and gas. In comparison
with oil and gas the price of coal actually declined last year.

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Growing environmental concerns and more stringent regulations for fossil fuels
will certainly lead to higher coal prices. However, coal is likely to remain the most
affordable fuel for power generation in many developing and industrial country for
several decades in the future.

Coal can also be stored at mines, trading centers, industrial centers or at power
stations. Storing coal is easy and based on well proved technology and methods. It
is therefore possible to build up emergency storages that can be used in times of
need.
Transportation of coal does not require high-pressure pipelines that may
become vulnerable to accidents, sabotage or terrorism. The need for protection
during transport is very small. Coal does not create serious environmental impact
if a transport suffers from an incident. It is much easier to clean up coal from a
sunken transport ship or a derailed train compared to cleaning up after an oil
transport.

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Coal energy
Coal has been a fundamental pillar of the electricity generation in the west and is
estimated to be so for the developing economies of today. Because of its
cheapness, reliability and availability coal is one of few energy sources that can
meet the increasing
demand of electricity in
the world.
The earliest coal
combustion power plants
burned coal lumps on a
metal grate to boil steam
that could be used in
turbines.
Nowadays coal is
first milled into a fine
powder, thus increasing
its surface area and
allowing it to burn more
quickly. The powder is
blown into a combustion
chamber and is used to
generate steam.
The development
of new coal-based power
plants is closely tied to
gasification technology.
Since a new concept
utilizes gasification of
coal to improve
efficiency and lower
emissions.
The IGCC-design
(Integrated Gasification
Combined Cycle) creates
a synthesis gas from coal
or any other carbon
source and burns the gas
in a high efficiency gas
turbine. It is also easier
to clean out impurities and noxious materials from the syngas compared to
cleaning the exhaust vapor from ordinary combustion of coal.

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IGCC-designs typically offer efficiencies around 45% and reduce NOx and
SOx-emissions by 95-99%. Further development points towards net efficiencies of
56% in the future.
The IGCC-concept stretches far beyond just generating electricity. A part of
the syngas can be diverted to a FT-synthesis stage and used for producing fuels
and other chemical products. The syngas can also be “shifted” to produce pure
hydrogen for a future hydrogen economy. The gasification makes carbon dioxide
separation easier compared to ordinary coal combustion and therefore the potential
to eliminate emissions of greenhouse gases looks very promising.
Today there are around 160 IGCC-plants in operation worldwide3. The
current reliability is deemed a bit lower than other coal combustion methods, such
as pulverized supercritical coal combustion and coal fluidized bed combustion.
Further development is needed to make IGCC-technology the chosen pathway of
future coal energy undertakings.

However the flexibility of an IGCC-plant is a great advantage, especially for


countries that need both electricity and fuels. During times of need the plant can
be focused on generating electricity and in spare-time the production can be
shifted towards fuel via FT-synthesis. Analysts deem that IGCC-technology is
very well suited for developing countries that have indigenous coal and lack the
funds to import oil or develop other energy sources.

3
WCI – Clean coal: building a future through technology

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