COAL

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COAL
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Coal History

• Coal has been used at least 120,000 years for
  heat.
• Black Thunder Coal Mine in Wyoming is the largest
  in USA.

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Coal can be hard or soft
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Coal, the good side

• Coal is estimated to last for 500 years. Ohio has
  a 250 year supply.
• Over 200,000 products can be made from coal, such
  as aspirin, flavorings, candy (the M on M M
  candies)
• Ash is used for fertilizer, concrete, and hill
  building for parks.

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Coal, the bad side

• One coal burning plant uses about 50 train car
  loads of coal per day.
• Releases large amounts of CO2 and sulfur dioxide
  (acid rain).
• 1 car holds 100 115 tons of coal.
• This produces 5 10 car loads of ash daily.

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The 2 types of coal

• Western
• 25.0 30.00/ ton
• 9000 BTUs/ ton
• Low sulfur
• Low particulates

• Eastern
• 40.00 / ton
• 13000 BTUs/ ton
• High sulfur
• High particulates

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Coal Formation

• Dont forget, the coal in Ohio formed 250 350
  million years ago. Dead things piled up, then
  time pressure and heat converted it.
• By comparison the western coal was formed 70
  140 million years ago. The formation of the
  Rocky Mountains helped speed up the process.

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Mining

• STRIP MINES
• The top layers of soil are removed to expose the
  coal seam.
• Works to a depth of 200 feet or so.
• Runoff is acidic and toxic, called acid mine
  drainage. This causes many problems.
• Causes much damage to the environment and habitat.

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Strip mining
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Acid mine Drainage
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Acid Drainage

• Acid mine drainage is very acidic.
• Kills all living things in nearby streams, rivers
  and lakes.
• Nearly impossible to clean up, but easy to
  prevent. Let runoff drain into a holding pond.
• Often orange colored due to dissolved iron (rust)
  from the soil. White foam or crust is from
  dissolved aluminum, from the soil.

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Before and After
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Reclamation

• Today, any open pit mining or strip mining must
  be reclaimed when the mine is closed.
• This mean the soil is replaced, the hills
  re-created, and the land is seeded with grass
  and trees.

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Underground mining

• One of the worlds more dangerous jobs.
• Explosions can occur due to trapped methane gas,
  poisonous gas pockets can kill, cave ins can
  crush or trap workers, dust in the lungs kills
  and lets not forget the dynamite!
• Tunnels are carved into the coal seam to extract
  the coal.

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Coal tunnels
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Big digging tools
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The Scoop
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How far down is the coal

• There are limits to how far we can dig.
• Dig too far and water leaks in, the temperatures
  go up, and it is hard to get air to the workers.
• The deepest mine is over 5000 feet (almost 1
  mile) and is in England.
• Most in the US are around 2000 feet.

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Carbon Sequestration
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Lets dump the Carbon Dioxide

• What happens to the old mine?
• Typically nothing is done. Old mines are
  dangerous but bats like them .
• Current technology allows us to pump CO2
  underground to trap it.

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How do we trap it?

• Coal is created in underground areas that have
  impermeable layers above and below it.
• Take out the coal (or oil or natural gas) and
  pump the compressed gas into the chambers.
• Seal the tunnels and the gas (now a liquid) is
  trapped.
• The carbon should stay trapped for thousands of
  years.

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To good to be true??

• Is this the way to rid the atmosphere of the
  carbon dioxide? Maybe.
• Problems are the expense to collect the gas,
  compress it and pump it underground. Many 100s
  of millions of dollars. Taxpayers beware.
• 1 ton of coal releases 3.5 tons of CO2. How many
  tons are burned each day at an average power
  plant? 15 16,000 tons of gas!

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THE FUTURE

• What can we do to conserve the non renewable
  energy resources?
• REDUCE
• REUSE
• RECYCLE

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TIDAL POWER
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Tidal Power

• The idea is as the tide flows in and out, the
  turbines spin and electricity is made.
• The water can be stored in temporary lakes so the
  water can be released when energy is needed.
• Low cost, high visibility variable power.

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Tidal Turbines
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Underwater Turbines

• The underwater turbines act just like wind
  turbines except water spins the blades.
• Powerful underwater currents turn the blades
  making electricity.
• There are plans for these to be built in the
  Scotland/Ireland area.
• Low cost, low visibility, and high output.

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Hydrogen Fuel Cells
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Hydrogen Gas is Clean

• Hydrogen gas is the most abundant gas in the
  universe.
• Can be made from water (H20).
• When burned it creates only water.
• Problems
• Very few places to fill the tank.
• Cars cost about 1 million.

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A Combination Approach

• More than likely there will be no one energy
  source to replace gasoline, coal, and oil.
• It is more likely we will increase use of solar,
  wind and biofuels.
• It is even more likely we will have to change our
  habits.

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NEW LAWS

• New laws are already being passed.
• Pittsburg fines people who do not recycle.
• Florida (and other states) have special lanes
  that only carpools can use.
• Some states give tax credits and grants for
  buying and using solar and wind power.
• Alternative Energy sources will be a very
  profitable career in the future!