Coal 101: The 4 Types of Coal and Their UsesInvesting News Network
Coal is a fossil fuel that is, essentially, “the altered remains of prehistoric vegetation,” as the World Coal Association (WCA) puts it. However, there are a number of different coal types.
Coal originally began to form during the Carboniferous period, which took place between 360 and 290 million years ago. Put simply, plant matter accumulated in swamps and peat bogs, and after being buried and exposed to high heat and pressure — largely due to the shifting of tectonic plates — it was transformed into coal. The WCA explains that the quality of coal is largely determined by:
All of these factors contribute to “the degree of transformation of the original plant material to carbon,” and it is carbon content that determines a coal’s “rank.” Essentially, higher carbon content is associated with coal that has spent a longer time forming, while lower carbon content is a characteristic of “younger” coal. Here’s a look at the four main coal types, arranged from lowest to highest carbon content, as well as explanations of what they are used for:
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Low-rank coals
Hard coals
In any case, while many coal types are often painted with the same brush, there’s definitely more than one type of coal out there. Getting to know the difference between these coals is key for energy investors evaluating companies and projects. For a closer look at the different types of coal and their uses, check out some of our other articles on the subject:
This is an updated version of an article published by the Investing News Network on October 11, 2013. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm |