About Coal: America's most abundant energy resource

Clean Energy

[xzins]

About Coal

America's most abundant energy resource and a source of chemicals, fertilizer, and power worldwide.

Bookmarks on this Page
	Introduction
	Domestic Resources
	Domestic Consumption
	World Resources
	World Consumption

Introduction

Coal is the generic name for a solid hydrocarbon substance that has been burned as fuel for hundreds of years. Thanks to technological advances, coal can now be converted into a synthesis gas that can be used as a feedstock for the production of chemicals, fertilizer, and electric power.

Webster defines coal as "a black or brownish black solid combustible substance formed by the partial decomposition of vegetable matter without free access of air and under the influence of moisture and often increased pressure and temperature." { Coal Types Illustration }

Domestic Resources
The United States has enormous coal "resources" and "recoverable reserves." { Map.   Terms Defined. } The most reliable information about coal is published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The most recent figures available from the EIA, show that America's estimated recoverable reserves of coal --
	Stand at 275 billion (short) tons, an amount that is greater than any other nation in the world. { Chart. }
	Are capable of meeting domestic demand for more than 250 years at current rates of consumption.
	Sources of Information.

Domestic Demand
America's coal is used primarily for the production of electricity. According to the EIA, in 2001 --
	There were 315,000 Megawatts (net) of coal-based electrical generating capacity in the United States.
	This represented approximately 37% of the total installed capacity.
	However, coal plants accounted for 52% of the electricity generated since these facilities and nuclear plants are normally operated as "baseload" generators (the generating equipment normally operates on an around-the-clock basis).
	Some 965 million tons of coal were consumed for the generation of electricity. This amounted to 86% of total U.S. coal production.
The EIA also makes energy production and consumption estimates for future years. Under these projections, domestic coal consumption is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.1% - 1.5% through 2025.
	Sources of Information.

World Resources
Many large countries contain significant proven reserves of coal. While data quality varies widely, the countries with the greatest estimated recoverable reserves of coal are --
	United States	273 billion tons
	Russia	173 billion tons
	China	126 billion tons
	India	93 billion tons
	Australia	90 billion tons
	Sources of Information.

World Consumption
Coal is widely used around the globe for the generation of electricity and -- to a lesser but growing degree -- for the production of chemicals and fertilizer. Data compiled and distributed by the EIA shows that worldwide coal consumption --
	Was estimated at 5.3 billion tons in 2001.
	Is projected to increase by 2.2 billion tons per year over the next 25 years. This translates to a 1.5% average annual rate of growth (on a tonnage basis).
However, this relatively slow average annual grow rate masks substantial projected increases within certain large countries with fast growing economies. For example --
	In China’s electricity sector, coal use is projected to grow by 4.2% a year through 2025.
	Similarly, coal use for electricity generation in India is projected to rise by 2.1% annually over the next quarter century.

[xzins]

Oil over $50 a barrel.

Is coal a good investment?

[xzins]

Coal Bearing Areas of the United States

Sources: United States Geological Survey, Coalfields of the United States, 1960-1961; Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, Lignite Resources in Texas, 1980; Louisiana Geological Survey, Near Surface Lignite in Louisiana, 1981; Colorado Geological Survey, Coal Resources and Development Map, 1981; and Mississippi Bureau of Geology, 1983.

Original Internet Location: Energy Information Administration

[hershey]

I was stopped at a railroad crossing yesterday when the noon freight went by. I've seen this train dozens of times. Never saw those coal cars before, though. There must have been close to three dozen filled to the brim clickety clacking down the track here in eastern MA.

[xzins]

I've got another article I'll post shortly on the economic viability of America's coal.

With gasefication and liquefaction to replace ALL of our imported oil needs, we will increase our use of coal from 1.06 billion to nearly 2 billion tons a year.

That gives us over 800 years of supply....NOT CONSIDERING advances in technology.

[truth_seeker]

Add Oil Shale and Oil Tar Sands, to the picture.

The US (and Canada) have abundant reserves of both.

I read awhile back (US News & World Report, I seem to recall) that Alberta province alone holds more hydrocarbons in these forms, than does Saudi Arabia in conventional oil deposits.

Key is recovery cost.

I worked for 15 years for Fluor, which engineered and built a "pilot plant" located at Parachute Creek, western Colorado.

I think it was built under the Carter energy programs, by Union Oil, and had a contract to sell oil to the Dept. of Navy for $40 per barrel.

I believe the contract ended, and this plant may be shut down....I don' know. I believe Canada operates some of these "alternate" fuels extraction and refining plants.

Fluor built the Sasol plants in South Africa, using similar technology to Hitler's own plants. Those are "fuels" from coal, and SA continues to derive hydrocarbon fuels from same.

My point is that we have the technology know how. The variable in all this is oil price. Sometime recently I've seen figures like $50 and $70 per barrel, for the present "breakeven" point.

For 25 years, the world oil price was far below such breakeven points. We were better off using others' cheap oil, than paying out unnecessary dollars for our own energy self-sufficiency.

Apparently Canada and South Africa have taken a different path; merits of which I won't argue either way.

[xzins]

This is an interesting article I found on the web. What do you think? I'm really thinking that coal is a good investment with 50 dollar oil.

From culm to clean fuel?

$312 million ideal could translate into $1.10-a-gallon gas

Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal May 2000

One lump of coal equals one pint of gas. The idea sounds so simple you might wonder why nobody came up with it before.

According to John W. Rich, Jr., it doesn't matter -- let's just do it.

Rich, president of Reading Anthracite Co. and waste Management & Processors, Inc., in Schuylkill County, claims technology now exists to convert coal mining's solid byproducts to gas, creating high-quality liquid fuel.

It's an efficient process, he says, that uses a carbon and water mixture. The amount of available raw material in northeastern Pennsylvania makes for incredible potential, he points out.

"One ton of reserves amounts to four barrels of finished product. We're sitting on a 19-barrel oil field. Alaska, by comparison, was a 12-billion barrel discovery," Rich proclaims.

The benefits? Cheaper gas, the security of home-produced fuel and a greener environment.

The new technology would have lots of spin-off benefits, Rich asserts. Gone will be the black mountains called culm banks that ruin the region's scenery. Gone will be pools of polluted water. Gone will be choking black dust.

Instead, they'll be replaced by green spaces where homes can be built and kids can run. It'd create places where roads, shopping centers, schools, churches, parks and playgrounds can be built where today the land has no use, he claims.

"Think of it as a major environmental reclamation project that just happens to produce some clean fuel in the process," Rich notes.

Coal conversion processes, specifically coal gasification and liquefaction, are technologies that have been adapted from production methods used for decades. It's a process being used successfully today in South America. The procedure converts coal mining waste, like culm, into liquid fuel products that are environmentally safe. The new product, Ultra Clean Fuels, contains zero percent sulfur and nitrogen, is low in aromatics and has a high cetane, or energy density rating.

Foreign oil has us over the barrel - Rich feels that now is the time to act, especially after the Oilgate episode this past winter, when prices for heating oil jumped to outrageous levels just when consumers needed it most.

The price of gasoline also soared, putting a dent in monthly commuting budgets.

Ultra Clean Fuels is the answer, Rich asserts. The new fuel would have a major impact in reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil sources -- an impact he believes would be instantaneous because Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC) would sit up and take notice.

"OPEC knows it's a seller's market. When they see we have legislation in the works to produce our own fuel at home, they'll have an immediate response," Rich predicts.

In a sense, OPEC's greediness will bring about OPEC's demise, Rich asserts. "They arbitrarily conspire to drive up the price of oil and that's what will result in their own destruction," he claims.

Rich's $312 million proposed industry would produce 5,000 barrels of clean, useable liquid hydrocarbon transportation fuel each day, or 1.4 million barrels a year. No vehicle modifications would be required and the new fuel would sell for $1.10 a gallon.

The state and federal governments need to finalize legislation that would grant tax incentives to make the $312 million project economically viable, says John Rich, president of Reading Anthracite Co. and Waste Management & Processors, Inc., based in Schuylkill County.

A new future for King Coal - Rich believes the liquefaction/gasification process would re-energize domestic coal production, create high-quality jobs, improve job security and productivity, and result in numerous spin-off benefits throughout the economy.

For instance, sulfur extracted during the process could be used for manufacturing and for commercial purposes. Another byproduct, a crushed, glass-like aggregate, can be used in the manufacture of concrete, mortar and plaster.

But the main products, Ultra Clean Fuels, would grow into a business that would help sustain the region and provide an industrial backbone, Rich feels.

Specifically, Rich projects, the industry would create 1,000 construction jobs over five years, plus 150 permanent operating jobs, 600 secondary jobs in support and services and an annual payroll of more than $22 million. Permanent jobs over 20 years would generate $136.7 million in wages and $410 million in payroll for secondary jobs.

The state would recoup $15.3 million in personal income taxes and $30.6 million in sales taxes over the period.

Rich says the technology would help to improve the environment because Ultra Clean Fuels are cleaner in both production and consumption than standard fossil fuels.

[backhoe]

Old post:
Oil from Coal....Boon, Bane, or Boondoggle?

Don't have it handy, but I do have a few links about Clinton, Lippo, and Grand Escalante'.

[Bellflower]

A Wow ping.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I am reminded of an incident about twenty years ago in Tulsa, Ok.
A developer wanted to build houses over a good coal bearing area. A coal company requested the option to mine the coal first then build the houses since it would be imposible to mine the coal if the homes were built. The seam would be strip mined, reclaimed, then the homes built.

The city fathers said NO! so parts of Tulsa are built on good coal which can never be used.

[Guilliamus]

Take a look at Great Plains Synfuels...massive plant in central North Dakota produces about 54 billion cubic feet of natural gas from about 6 million tons of coal annually....was originally a government project.....but is becoming an exceptionally profitable private venture. Know folks who work there...provides some of the best jobs in the region.

[Graymatter]

I wonder how high oil will go before somebody takes an interest in the mountain of anthracite I can see from my window. We live in coal country. My garden soil is full of it, there's black dust in the streets and two rooms full of useless coal in my basement. Can't give it away.

And not far from here, an underground fire fueled by coal has been burning for around 40 years.

[xzins]

It's a shame. I live in the appalachian region of Ohio.

Go here to the other article I just posted: Coal the fuel of America's Future

We don't have to play with the Mid-Eastern camel jockeys anymore.

Let's send them a pink slip.

Coal is an easy avenue to that objective.

[Graymatter]

You drive up a highway here, there are enormous black hills spanning many miles, and rotting mining equipment that looks like it's been idle for a century.

If coal were crude, we'd all be sheiks here.

[truth_seeker]

Here is some more stuff. Follow links, too.

http://home.earthlink.net/~oilandyou/