The real facts about coal

With so much argument going on about fossil fuels and the environment i thought i should do an article about coal, coal mining, and what is really involved with this fuel.  My family owns alot of land that has a great amount of coal, gas timber, and other resources left to us in a corporation and trusts.  So this is an important subject to me because of the national interest on this subject, and my concern for the future of these resources.  I hope after reading this article my readers will have a little better understanding about this remarkable fossil fuel.
Gary

I live just across the hill from Cannel City so i thought i would start there with a little about this remarkable episode in Morgan County history.
Once upon a time, not so very long ago, in the early 20th century, the clearing you see above was a relatively important place, deserving, with a little optimism, the title of city.

"Cannel" is the clue. A type of coal high in volatile constituents and thus burning brightly, cannel coal was once prized as a fuel used in lighting homes and businesses: and so in 1910, the coal veins in this patch of Morgan County in central Kentucky were a significant commercial commodity, enough to warrant a large mining operation, the importation of hundreds of miners, a special railroad (the Ohio and Kentucky Junction-Cannel City line), and a bit later a major chemical plant operated by the Pearsite Company. With all this, Cannel City prospered: churches, a bank, an elegant hotel.

The usefulness of cannel coal, however, declined once coal gas, then electric lighting, became commonplace. The mine shut down in the mid 1930s, then the railroad. By the 1940's, it was all over.

coalminers pics, to the music of ricky skaggs, merle haggard, and larry sparks


Category: People & Blogs



Tags: coal miners ky wv pa working man blues

Coal timeline


1701 Coal discovered in Virginia.

1748 First recorded U.S. coal production.

1750 April 13th-Dr. Thomas Walker was the first recorded person to discover and use coal in Kentucky.

1755 Lewis Evan's map showing coal in what is now the Greenup County and Boyd County area of Kentucky.

1758 First commercial U.S. coal shipment.

1792 Issac Shelby becomes the first Governor of Kentucky (1792-1796).

1820 First commercial mine, known as the "McLean drift bank" opened in Kentucky, near the Green River and Paradise in Muhlenberg County.

328 short tons mined and sold in Kentucky.

1830 2,000 tons of Kentucky production.

1837 10,000 tons of Kentucky production.

1843 100,000 tons of Kentucky production.

1850 150,000 tons of Kentucky production.

Lexington and Big Sandy Railroad proposed.

Kentucky Geological Survey established.

1860 Pre-Civil War Kentucky production record of 285,760 tons.

1861 Kentucky-born Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th President of the United States (1861-65).

1866 Surface mining begins near Danville, Illinois.

1870 Post-Civil War Kentucky production decline to 150,582 tons.

St. Louis & Southern Railroad completed from Henderson to Earlington, Ky.

1872 First train off the Big Sandy Railroad.

1877 Coal mined with steam-powered shovel.

1879 One million tons of Kentucky production.

1880 Mechanical stokers introduced.

First coke ovens in west Kentucky.

Mine Ventilation Law.

First train from Williamson, West Virginia to Pike County, Kentucky.

Coal mining machines come into general use.

1890 N&W Railroad's first mine at Goody in Pike County.

Hopkins County in west Kentucky leading coal producer in the state for 18 straight years.

Miner Pay Law.

United Mine Workers of America formed.

Machines developed to undercut coalbeds.

5,000 kilowatt steam turbine generates electricity.

1900 Child Labor Law.

Edgewater Coal Company's first production in Pike County.

First train off the Lexington and Eastern Railroad.

Independent Geological Survey established.

1910 First train from the Cumberland Valley Railroad.

Fordson Coal Company's first production at Pond Creek.

Pike-Floyd Coal Company's first production at Betsy Layne.

1914 World War I increases demand for coal; Kentucky production 20.3 million tons.

Short-flame or "permissible" explosives developed.

Mine Safety Law.

1918 First pulverized coal firing in electric power plants.

1920 Federal Mineral Leasing Act.

42.1 million tons of Kentucky production.

1923 All-time high U.S. employment of 704,793 bituminous coal and lignite miners.

First dragline excavators built especially for surface mining.

1929 Stock market crashes beginning the Great Depression.

1932 Walking dragline excavators developed.

1936 47.7 million tons of Kentucky production .

1940 World War II - coal production in Kentucky rises to 72.4 million tons for the war effort.

Auger surface mining introduced.

1942 Republic Steel Company's first production - Road Creek, Kentucky.

Post-War Marshall Plan - production rises to 88.7 million tons in Kentucky.

Continuous underground mining systems developed. Kentucky Water Contamination Legislation.

1947 Kentucky Coal Association founded.

1950 82.2 million tons of Kentucky production.

1956 Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act.

Railroads converting from coal to diesel fuel.

Roof bolting introduced in underground mines.

1960 Railroads began using unit coal trains.

First longwall mining with powered roof supports.

Kentucky Surface Mining Legislation.

1963 Kentucky coal production exceeded 100 million tons.

1966 National Historic Preservation Act.

C&O Railroad to John's Creek constructed - Pike County.

1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act.

1970 Federal Clean Air Act.

1972 Kentucky Coal Severance Tax established.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

Kentucky becomes the leading coal production state.

1973 Endangered Species Act.

OPEC oil embargo: Coal production and prices rise.

1976 Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act.

1977 Federal Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act.

1980 Congress enacts the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) Study, a 10 year research program, which invested $550 million for the study of "acid rain." Industries spend over $1 billion on Air Pollution Control Equipment during 1980.

1983 OPEC cuts oil prices for first time.

Martha Layne Collins becomes Kentucky's first woman Governor (1983-87).

U.S. Clean Coal Technology Demonstration Program established $2.5 billion in Federal matching funds committed to assist the private sector to develop and demonstrate improved clean coal technologies.

1988 Kentucky Supreme Court rules that the unmined minerals tax on coal is subject to the same state and local property tax rates as other real estate. TVA 160-MW Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Combustion Unit on line.

Wyoming displaces Kentucky as the leading coal producing state.

1990 Federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

Kentucky record production - 179.4 million tons (1990).

U.S. coal production exceeds 1 billion tons.

1992 U.S. Energy Policy Act of 1992.

1993 CEDAR, Inc. (Coal Education Development and Resources) formed in Pike County.

1994 Western Kentucky CEDAR, Inc. was formed in Webster and Union Counties.

1996 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issues Order 888 addressing the issues of open access to encourage wholesale competition in the electric utility industry and FERC Order 889 requiring utilities to share information about available transmission capacity.

1996 Coal Education web site ( www.coaleducation.org ) was introduced to the Internet.

1996 Workers' Comp Reform Laws are passed in Kentucky.

1997 The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to re-introduce Elk into 14 East Kentucky Counties on post-mined lands, citing mountain-top removal areas and old mine benches as good elk habitat. This will be the only large free-ranging elk herd in the Eastern United States.

1997 Kentucky Coal Association celebrates 50 years of service to the mining industry (1947-97).

1998 Mountaintop mining comes under attack.

1998 Federal Tax credit begins for use of coal fines in a non-conventional solid synthetic fuel.

2001 Natural gas prices increase over 50% in one year.

Electricity shortages result in rolling blackouts in California.

2004 Governor Fletcher unveils Kentucky's first comprehensive energy strategy, "Kentucky's Energy: Opportunities for Our Future."

2005 East Kentucky Power Cooperative's Gilbert coal-fueled fluidized-bed power plant begins operation, the first coal-fired plant in over 15 years. Energy Policy Act of 2005 signed by President Bush; includes major Clean Coal Technology programs.

2006 Kentucky Energy Security National Leadership Act (HB 299) enacted; Act calls for strategy for producing liquid and gaseous fuels from Kentucky coal. Kentucky Coal Academy founded to provide training for coal miners that reflect the technological advancements in the mining industry.



Kentucky Coal facts in PDF>>Click here for COAL FACTS

Highlights .......................................................................................................... i

Contents .......................................................................................................... 1

Changes and Trends ......................................................................................... 2

Contacts .......................................................................................................... 3

History of Coal................................................................................................4-5

Types of Mining................................................................................................ 6

PRODUCTION

U. S. Coal Production........................................................................................ 7

Kentucky Production ......................................................................................... 8

County Production ............................................................................................ 9

EMPLOYMENT

Employment....................................................................................................10

Productivity .....................................................................................................11

Employment / Wages by County .......................................................................12

Safety and Training ..........................................................................................13

ECONOMY

Severance Tax by County .................................................................................14

Coal Taxes Returned .......................................................................................15

Economic Impact.............................................................................................16

Coal Prices......................................................................................................17

COAL MARKETS

Transportation .................................................................................................18

Uses of Coal....................................................................................................19

Coal Deliveries — State to State .....................................................................20

Electric Utility Shipments ..................................................................................21

Coal Exports / Imports ......................................................................................22

ENVIRONMENT

Air Quality / By -Products ...................................................................................23

Reclamation....................................................................................................24

Post-Mining Land Uses ............................................................................... 25-26

AML Reclamation ............................................................................................27

COAL RESOURCES

Coal Origin and Properties ................................................................................28

U. S. Comparisons — Production ......................................................................29

U. S. Coal Reserves.........................................................................................30

Kentucky Coal Resources ............................................................................ 31-32

Coal Properties / Improvements ........................................................................33

ELECTRICITY

Coal-into-Kilowatts ...................................................................................... 34-35

Electricity Costs ...............................................................................................36

Electric Utility / Non-Utility .................................................................................37

GASIFICATION

Coal—America’s Energy Future ................................................................... 38-39

RESOURCES

Coal-Fired Power Plants ...................................................................................40

Information Assistance.....................................................................................41


HOW COAL WAS FORMED


Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons. It is the most abundant fossil fuel produced in the United States.



Coal is a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to create. The energy in coal comes from the energy stored by plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, when the earth was partly covered with swampy forests. For millions of years, a layer of dead plants at the bottom of the swamps was covered by layers of water and dirt, trapping the energy of the dead plants. The heat and pressure from the top layers helped the plant remains turn into what we today call coal.



HOW WE GET COAL

Mining the Coal

Coal miners use giant machines to remove coal from the ground. They use two methods: surface or underground mining. Many U.S. coal beds are very near the ground's surface, and about two-thirds of coal production comes from surface mines. Modern mining methods allow us to easily reach most of our coal reserves. Due to growth in surface mining and improved mining technology, the amount of coal produced by one miner in one hour has more than tripled since 1978.



Surface mining is used to produce most of the coal in the U.S. because it is less expensive than underground mining. Surface mining can be used when the coal is buried less than 200 feet underground. In surface mining, giant machines remove the top-soil and layers of rock to expose large beds of coal. Once the mining is finished, the dirt and rock are returned to the pit, the topsoil is replaced, and the area is replanted. The land can then be used for croplands, wildlife habitats, recreation, or offices or stores.



Underground mining, sometimes called deep mining, is used when the coal is buried several hundred feet below the surface. Some underground mines are 1,000 feet deep. To remove coal in these underground mines, miners ride elevators down deep mine shafts where they run machines that dig out the coal. Read about a visit to a real underground coal mine.



Processing the Coal

After coal comes out of the ground, it typically goes on a conveyor belt to a preparation plant that is located at the mining site. The plant cleans and processes coal to remove dirt, rock, ash, sulfur, and other unwanted materials, increasing the heating value of the coal.





TRANSPORTING COAL

After coal is mined and processed, it is ready to be shipped to market. The cost of shipping coal can cost more than the cost of mining it.



Most coal is transported by train, but coal can also be transported by barge, ship, truck, and even pipeline. About 68 percent of coal in the U.S. is transported, for at least part of its trip to market, by train. It is cheaper to transport coal on river barges, but barges cannot take coal everywhere that it needs to go. If the coal will be used near the coal mine, it can be moved by trucks and conveyors. Coal can also be crushed, mixed with water, and sent through a "slurry" pipeline. Sometimes, coal-fired electric power plants are built near coal mines to lower transportation costs.





TYPES OF COAL

Coal is classified into four main types, or ranks (lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, anthracite), depending on the amounts and types of carbon it contains and on the amount of heat energy it can produce. The rank of a deposit of coal depends on the pressure and heat acting on the plant debris as it sank deeper and deeper over millions of years. For the most part, the higher ranks of coal contain more heat-producing energy.



Lignite is the lowest rank of coal with the lowest energy content. Lignite coal deposits tend to be relatively young coal deposits that were not subjected to extreme heat or pressure. Lignite is crumbly and has high moisture content. There are 20 lignite mines in the United States, producing about seven percent of U.S. coal. Most lignite is mined in Texas and North Dakota. Lignite is mainly burned at power plants to generate electricity.



Subbituminous coal has a higher heating value than lignite. Subbituminous coal typically contains 35-45 percent carbon, compared to 25-35 percent for lignite. Most subbituminous coal in the U.S. is at least 100 million years old. About 44 percent of the coal produced in the United States is subbituminous. Wyoming is the leading source of subbituminous coal.



Bituminous coal contains 45-86 percent carbon, and has two to three times the heating value of lignite. Bituminous coal was formed under high heat and pressure. Bituminous coal in the United States is between 100 to 300 million years old. It is the most abundant rank of coal found in the United States, accounting for about half of U.S. coal production. Bituminous coal is used to generate electricity and is an important fuel and raw material for the steel and iron industries. West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania are the largest producers of bituminous coal.



Anthracite contains 86-97 percent carbon, and has a heating value slightly lower than bituminous coal. It is very rare in the United States, accounting for less than one-half of a percent of the coal mined in the U.S. All of the anthracite mines in the United States are located in northeastern Pennsylvania.



WHERE WE GET COAL

Coal reserves are beds of coal still in the ground waiting to be mined. The United States has the world's largest known coal reserves, about 263.8 billion short tons. This is enough coal to last approximately 225 years at today's level of use.



Coal production is the amount of coal that is mined and sent to market. In 2006, the amount of coal produced at U.S. coal mines reached an all time high of 1,162.5 million short tons. Coal is mined in 27 states. Wyoming mines the most coal, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Texas.Coal is mainly found in three large regions, the Appalachian Coal Region, the Interior Coal Region, and Western Coal Region (includes the Powder River Basin).



Coal Production in Three Regions,2006

Millions of Short Tons

1,162.8 million short tons



Appalachian Coal Region:



More than one-third of the coal produced in the U.S. is produced in the Appalachian Coal Region.

West Virginia is the largest coal-producing state in the region, and the second largest coal-producing state in the U.S.

Large underground mines and small surface mines.

Coal mined in the Appalachian coal region is primarily used for steam generation for electricity, metal production, and for export.

Interior Coal Region:



Texas is the largest coal producer in the Interior Coal Region, accounting for almost one-third of the region’s coal production.

Mid-sized surface mines.

Mid- to large-sized companies.

Western Coal Region:



Over half of the coal produced in the U.S. is produced in the Western Coal Region.

Wyoming is the largest regional coal producer, as well as the largest coal-producing state in the nation.

Large surface mines.

Some of the largest coal mines in the world.

HOW COAL IS USED

About 92 percent of the coal used in the United States, is for generating electricity. Except for a small amount of net exports, the rest of the coal is used, as a basic energy source in many industries, including, steel, cement and paper. The four major uses of coal are:



FOR ELECTRIC POWER

Coal is used to generate almost half of all electricity produced in the United States. Besides electric utility companies, industries and businesses with their own power plants use coal to generate electricity. Power plants burn coal to make steam. The steam turns turbines which generate electricity.



FOR INDUSTRY

A variety of industries use coal's heat and by-products. Separated ingredients of coal (such as methanol and ethylene) are used in making plastics, tar, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, and medicines. The concrete and paper industries also burn large amounts of coal.



FOR MAKING STEEL

Coal is baked in hot furnaces to make coke, which is used to smelt iron ore into iron needed for making steel. It is the very high temperatures created from the use of coke that gives steel the strength and flexibility for products such as bridges, buildings, and automobiles.



FOR EXPORT

In 2006, 49.6 million short tons, or about four percent of the coal mined, was exported to other countries from the United States. Coal is exported to many different countries, but most trade is with Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Italy. More than half of coal exports are used for making steel.



Coal exports have been generally shrinking in the past 10 years, while the amount of coal imported from other countries has been growing. In 2006, about 36.2 million short tons of coal were imported from other countries. Most of these imports (from Colombia, Venezuela, and Indonesia) were shipped to electric power producers along the U.S. coastlines. Read about a visit to a coal export facility.



COAL AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Environmental laws and modern technologies have greatly reduced coal's impact on the environment. Without proper care, mining can destroy land and pollute water. Today, restoring the land damaged by surface mining is an important part of the mining process. Because mining activities often come into contact with water resources, coal producers must also go to great efforts to prevent damage to ground and surface waters.



When coal is burned as fuel, it gives off carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas that is linked with global warming. Burning coal also produces emissions, such as sulfur, nitrogen oxide (NOx), and mercury, that can pollute the air and water. Sulfur mixes with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide (SO2), a chemical that can affect trees and water when it combines with moisture to produce acid rain. Emissions of nitrogen oxide help create smog, and also contribute to acid rain. Mercury that is released into the air eventually settles in water. The mercury in the water can build up in fish and shellfish, and can be harmful to animals and people who eat them. The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act require industries to reduce pollutants released into the air and the water.



The coal industry has found several ways to reduce sulfur, nitrogen oxides, and other impurities from coal. They have found more effective ways of cleaning coal before it leaves the mine, and coal companies look for low-sulfur coal to mine. Power plants use "scrubbers" to clean sulfur from the smoke before it leaves their smokestacks. In addition, industry and government have cooperated to develop "clean coal technologies" that either remove sulfur and nitrogen oxides from coal, or convert coal to a gas or liquid fuel. The scrubbers and NOx removal equipment are also able to reduce mercury emissions from some types of coal. Scientists are working on new ways to reduce mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants, since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set tighter mercury limits for the future.



Last Revised: July 2008

Sources: Energy Information Administration, Annual Coal Report 2006, October 2007,

Energy Information Administration, Coal InorCard 2006, January 2008,

Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Annual 2006, November 2007, National Energy Education Development Project, Intermediate Energy Infobook, 2006-2007