UWCSEA Libraries Logo

EAST : Renewable Energy

Grade 5

Return to home

Find:
Search Keywords Search Titles Search Authors Search Subjects Search Series
Advanced Search

There are more than 3032 coal mines in operation globally.

Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from coal mines and is naturally available. Coal may contain impurities.

Coke is obtained from the destillation of bituminous coal. During this process, the impurities are removed. Therefore, it is considered a pure form of coal.

Peat is not coal but can transformed to coal over millions of years. If it is under the right circumstances. Peat is also used as a fuel.

Why Use Coal?

Coal is plentiful in many places, and it is easy to access through mining.

Coal is also easy to store. Once it is mined, it can be safely stored, with no major hazard of fire or explosion; unlike gas or oil.

The main reason coal is used, is because it is relatively easy and inexpensive to convert coal into energy.  Source.

Coal – Pros and Cons

PROS

  • Coal is cheaper than many other fossil fuels.
  • There is a lot of coal all over the world, and much of it is easy to mine!
  • Can convert to a cleaner form in liquid or gas.

CONS

  • Coal is a non-renewable energy source. This means that eventually it will run out.
  • Surface Mining destroys areas of the environment.
  • Burning coal releases pollutants into the air.

 

 

The animated map resizes each country based on their share of global coal production.