Stuart E. Nevins, MSc.

Accumulated, compacted and processed plants form a sedimentary rock called coal. Coal is not only a source of huge economic significance, but also a breed that has a special appeal to the student of earth history. Even though coal forms less than one percent of the earth's sedimentary rocks, it is of great importance to geologists who trust the Bible. It is coal that gives the Christian geologist one of the strongest geological arguments in favor of the reality of the global Noahic Flood.

Two theories have been proposed to explain the formation of coal. A popular theory, held by most uniformitarian geologists, is that the plants that make up coal accumulated in vast freshwater swamps or peat bogs over many thousands of years. This first theory, which involves the growth of plant material where it is found, is called autochthonous theory .

The second theory suggests that the coal seams accumulated from plants that were quickly transported from other places and deposited under flooded conditions. This second theory, according to which the movement of plant debris occurred, is called allochthonous theory .

Fossils in coal

The types of plant fossils that are found in coal are obviously do not support the autochthonous theory. Fossil club moss trees (e.g. Lepidodendron And Sigillaria) and giant ferns (especially Psaronius), characteristic of Pennsylvanian coal beds, may have had some ecological tolerance to swampy conditions, whereas other Pennsylvania Basin fossil plants (e.g., conifer Cordaites, giant horsetail overwintering Calamites, various extinct fern-like gymnosperms) due to their basic structure must have preferred well-drained soils rather than swamps. Many researchers believe that the anatomical structure of fossil plants indicates that they grew in tropical or subtropical climates (an argument that can be used against the autochthonous theory), since modern bogs are the most extensive and have the deepest accumulation of peat in cooler climates. climatic conditions higher latitudes. Due to the increased evaporative capacity of the sun, modern tropical and subtropical regions are the poorest in peat.

Often found in coal marine fossils, such as fossil fish, mollusks and brachiopods (brachiopods). Coal seams contain coal balls, which are rounded masses of crumpled and incredibly well-preserved plants, as well as fossil animals (including marine animals) that are directly related to these coal seams. The small marine annelid Spirorbis is usually found attached to plants in the coals of Europe and North America, which belong to the Carboniferous period. Since the anatomical structure of fossil plants provides little indication that they were adapted to marine marshes, the occurrence of marine animals with non-marine plants suggests that mixing occurred during translocation, thus supporting the allochthonous theory model.

Among the most amazing views fossils that are found in coal layers - vertical tree trunks, which are perpendicular to the bedding and often intersect tens of feet of rock. These vertical trees are often found in strata that are associated with coal deposits, and in rare cases they are found in the coal itself. In any case, sediment must accumulate quickly to cover the trees before they deteriorate and fall.

How long does it take for layers of sedimentary rock to form? Check out this ten-meter-tall petrified tree, one of hundreds discovered in the coal mines of Cookeville, Tennessee, USA. This tree starts in one coal layer, goes up through numerous layers, and finally ends in another coal layer. Think about it: what would happen to the top of the tree during the thousands of years it takes (according to evolution) to form sedimentary layers and coal layers? Obviously, the formation of sedimentary layers and coal seams had to be catastrophic (rapid) in order to bury the tree in an upright position before it rotted and fell. Such " standing trees" are found in numerous places on earth and at different levels. Despite the evidence, long periods time (necessary for evolution) are squeezed between the layers, for which there is no evidence.

One might be under the impression that these trees are in their original growth position, but some evidence suggests that this is not the case at all, in fact the opposite. Some trees cross the strata diagonally, and some are found completely upside down. Sometimes it appears that vertical trees have taken root in a growth position in strata that are completely penetrated by a second vertical tree. Hollow trunks of fossil trees are usually filled with sedimentary rock that is different from the surrounding rocks. rocks. The logic applied to the examples described points to the movement of these trunks.

Fossil roots

The most important fossil that is directly relevant to the debate over the origin of coal is stigmaria- fossil root or rhizome. Stigmaria most often found in strata that lie beneath coal seams and, as a rule, is directly related to vertical trees. It was believed that stigmaria, which was explored 140 years ago by Charles Lyell and D.W. Dawson in the Carboniferous coal succession of Nova Scotia provides unequivocal evidence that the plant grew in this location.

Many modern geologists continue to insist that stigmaria is a root that formed in this very place, and which extends into the soil below the coal swamp. The Nova Scotia coal sequence has recently been re-explored by N.A. Rupke, who discovered four arguments in favor of allochthonous origin of stigmaria , obtained based on the study of sedimentary deposits. The fossil found is usually clastic and rarely attached to the trunk, indicating a preferred orientation of its horizontal axis, which was created as a result of the action of the current. In addition, the trunk is filled with sedimentary rock that is not similar to the rock surrounding the trunk, and it is often found at many horizons in strata that are completely penetrated by vertical trees. Rupke's research cast serious doubt on the popular autochthonous explanation for other strata in which stigmaria.

Cyclothemes

Coal usually occurs in a sequence of sedimentary rocks called cyclothem .Idealized Pennsylvania cyclothem may have strata that were deposited in the following ascending order: sandstone, shale, limestone, underlying clay, coal, shale, limestone, shale. IN typical cyclothema, as a rule, one of the constituent layers is missing. At each site cyclothemes each cycle of deposition is typically repeated dozens of times, with each deposit overlying the previous deposit. Located in Illinois fifty successive cycles, and more than one hundred such cycles lie in West Virginia.

Although the coal seam that forms part of the typical cyclothemes, usually quite thin (typically one inch to several feet thick) the lateral location of the coal has incredible dimensions. In one of the modern stratigraphic studies4, a relationship was drawn between coal deposits: Broken Arrow (Oklahoma), Crowburg (Missouri), Whitebrest (Iowa), Colchester Number 2 (Illinois), Coal IIIa (Indiana), Schultztown ( Western Kentucky), Princess Number 6 (Eastern Kentucky), and Lower Kittanning (Ohio and Pennsylvania). They all form one, huge coal seam that extends to hundred thousand square kilometers in the central and eastern United States. No modern swamp has an area that even slightly approaches the size of the Pennsylvania coal deposits.

If the autochthonous model of coal formation is correct, then very unusual circumstances must have prevailed. The entire area, often tens of thousands of square kilometers, would have to simultaneously rise above sea level for the swamp to accumulate, and then it would have to sink to be inundated by the ocean. If the fossil forests rose too high above sea level, the swamp and its antiseptic water needed to accumulate peat would simply evaporate. If the sea were to invade the bog while the peat was accumulating, marine conditions would destroy the plants and other sediments and the peat would not be deposited. Then, according to the popular model, the formation of a thick coal seam would indicate the maintenance of an incredible balance over many thousands of years between the rate of peat accumulation and sea level rise. This situation seems most implausible, especially if we remember that the cyclothem is repeated in a vertical section hundreds of times or even more. Or perhaps these cycles can best be explained as accumulations that occurred during the successive rise and fall of the flood waters?

Shale

When it comes to cyclothems, the underlying clay is of most interest. The underlying clay is a soft layer of clay that is not arranged in sheets and often lies beneath the coal seam. Many geologists believe that this is the fossil soil on which the swamp existed. The presence of underlying clay, especially when it is found stigmaria, is often interpreted as enough proof autochthonous origin of coal-forming plants.

However, recent research has cast doubt on the interpretation of the underlying clay as fossil soil. No soil characteristics that were similar to those of modern soil were found in the underlying clay. Some minerals found in the underlying soil are not the types of minerals that should be found in the soil. On the contrary, the underlying clays, as a rule, have rhythmic layering (coarser granular material is located at the very bottom) and signs of the formation of clay flakes. These are simple characteristics of sedimentary rocks that would form in any layer that accumulated in water.

Many coal layers do not rest on the underlying clays, and any signs of the existence of soil are absent. In some cases, coal seams rest on granite, slate, limestone, conglomerate, or other rocks that do not resemble soil. Underlying clay without an underlying coal seam is common, just as underlying clay often lies on top of a coal seam. The lack of recognizable soils below the coal seams indicates that no type of lush vegetation could grow here and supports the idea that coal-forming plants were transported here.

Coal structure

Studying the microscopic structure and structure of peat and coal helps to understand the origin of coal. A. D. Cohen pioneered a comparative structural study of modern autochthonous peats derived from mangroves and rare modern allochthonous coastal peats from southern Florida. Most autochthonous peats contained plant fragments that had a disordered orientation with a predominant matrix of finer material, while allochthonous peat had an orientation formed by water flows with elongated axes of plant fragments that were located, as a rule, parallel to the shore surface with a characteristic absence of finer material. matrix. Poorly sorted plant debris in autochthonous peats had a coarse structure due to the intertwined mass of roots, while autochthonous peat had a characteristic microlayering due to the absence of ingrown roots.

In conducting this research, Cohen noted: “One of the things that emerged from the study of allochthonous peat was that vertical microtome sections of this material looked more like thin sections of Coal Coal than any autochthonous sample examined.”. Cohen noted that the characteristics of this autochthonous peat (orientation of elongated fragments, sorted granular structure with a general absence of finer matrix, microlayering with absence of tangled root structure) are also characteristics of coals of the Carboniferous period!

Lumps in coal

One of the most impressive external features of coal is the large lumps it contains. For over a hundred years, these large lumps have been found in coal seams around the world. P.H. Price conducted a study in which he examined large blocks of the Sewell coalfield, which is located in West Virginia. The average weight of the 40 boulders collected was 12 pounds, and the largest boulder weighed 161 pounds. Many of the cobblestones were volcanic or metamorphic rock, unlike all other outcrops in West Virginia. Price suggested that large blocks could have become entangled in the roots of trees and transported here from afar. Thus, the presence of large lumps in the coal supports the allochthonous model.

Coalification

Disputes regarding the nature of the process of turning peat into coal have been going on for many years. One existing theory suggests that it is time is a major factor in the carbonization process. However, this theory fell out of favor because it was found that there was no systematic increase in the metamorphic stage of coal over time. There are several apparent inconsistencies: lignites, which are the lowest stage of metamorphism, occur in some of the oldest coal-bearing seams, while anthracites, which represent the highest stage of coal metamorphism, occur in the younger seams.

The second theory regarding the process of turning peat into coal suggests that the main factor in the process of coal metamorphism is pressure. However, this theory is refuted by numerous geological examples in which the metamorphic stage of coal does not increase in highly deformed and folded strata. Moreover, laboratory experiments show that increasing pressure can actually slow down chemical transformation of peat into coal.

The third theory (the most popular today) suggests that the most important factor in the process of coal metamorphism is temperature. Geological examples (volcanic intrusions in coal seams and underground mine fires) show that elevated temperatures can cause coalification. Laboratory experiments have also been quite successful in confirming this theory. One experiment conducted using a rapid heating process produced an anthracite-like substance in just a few minutes, with most of the heat generated from the conversion of the cellulosic material. Thus, coal metamorphism does not require millions of years of heat and pressure - it can be formed by rapid heating.

Conclusion

We see that a wealth of supporting evidence strongly proves the truth of the allochthonous theory and confirms the accumulation of multiple coal layers during Noah's Flood. Vertical fossil trees within coal layers confirm rapid accumulation plant residues. Marine animals and terrestrial (not swamp-growing) plants found in coal imply their movement. The microstructure of many coal seams has distinct particle orientations, sorted grain structures, and microlayering that indicate movement (rather than in situ growth) of plant material. Large lumps present in the coal indicate movement processes. The absence of soil beneath many coal seams confirms the fact that coal-forming plants floated with the flow. Coal has been shown to form systematic and typical portions cyclothem, which clearly, like other rocks, were deposited by water. Experiments examining changes in plant material show that coal-like anthracite does not take millions of years to form - it can form quickly under the influence of heat.

Links

*Professor of Geology and Archeology at Christian Heritage College, El Cajon, California.

About coal

Coal is a solid, exhaustible, non-renewable mineral that humans use to produce heat by burning it. According to the classification, it belongs to sedimentary rocks.

What it is?

People began to use coal as an energy source in ancient times, along with firewood. The “combustible stone” was found on the surface of the earth, and later it began to be deliberately mined from underneath it.

Coal appeared on Earth about 300-350 million years ago, when tree ferns grew luxuriantly in primeval swamps and the first gymnosperms began to appear. Huge trunks fell into the water, gradually forming thick layers of undecomposed organic matter. With limited access to oxygen, the wood did not rot, but gradually sank deeper and deeper under its weight. Over time, due to shifting layers earth's crust, these layers sank to a considerable depth and there, under the influence of great pressure and elevated temperature, there was a qualitative change from wood to coal.

Types of coal

Today they are mining different kinds coal.

Anthracites are the hardest varieties from great depths and have a maximum combustion temperature. Hard coal - many varieties mined in mines and open method. It is most widely used in many areas of human activity. Brown coal - formed from the remains of peat, the youngest type of coal. Has the most low temperature combustion.

All types of coal occur in layers and their locations are called coal basins.

Coal mining

At first, coal was simply collected in places where the seam came to the surface. This could have happened as a result of displacement of layers of the earth's crust.

Often, after landslides in mountainous areas, such deposits were exposed, and people were able to get to pieces of “combustible stone.”

Later, when primitive technology appeared, coal began to be mined using the open pit method. Some coal mines sank to depths of more than 300 meters.

Today, thanks to the availability of sophisticated modern technology, people descend underground into mines more than a kilometer deep. The highest quality and valuable coal is mined from these horizons.

Where is coal used?

All types of coal can be used to produce heat. When burned, it is released in much greater quantities than can be obtained from firewood or other hard species fuel. The hottest types of coal are used in metallurgy, where high temperatures are required.

In addition, coal is a valuable raw material for the chemical industry. Many necessary and useful substances are extracted from it.

Coal is mined from the depths of the earth and is an ancient sedimentary rock. When burned, this substance releases large amounts of heat energy, which is why it is used to produce coolants and is even called “black gold.” Coal is mined in mines and adits located under the surface of the earth, sometimes at very great depths. Scientists tend to consider this type of fuel the most ancient on earth.

The formation of coal began in ancient times, presumably in the Paleozoic era. The vegetation of that period consisted of huge tree-like plants. Almost the entire area globe in those days it was covered with water, and all the organic remains of dead plants ended up in water bodies. Life cycle The growth of plants with large vegetative mass was very active and constantly large quantities of remains replenished the layers of deposits. Then, under the influence of physical and chemical processes, constantly exposed to natural conditions, covered with layers of earth or volcanic emissions, they grew into swamp peat, and then into coal. For the formation of these soil rocks, it is the accumulation of a large amount of organic matter that does not have time to completely decompose under the influence of certain bacteria. This happened in reservoirs poor in oxygen, so such ideal conditions and appeared in those distant times. And the release of various gases during the decomposition of plant remains contributed to denser caking and hardening of the layers.

Then, after a certain time, brown coal was produced from peat, intermediate between peat and coal. This loose, light brown substance can still be found in peat bogs, where it is formed from the remains of bog plants.

And the very last link in the chain of occurrence of coal is the immersion of brown coal deposits far into the bowels of the earth. This occurs when layers of the earth move during earthquakes and other natural disasters. There, under the influence of pressure created by magma and upon contact with hot rocks of the earth, the process of moisture reduction from coal occurs, and the amount of carbon, on the contrary, increases. Coal with the highest heat transfer is called anthracite.

The process of the emergence of coal is very long, and only after a huge number of years did deposits of the coal that is used in modern industry appear on the planet.

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This pattern of coal layers is found everywhere:

Nazarovo coal mine. Two thin layers close to the surface

The main layer with brown coal does not look like a disordered mass with chaotically laid petrified trunks of ancient trees. The layer has clear strata - many layers. Those official version not suitable for ancient trees. And it doesn’t fit for another reason great content sulfur in brown coal seams.

Table of the content of certain chemical elements in coal, peat, wood and oil.

In order not to think about the meaning of the table, I will write conclusions from it.
1. Carbon. In wood it is the least of the listed fuel sources. And it is not clear (if we take into account the traditional version of the formation of coal) why the amount of carbon increases with the accumulation of organic matter (wood or peat) in the layers. A contradiction that no one explains.
2. Nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen compounds are one of the building elements of wood and vegetation. And why the amount of nitrogen decreased after the transformation of wood or peat into brown coal is again unclear. Again a contradiction.
3. Sulfur. Wood does not contain any quantity sufficient for the accumulation of this chemical element. Even in peat, sulfur is negligible compared to layers of brown and coal. Where does sulfur get into the layers? The only assumption is that there was sulfur in the layers initially. Mixed with organic matter? But somehow strangely the concentration of sulfur in coal coincides with the sulfur content in oil.

Typically, sulfur is pyrite, sulfate and organic. As a rule, pyrite sulfur predominates. Sulfur contained in coals is usually found in the form of magnesium, calcium and iron sulfates, iron pyrites (pyrite sulfur) and in the form of organic sulfur-containing compounds. As a rule, only sulfate and sulfide sulfur are determined separately; organic is defined as the difference between the amount of total sulfur in coal and the sum of sulfate and sulfide sulfur.

Sulfur pyrite is an almost constant companion of coal, and sometimes in such quantities that it is unfit for use (for example, coal from the Moscow basin).

According to these data, it turns out that the accumulation of organic matter (wood or peat) has nothing to do with coal. The formation of brown coals is an abiogenic process. But which one? Why are brown coals located relatively shallowly, while hard coals can be found at depths of up to two kilometers?

The next question is: where are all the fossils of flora and fauna in the lignite seams? They must be massive! Trunks, plants, skeletons and bones of dead animals - where are they?

Leaf prints are found only in overburden rocks:

Petrified fern. Such fossilized plants are found during coal mining. This specimen was mined during work at the Rodinskaya mine in Donbass. But we will return to these supposed fossils below.

This refers to waste rock from coal mines. I didn't find anything about brown coal.

Areas of coal formation. Most coal is found in the northern hemisphere, absent from the equator and the tropics. But there was the most acceptable climate for the accumulation of organic matter in ancient times. There are also no areas (in latitudinal form) of accumulation on the old equators. This distribution is clearly due to another reason.

One more question. Why was this mineral fuel not used in ancient times? There are no widespread descriptions of the mining and use of brown coal. The first mentions of coal date back only to the time of Peter I. Getting it (getting to the seam) is not at all difficult. This is done in a handicraft way by local residents in Ukraine:

There are also larger-scale open-pit coal mining:

Coal under 8-10 meters of clay. For the formation of coal, geologists say it is necessary high pressure and temperature. This clearly wasn't the case here.

Coal is soft and crumbles.

When digging wells, they had to come across layers and find out that they were burning. But history tells us about the beginning of mass coal mining only in the 19th century.

Or maybe these layers did not exist until the 19th century? As it was not in the mid-19th century. trees! See the desert landscapes of Crimea and photographs of Stolypin settlers who climbed into the remote corners of Siberia in convoys. And now there is impenetrable taiga. I'm talking about the 19th century version of the flood. Its mechanism is not clear (if it did exist). But let's return to brown coals.

What breed do you think this is? Brown coal? It looks like it, but they didn't guess right. These are tar sands.

Large-scale oil production from tar sands in Canada. Before the fall in oil prices, it was profitable, even profitable business. On average, four tons of bitumen produce only one barrel of oil.

If you don’t know, you won’t even think that oil is produced here. It looks like a brown coal mine.

Another example from Ukraine:

In the village of Starunya (Ivano-Frankivsk region), oil comes to the surface on its own, creating small volcanoes. Some oil volcanoes are burning!

Then it will all petrify and there will be a coal seam.

So where am I going with this? Moreover, during the cataclysm, the rupture of the earth, oil came out and spilled. But she did not petrify in the sands. And brown coal is probably the same thing, but in chalk or other deposits. There, the fraction before oil was less than sand. The stone state of the coals suggests that there are chalk layers involved. Perhaps some reactions took place and the layers turned into stone.

Even Wikipedia writes:
Fossil coal is a mineral, a type of fuel formed both from parts of ancient plants, and to a large extent from bitumen masses that poured onto the surface of the planet and underwent metamorphism due to subsidence. great depths underground at high temperatures and without oxygen.
But the version of the abiogenic origin of brown coals from oil spills is not being developed anywhere else.

Some write that this version does not explain the many layers of brown coal. If we take into account that not only masses of oil, but also water and mud sources came to the surface, then alternation is quite possible. Oil and bitumen are lighter than water - they floated on the surface and were deposited and adsorbed on the rock in the form of thin layers. Here is an example in a seismically active zone in Japan:

Water comes out of the cracks. It is, of course, not deep, but what prevents the waters of artesian sources or underground oceans and upon exiting, throw onto the surface masses of rocks ground into clay, sand, lime, salt, etc. Deposit strata over a short period rather than millions of years. I am increasingly inclined to think that in some places at certain times the flood could have been caused not by the passage of a wave from the ocean, but by the release of water and mud masses from the bowels of the Earth.

Sources:
http://sibved.livejournal.com/200768.html
https://new.vk.com/feed?w=wall178628732_2011
http://forum.gp.dn.ua/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=2210
http://chispa1707.livejournal.com/1698628.html

A separate issue is the formation of coal

Comment in one of the articles from jonny3747 :
Coal in the Donbass is most likely a displacement of plates one under another, along with all the forests, ferns, etc. I myself worked at depths of more than 1 km. The layers lie at an angle, as if one plate was creeping under another. Between the coal and rock layers there are very often imprints of plants; quite a few caught my eye. And what’s interesting is that between the hard rock and the coal there is a thin layer, as if not rock, but not yet coal, it crumbles in your hands, unlike the rock it has a dark color, and that’s where the prints were often found.

This observation fits very clearly with the growth process of pyrographite in these layers. Most likely, the author saw these:

Remember the fern fossils in the photos above

Here are excerpts from the monograph “Unknown Hydrogen” and the work “History of the Earth without the Carboniferous Period”:

Based on our own research and whole line works of other scientists, the authors state:
“Given the recognized role of deep gases, ... the genetic relationship of natural carbonaceous substances with juvenile hydrogen-methane fluid can be described as follows.
1. From the gas-phase system C-O-H (methane, hydrogen, carbon dioxide) ... carbonaceous substances can be synthesized - as in artificial conditions, and in nature...
5. Pyrolysis of methane diluted with carbon dioxide under artificial conditions leads to the synthesis of liquid... hydrocarbons, and in nature to the formation of the entire genetic series of bituminous substances.”

CH4 → Sgraphite + 2H2

During the decomposition of methane in the depths, complex hydrocarbons are formed in a completely natural way! This happens because it turns out to be energetically beneficial! And not only gaseous or liquid hydrocarbons, but also solid ones!
Methane is still constantly “oozing” into coal mining areas. It may be residual. Or it may also be evidence of the continuation of the process of influx of hydrocarbon vapors from the subsurface.

Well, now the time has come to deal with the “main trump card” of the version of the organic origin of brown and hard coal - the presence of “carbonized plant residues” in them.
Such “coalified plant residues” are found in huge quantities in coal deposits. Paleobotanists “confidently identify the plant species” in these “remains.”
It is on the basis of the abundance of these “remains” that the conclusion was made about almost tropical conditions in vast regions of our planet and the conclusion about the violent flourishing of flora in the Carboniferous period.
But! When producing pyrolytic graphite by pyrolysis of methane diluted with hydrogen, it was found that dendritic forms, very similar to “plant residues,” are formed in stagnant zones away from the gas flow.

Samples of pyrolytic graphite with " plant patterns"(from the monograph "Unknown Hydrogen")

The simplest conclusion that follows from the above photographs of “carbonized plant forms”, which in fact are only forms of pyrolytic graphite, will be this: paleobotanists now need to think hard!..

And the scientific world continues to write dissertations on the origin of coals based on the biological accumulation of layers

1. Hydride compounds in the bowels of our planet disintegrate when heated (see the author’s article “Does the fate of Phaethon await the Earth?..”), releasing hydrogen, which, in full accordance with Archimedes’ law, rushes upward - to the surface of the Earth.
2. On its way, hydrogen, due to its high chemical activity, interacts with subsoil matter, forming various compounds. Including such gaseous substances as methane CH4, hydrogen sulfide H2S, ammonia NH3, water vapor H2O and the like.
3. Under conditions of high temperatures and in the presence of other gases included in the subsurface fluids, methane undergoes a stage-by-stage decomposition, which, in full accordance with the laws of physical chemistry, leads to the formation of gaseous hydrocarbons, including complex ones.
4. Rising both along existing cracks and faults in the earth’s crust, and forming new ones under pressure, these hydrocarbons fill all the cavities accessible to them in geological rocks. And due to contact with these colder rocks, gaseous hydrocarbons transform into a different phase state and (depending on the composition and environmental conditions) form deposits of liquid and solid minerals - oil, brown and hard coal, anthracite, graphite and even diamonds.
5. In the process of formation of solid deposits, in accordance with the still far from being studied laws of self-organization of matter, under appropriate conditions, the formation of ordered forms occurs - including those reminiscent of the forms of the living world.

And another very curious detail: before the Carboniferous Period - at the end of Devonian - the climate was quite cool and arid, and after - at the beginning of Permian - the climate was also cool and arid. Before the “Carboniferous Period” we have a “red continent”, and after we have the same “red continent”...
The following logical question arises: was there a warm “Carboniferous Period” at all?!

The non-million-year age of coal and lignite layers explains a number of strange artifacts found in coals:

An iron mug found in coal 300 million years old.

Gear rack in coal

Almost 200 years ago, the brilliant Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov absolutely correctly explained the formation of fossil coal from plant remains, similar to how peat is formed now. Lomonosov also indicated the conditions necessary for the transformation of peat into coal: decomposition of vegetation “without free air”, heat inside the Earth and the “burden of the roof,” i.e., rock pressure.

It takes a very long time for peat to turn into coal. Peat accumulates in the swamp, and from above the swamp is overgrown with more and more layers of plants. At depth, the peat is constantly changing. The complex chemical compounds that make up plants are broken down into simpler ones. One part dissolves and is carried away with water, the other goes into a gaseous state: carbon dioxide and illuminating gas - methane (the same gas burns in our stoves). Fungi and bacteria inhabiting all peat bogs play a major role in the formation of coal. They help break down plant tissue. During the process of these changes in peat, the most persistent substance accumulates in it - carbon. As peat changes, it becomes more and more rich in carbon.

The accumulation of carbon in peat occurs without access to oxygen, otherwise carbon, combining with oxygen, would turn completely into carbon dioxide and evaporate. The resulting layers of peat are first isolated from the oxygen of the air by the water covering them, then by the newly emerging layers of peat.

This is how the process of turning peat into fossil coal gradually occurs. There are several main types of fossil coal: lignite, brown coal, hard coal, anthracite, boghead, etc.

The most similar to peat is lignite - loose brown coal of not very ancient origin. The remains of plants, mainly wood, are clearly visible in it (hence the name “lignite”, which means “wooden”). Lignite is woody peat. In modern peat bogs of the temperate zone, peat is formed mainly from peat moss, sedge, and reeds, but in the subtropical zone of the globe, for example, in the forest swamps of Florida in the USA, woody peat is also formed, very similar to fossil lignite.

With greater decomposition and alteration of plant debris, brown coal is created. Its color is dark brown or black; it is stronger than lignite, wood remains are less common in it and are more difficult to discern. When burned, brown coal produces more heat than lignite because it is richer in carbon. Brown coal does not always turn into hard coal over time. It is known that brown coal from the Moscow basin is of the same age as hard coal on the western slope of the Urals (Kizelovsky basin). The process of turning brown coal into hard coal occurs only when layers of brown coal sink into deeper horizons of the earth's crust or mountain building processes occur. To transform brown coal into hard coal or anthracite, a very high temperature and high pressure are needed in the bowels of the Earth. In coal, plant remains are visible only under a microscope; it is heavy, shiny and often very strong. Some types of coal themselves or together with other varieties are coked, that is, they turn into coke.

The largest amount of carbon contains black shiny coal - anthracite. You can find plant remains in it only under a microscope. When burned, anthracite produces more heat than all other types of coal.

Boghead is a dense black coal with a conchoidal fracture surface; when dry distilled it gives a large number of coal tar - a valuable raw material for the chemical industry. Boghead is formed from algae and sapropel.

The longer coal lies in the earth's layers and the more it is exposed to pressure and deep heat, the more carbon it contains. Anthracite contains about 95% carbon, brown coal contains about 70%, and peat contains from 50 to 65%.

In the swamp, where peat initially accumulates, clay, sand and various dissolved substances usually fall along with water. They form mineral impurities in peat, which then remain in coal. These impurities often form interlayers that divide the coal layer into several layers. The impurity contaminates the coal and makes it difficult to mine.

When coal is burned, all mineral impurities remain in the form of ash. How better coal, the less ash it should contain. In good types of coal it is only a few percent, but sometimes the amount of ash reaches 30-40%. If the ash content is more than 60%, then the coal does not burn at all and is not suitable for fuel.

Coal seams are different not only in their composition, but also in structure. Sometimes the entire thickness of the seam consists of pure coal. This means that it was formed in a peat bog, where almost no water, contaminated with clay and sand, entered. Such coal can be burned immediately. More often, coal layers alternate with clay or sandy layers. Such coal seams are called complex. In them, for example, a layer 1 m thick often contains 10-15 layers of clay, each several centimeters thick, while pure coal accounts for only 60-70 cm; Moreover, the coal can be of very good quality.

To obtain fuel from coal with a low content of foreign impurities, coal is enriched. The rock from the mine is immediately sent to the processing plant. There, the rock extracted from the mine is crushed into small pieces in special machines, and then all clay lumps are separated from the coal. Clay is always heavier than coal, so the mixture of coal and clay is washed with a stream of water. The force of the jet is chosen such that it carries away the coal, while the heavier clay remains at the bottom. Then the water and coal are passed through a fine grate. The water drains, and the coal, already clean and free of clay particles, collects on the surface of the grate. This type of coal is called enriched coal. There will be very little ash left in it. It happens that ash in coal turns out to be not a harmful impurity, but a mineral. For example, fine, clayey mud carried into a swamp by streams and rivers often forms layers of valuable fire-resistant clay. It is specially developed or the ash remaining after the combustion of coal is collected, and then used to make porcelain tableware and other products. Sometimes coal is found in the ashes.

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