Coal is a fuel for energy and a raw material for the chemical industry. Hard coal: application and diversity

09.10.2019 Heating systems

Its application is so multifunctional that sometimes you just wonder. At such moments, doubt involuntarily creeps in, and a completely logical question sounds in my head: “What? Is it all coal?!” Everyone is used to considering coal as just a combustible material, but, in fact, its range of applications is so wide that it seems simply incredible.

Formation and origin of coal seams

The appearance of coal on Earth dates back to a distant Paleozoic era when the planet was still in the development stage and had a completely alien look to us. The formation of coal seams began about 360,000,000 years ago. This happened mainly in the bottom sediments of prehistoric reservoirs, where organic materials accumulated for millions of years.

Simply put, coal is the remains of the bodies of giant animals, tree trunks and other living organisms that have sunk to the bottom, decayed and pressed under the water column. The process of formation of deposits is quite long, and it takes at least 40,000,000 years for the formation of a coal seam.

Coal mining

People have long understood how important and indispensable, and the use of it was able to evaluate and adapt on such a scale relatively recently. Large-scale development of coal deposits began only in the XVI-XVII centuries. in England, and the extracted material was used mainly for the smelting of iron, necessary for the manufacture of cannons. But its production by today's standards was so insignificant that it cannot be called industrial.

Large-scale mining began only towards the middle of the 19th century, when the developing industrialization became indispensable for hard coal. Its use, however, at that time was limited exclusively to incineration. Hundreds of thousands of mines are now operating all over the world, producing more per day than in a few years in the 19th century.

Varieties of hard coal

Deposits of coal seams can reach a depth of several kilometers, extending into the thickness of the earth, but not always and not everywhere, because it is both in content and in appearance heterogeneous.

There are 3 main types of this fossil: anthracite, brown coal, as well as peat, which very remotely resembles coal.

    Anthracite is the oldest formation of its kind on the planet, the average age of this species is 280,000,000 years. He is very hard, high density, and the carbon content in it is 96-98%.

    The hardness and density are relatively low, as is the carbon content in it. It has an unstable, loose structure and is also oversaturated with water, the content of which in it can reach up to 20%.

    Peat is also classified as a type of coal, but not yet formed, so it has nothing to do with coal.

Properties of hard coal

Now it is difficult to imagine another material more useful and practical than coal, the main properties and application of which deserve the highest praise. Thanks to the substances and compounds contained in it, it has become simply indispensable in all areas of modern life.

The coal component looks like this:

All these components make coal, the application and use of which is so multifunctional. Volatile substances contained in coal provide rapid ignition with subsequent achievement high temperatures. The moisture content simplifies the processing of coal, the calorie content makes its use indispensable in pharmaceuticals and cosmetology, the ash itself is a valuable mineral material.

The use of coal in the modern world

Various uses of minerals. Coal Initially, it was only a source of heat, then energy (it turned water into steam), but now, in this regard, the possibilities of coal are simply unlimited.

Thermal energy from coal combustion is converted into electrical energy, coke-chemical products are made from it, and liquid fuel is extracted. Hard coal is the only rock that contains such rare metals as germanium and gallium as impurities. From it, it is extracted, which is then processed into benzene, from which coumarone resin is isolated, which is used to manufacture all kinds of paints, varnishes, linoleum and rubber. Phenols and pyridine bases are obtained from coal. During processing, coal is used in the production of vanadium, graphite, sulfur, molybdenum, zinc, lead, and many more valuable and now irreplaceable products.

Coal began to emerge on our planet about 360 million years ago. Scientists called this era the Carboniferous or Carboniferous period. Then the first terrestrial reptiles appeared, the first large plants. Their bodies and trunks decomposed after the death of animals and plants, and an incredible percentage of oxygen only contributed to the acceleration of this process. It is now that we are content with a negligible 20% of oxygen, but then the animals breathed deeply - the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere of Carbon reached 50%! This is a huge figure, and it is to it that we owe today's wealth of coal deposits on our planet.

But coal is not everything. After processing, so many different useful substances and products are extracted from it, which cannot be imagined! According to the most conservative estimates, the number of types of coal processing products reaches 600!

Obtaining coal processing products

Products receive different ways. Depending on the desired end product. For example, to obtain pure products (these include primary products of coal processing) - coke oven, ammonia, toluene, benzene - liquid flushing oils are used. Special devices provide sealing products and protect them from premature decay. Primary processing also includes the coking method - coal is heated to a temperature of +1000 ° C! Access to oxygen is also completely blocked.

After all these procedures, any primary product undergoes additional purification. Coal processing products also include:

  • naphthalene;
  • phenol;
  • hydrocarbon;
  • salicylic alcohol;
  • lead;
  • vanadium;
  • germanium;
  • sulfur;
  • zinc.

As you can see, the products are extremely diverse. Without them, our life would not be so easy.

Scope of application of coal processing products

Take, for example, cosmetology (perhaps the most useful area for people to use coal processing products). For the treatment of oily skin and acne, creams, serums, masks, lotions and tonics with the addition of sulfur, acid and zinc are used. Sulfur eliminates existing inflammation, zinc prevents the possible appearance of new inflammations, salicylic acid is used in lotions, foams and gels for washing. Coal processing products have already saved more than one million teenagers and young people from peer ridicule.

Lead and zinc compounds are used to treat burns and injuries; zinc and clay products of coal are ideal for psoriasis (though only on early stages until the disease has an obvious skin form, and has not yet passed to the bones).

Excellent sorbents are obtained from coal, which are used in medicine for the treatment of diseases of the intestines and stomach, including such serious ones as dysbacteriosis. Sorbents, in which zinc is added, are used to treat dandruff and oily seborrhea, and very successfully. Unrefined picric substances (explosives) are good for wound healing.

But that's not all. There is a procedure called hydrogenation - with its help, liquid fuel is produced from coal. And the combustion products formed during this process are an ideal raw material for various building materials, moreover, refractory ones. In particular, ceramics are produced in this way.

In heavy industry, coal has also found excellent use - it is indispensable for the smelting of various metals and iron ore. The only thing that is a little strange is that the cost of almost all coal processed products significantly exceeds the cost. Of course, you need money for all materials, equipment, premises, payment for the work of craftsmen involved in processing - these are natural costs for the production of products. But the cost of some components exceeds the cost of coal hundreds of times, and this already raises some suspicions.

Vladimir Khomutko

Reading time: 3 minutes

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What products are obtained from coal and oil?

Oil and coal are minerals and are actively used by mankind as energy sources.

But if coal can be used in pure form, then oil is not. It must first be processed in order to obtain products suitable for practical application. However, from coal, you can get related elements that have practical value.

Oil is a combustible oily liquid, which is a complex mixture of various hydrocarbon compounds.

Its composition contains dissolved associated gases, which, when raw materials rise to the surface, begin to be actively released. These include the well-known methane and hydrogen sulfide.

The list of processed products of this mineral is very extensive, so listing them all would take a long time. Let's try to approach this issue from the point of view of the aggregate state of the products.

Petroleum gases

These substances released from the hydrocarbon mixture raised to the surface are called associated.

They are isolated both in the process of primary processing of raw materials in the fields (separation) and in oil refineries (refineries). These products include ethane, propane and butane, from which products such as ethylene and propylene are obtained by dehydrogenation. Propane-butane is the same liquefied gas that is still used for domestic needs.

Liquid petroleum products

There is a much longer list here. From the hydrocarbon raw materials extracted at the fields, the following is produced:

  • motor fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, jet fuel); their share in the processed raw materials is from 50 to 80 percent;
  • boiler and marine fuel (fuel oil);
  • kerosene (including lighting);
  • various types of oils (lubricating, transmission and so on);
  • gas oil (raw material for the production of benzene and toluene) and so on and so forth.

Oil refining takes place under the influence of high temperatures, which, due to different points boiling oil components allow you to decompose the raw material into individual components.

The remainder of this process is tar, from which bitumen is subsequently made, which is actively used in the production of road and roofing works.

This mineral is in a solid state of aggregation. Its processing is carried out by coking in specialized furnaces, which exclude the ingress of oxygen into them. As a result of the series chemical reactions, coke is made from coal, which is in great demand at the enterprises of the metallurgical industry, and coke oven gas, which decomposes into tar and ammonia water during the condensation process.

With the use of dry distillation, tar is formed from coal, which is widely used in the construction industry and in the manufacture of various building materials as a binder.

Ammonia water gives ammonia, which is part of a large number chemical fertilizers, so necessary for the agricultural industry.

The use of coal in industry

Synthetic hydrocarbons are also obtained from coal (however, as well as from liquid hydrocarbons), which are actively used in the fuel balance. Since they cause much less harm to our environment, their use will expand in the future.

What is made from coal? plastics, acids, fibers...

what is made from coal?

plastics, acids, fibers and more. In addition, some coal is coked, and coke is used in metallurgical production. It is used as a domestic, energy fuel, raw material for metallurgical and chemical industry, as well as for extracting rare and trace elements from it. Coal, coke-chemical industry, branches of heavy industry carry out the processing of coal by coking. Coking- industrial method coal processing by heating up to 950-1050 C without air access. The main coke-chemical products are: coke oven gas, crude benzene, coal tar, ammonia. Hydrocarbons are recovered from coke oven gas by washing in scrubbers with liquid absorption oils. After distillation from oil, distillation from the fraction, purification and re-rectification, pure marketable products are obtained, such as: ...

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Ghost town without coal. This was the Japanese Hasima. In the 1930s, it was recognized as the most densely populated.

On a tiny piece of land fit 5,000 people. All of them worked in the coal industry.

The island turned out to be literally built from a stone source of energy. However, by the 1970s, coal reserves were depleted.

Everyone left. Only the dug up island and the buildings on it remained. Tourists and the Japanese call Hashima a ghost.

The island clearly shows the importance of coal, the impossibility of mankind to live without it. There is no alternative.

There are only attempts to find it. Therefore, we will pay attention to the modern hero, and not to vague prospects.

Description and properties of coal

Coal is rock organic origin. This means that the stone is formed from the decomposed remains of plants and animals.

In order for them to form a dense thickness, constant accumulation and compaction is required. Suitable Conditions at the bottom of the ponds...

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What is obtained from coal?

Of course, you know that coal is a fuel used both in everyday life and in industry. Coal was the first fossil material to be used as a fuel. It was thanks to coal that the industrial revolution took place. In the 19th century, a lot of coal was consumed vehicles. In 1960, 50% of the world's energy production depended on coal. However, by 1970 its share had dropped to one-third as oil and gas became more popular sources of energy.

However, the scope of coal is not limited to this. Coal is a valuable raw material for the metallurgical and chemical industries.

The coal industry provides coal coking. Coke plants consume up to a quarter of the coal produced. Coking processes hard coal by heating it to 950-1050°C without oxygen. Decomposing, coal forms a solid product - coke ...

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Coal is one of the most essential minerals for man. Its heat heats our homes, gives energy to steamboats, turns into electricity in the turbines of power plants. Without coal, it is impossible to smelt metal from ore and prepare cement.
Coal is used to make liquid fuels, lubricating oils, paints, inks, and plastics. Coal does not smell of anything, and perfumes and various odorous syrups for sweets and cakes are prepared from it.
Coal is completely opaque, and the most best glass- light, strong, clean.
And they also make fertilizers from coal, from which the earth bears fruit better and fruits, vegetables, wheat and rye grow. Even vitamins can be extracted from coal....

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Lesson on the world around: "Coal"

Sections: Ecology

Subject: Coal.

To develop observation, practical skills and abilities of students; develop cognitive interest in native nature, curiosity; bring children's knowledge into the system; expand and deepen knowledge about coal; create conditions for the formation of a sense of pride in motherland.

I. Working with the Observation Diary

a) A story about February.

Snow falls in bags from the sky,
There are snowdrifts from the house!
That snowstorms and snowstorms
They attacked the village.
The frost is strong at night
In the daytime, a drop is heard ringing.
The day has grown noticeably
It's February, that's right.

February - snowy, bokogrey, fierce.
February 1 - what is the weather on this day, this will be the whole of February.

Well, nature is nature.
What's the weather like outside?

b) *Characteristic...

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Coal is important for the national economy

Coal is one of the first minerals that man began to use as a fuel. Only at the end of the 19th century, other types of fuel began to gradually replace it: first oil, then products from it, later gas (natural and obtained from coal and other substances). Coal is widely used in the national economy. First of all, as fuel and chemical raw materials. For example, the metallurgical industry in the smelting of pig iron cannot do without coke. It is produced at coke-chemical enterprises from coal.

Where else is coal used?

Powerful thermal power plants in Russia and Ukraine (and not only) operate on the waste of coal mining (anthracite sludge). The metal was first obtained using coke from iron ore in the 18th century in England. This in metallurgy was the beginning of the use of coal, more precisely, coke, a product of its processing. Prior to this, iron was obtained using ...

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Coal processing products

Coal is a mineral of sedimentary type, a product of centuries of deep decomposition of ancient plant rocks. In addition to its traditional use as a fuel, hard coal is exposed as a raw material for the metallurgical and chemical industries.

Coal processing products are diverse and widely used in various industries. Processing of hard coal is carried out by the method of coking - heating to a temperature of 1000 ° C without oxygen.

In this way, coke oven gas, ammonia, coal tar and numerous benzene transformation products are obtained.


Main Products

Processing of coke oven gas occurs by washing with liquid washing oils in special devices - scrubbers, followed by purification and re-rectification.

Toluene, benzene, xylenes and a number of other pure products are obtained in this way. Aromatic hydrocarbons, including...

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Of course, you know that coal is used as a fuel, both in everyday life and in industry. Coal was the first fossil material that people began to use as fuel. It was coal that led to the industrial revolution. In the 19th century, a lot of coal was used for transportation. In 1960, coal provided about half of the world's energy production. However, by 1970, its share had fallen to one third: coal as a fuel was replaced by other energy sources, in particular oil and gas.

However, the use of coal is not limited to this. Coal is a valuable raw material for the chemical and metallurgical industries.

The coal industry uses coal coking. Coke plants consume up to 1/4 of the coal produced. Coking is a process of coal processing by heating up to 950-1050°С without oxygen access. When coal decomposes, a solid product is formed - coke and volatile products - coke oven gas.

Cox makes...

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Coal pyrolysis: concept and products

The term coal pyrolysis is commonly understood as a set of processes that occur when coal is heated in the absence of any reagents. However, in last years under the pyrolysis of coal began to mean also the processes occurring with the influence of any additional reagent (the so-called hydropyrolysis and oxidative pyrolysis).

Often, the term pyrolysis is also understood as the procedure for gasification of coal, although this is not entirely true, since additional reagents are also used.

Thermal processing of coal is widely used to obtain various carbonaceous hard materials, and liquid and gaseous products. In this regard, depending on the purpose of the end products of pyrolysis, almost any coal can be the feedstock for processing. This is very convenient, since all the mined coal can be processed, and not to the solid household waste processing plant.

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Coal - sedimentary rock plant origin, which has the property of flammability. Basically, coal consists of carbon and various kinds of impurities. The percentage of impurities determines the quality of the rock.

Classification and varieties of coal.

The composition of coal is determined by its age. Brown coal is considered the youngest, followed by hard coal, and the older one - anthracite. The highest quality coal is anthracite, since as it ages, carbon accumulates and the concentration of volatile substances in coal decreases. For example, brown coal on average has more than 50% of volatile impurities, hard coal - 40% impurities, anthracite - only 5-7%.

In addition to carbon and volatile substances, the composition of coal includes non-combustible elements that form ash when coal is burned. Ash plays the role of a pollutant environment, and also sintered into slag, which makes it difficult to burn coal and, accordingly, reduces the amount of heat released by it during combustion.

Another component...

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