Uses of coal
Power generation is the primary use for coal worldwide. Thermal coal is burnt to create steam that drives turbines and generators for the production of electricity.
Metallurgical (coking) coal is a key ingredient in steelmaking. Coal converted to coke is used to produce around 70% of the world’s steel. Coal is also widely used in the production of other metals including aluminium and copper.
Coal is used as a key energy source in cement production. By-products of coal combustion such as fly ash also play an important role in cement manufacture and the wider construction industry.
Coal is heated and pressurised with steam to produce ‘town’ gas for domestic lighting, heating and cooking. It is liquefied to make synthetic fuels similar to petroleum or diesel. The majority of coal-to-gas projects are located in the USA and China, with a few in Indonesia, India, Australia, Canada and South Africa.
Syngas — from gasification — can be further processed to produce chemical building blocks such as methanol, ammonia and urea.
Other major users of coal include the paper, textile and glass industries. Coal is also used in the manufacture of carbon fibre and specialist ingredients such as silicon metals, which are used to produce ingredients for the household and personal care sectors.
The advantages of coal
| ACCESSIBILITY | Coal does not require high-pressure pipelines, expensive protection during transport or costly processing. It is easier to store and handle than alternative, highly flammable fossil fuels or nuclear materials. |
| USABILITY | Coal only needs to be mined before it can be used. Other fossil fuels must be refined, using lengthy and costly processes. Compared to gas, coal is significantly cheaper and more accessible and its reserves are distributed much more equally around the planet. |
| VERSATILITY | Coal is hugely versatile. As well as generating electricity, it is a core component in iron and steel making and is integral to a range of processes, including aluminium refining, paper manufacture and chemical production. |
| AFFORDABILITY | The abundance of coal, its accessibility, straight-from-the-mine usability and lower transport costs, make it an affordable form of energy. Electricity produced from coal is less expensive than other sources. |
| SAFETY | Coal is easier and safer to transport, store and handle than alternative, highly flammable fossil fuels or nuclear materials. Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.[1] Coal is formed when dead plant matter decays into peat and is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years.[2] Vast deposits of coal originate in former wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the Earth's tropical land areas during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian times.[3][4] Many significant coal deposits are younger than this and originate from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. Coal is used primarily as a fuel. While coal has been known and used for thousands of years, its usage was limited until the Industrial Revolution. With the invention of the steam engine, coal consumption increased. In 2020, coal supplied about a quarter of the world's primary energy and over a third of its electricity.[5] Some iron and steel-making and other industrial processes burn coal. The extraction and use of coal causes premature death and illness.[6] The use of coal damages the environment, and it is the largest anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide contributing to climate change. Fourteen billion tonnes of carbon dioxide was emitted by burning coal in 2020,[7] which is 40% of the total fossil fuel emissions[8] and over 25% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.[9] As part of the worldwide energy transition, many countries have reduced or eliminated their use of coal power.[10][11] The United Nations Secretary-General asked governments to stop building new coal plants by 2020.[12] Global coal use peaked in 2013.[13] To meet the Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming below 2 °C (3.6 °F) coal use needs to halve from 2020 to 2030,[14] and phasing out coal was agreed upon in the Glasgow Climate Pact. The largest consumer and importer of coal in 2020 was China, which accounts for almost half the world's annual coal production, followed by India with about a tenth. Indonesia and Australia export the most, followed by Russia.[15] |
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