Billion Tons Of Coal Research Articles

Botswana Coal: Navigating Economic Diversification and Climate Commitments

This paper considers the ethical dilemma posed by the Paris Climate Agreement considering the abundant coal exploitation opportunities in Botswana. The estimated 200 billion tons of coal was initially viewed as an opportunity to diversify the Botswana economy away from diamonds. Coal is currently used locally for electricity production and other small scale domestic uses. This paper mainly discusses thermal coal as opposed to coking coal commonly referred to as Met-coal. Lucrative prices on world markets coupled with demand in India and China for coal, Botswana with its massive coal deposits, one of the largest in world, can develop a new export sector which would diversify the diamond dependent economy. In 2012 the Government of Botswana released a Coal Road Map as it then envisaged coal as one of the more propitious areas for economic diversification. However, the potential to develop this export sector has been seriously challenged by the Paris Climate Agreement decision to move away from coal. In the wake of this treaty countries like China and Japan have refocused their efforts in developing renewable energy and this has negatively hampered Botswana’s economic ambitions.

Exploitation of Thar coal field for power generation in Pakistan: A way forward to sustainable energy future

Thar desert is located in south-east Pakistan carries 175 billion tons of coal and is the biggest coalfield in Asia. In this paper mathematical framework is developed for the accurate estimation of power production from the available Thar coal capacity. Annual TWh possible energy production the period 2020 to 2040 followed by detailed analysis of capacity factor and Maximizing the share percentage of coal in total energy mix at least 40% by 2040 is presented. The findings reveal that Thar coal has the capability of producing 100,000 MW power up to the next 250 years. The energy generation for the years 2020, 2032, and 2040 is calculated 744 TWh per year, 700 TWh per year, and 665 TWh per year respectively and it produces negligible negative impacts on the environment. The long-term energy planning presented in this paper would attract foreign investment and Pakistan's energy needs would be fulfilled for sustainable development of the country.

POTENTIALITY OF THE BUGOJNO COAL BASIN, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

<p>This paper presents research results of the Bugojno coal basin, which contains very significant, but still insufficiently explored lignite reserves. Based on the determined borders of surface distribution and the research results in the northwestern part of the Bugojno coal basin, proved are four coal layers with reserves of over one billion tons of coal.<br><br>Discussed are geological characteristics of coal layers, their qualitative-quantitative characteristics, spatial potential of deposit and classification of coal layers. Considering the raw material potential and the possibility of expanding the existing raw material base, the Bugojno coal basin has particular importance for the long-term development of lignite exploitation and its use for thermal energy<br>purposes.</p>

Coal mining in Kuzbass and new technologies for revegetation of dumps

During the period of coal mining in Kuzbass, about 9 billion tons of coal were mined, which is 16% of all in-place reserves of coal in Kuzbass. In 2020, coal production amounted to 220.7 million tons, including 164.4 million tons of open pit mining, which is 74% of the total. The negative side of an increase in the share of open pit coal mining is an increase in the area of disturbed lands, which currently reaches 150 thousand hectares. To restore the biological diversity of dumps, a nature-like technology has been developed for revegetation of dumps, which consists in applying a 15 cm thick loam layer to the dump and introducing a grass seed mixture containing seeds of steppe plants. For six years, a stable, self-perpetuating permanent nature-like community is formed, numbering 30-40 species of steppe plants.

Coal characterization and coalbed methane potential of the Chico-Lomã Coalfield, Paraná Basin, Brazil – Results from exploration borehole CBM001-CL-RS

The aim of this study was to determine the coal characteristics in the Chico-Lomã coalfield, Brazil and to evaluate the potential of natural gas associated with the coal seams (CBM), by carrying out a test well (CBM001-CL-RS) for collecting coal samples, followed by gas desorption measurements, and petrographical and chemical analyses of the coals and their methane adsorption capacities. The gas collected was analyzed for gas composition, stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes. The results indicate a cumulative coal thickness of 11.46 m in well CBM001-CL-RS, associated with an igneous intrusion of 10 m thickness. In the contact zone with the intrusion, the organic matter is severely altered with partial transformation of the coal to natural coke at distances less than 2 m from the intrusion. The ash content, based on proximate analysis, shows a variation from 29.1 to 82.8 wt.%. The sulphur content ranges from 0.43 to 3.89 wt.% and shows higher values in samples from the top of the Rio Bonito Formation. The gas desorption measurements range from 0.05 to 0.74 cm3/g, with methane being the predominant gas (>90%). A thermal origin of the gas is suggested by C and H isotopes and the C1 (methane) to C3 (propane) hydrocarbon distribution. The methane adsorption capacity of the samples varies from 2.50 to 6.50 cm3/g. Changes in microporosity related to thermal alteration may have a significant impact on the gas-holding capacity of samples located near the contact to the intrusion. For the study area, a 3D geological model was generated to estimate the volume of coal in the coalfield, followed by assessment of the gas volume associated with the coal. Based on the 3D model, a preliminary appraisal indicates resources of 7.2 billion tons of coal for the Chico-Lomã coalfield, associated with 2.7 billion m3of gas.

Dependence of fluid flow on cleat aperture distribution and aperture\u2013length scaling: a case study from Gondwana coal seams of Raniganj Formation, Eastern India

Dimensions and mutual relationships amongst fracture (cleat) parameters such as maximum aperture width, average aperture width, length, spacing etc. control the connectivity within a fracture network and the fluid flow in a coal seam as the matrix permeability, here, is negligible. In this paper, we document cleat size distributions and investigate length–aperture relationships from coals of Raniganj coalfield in Eastern India. This coalfield has a proven extractable reserve of six billion tons of coal and holds immense potential to be one of the largest coal bed methane fields serving India’s growing energy needs. Here, cleat length (L) correlates with corresponding maximum aperture width (Dmax) in a power-law function with an exponent of 0.84 (Dmax α L0.84) instead of the commonly observed exponents of 1 or 0.5 applicable for other natural ‘opening-mode’ fractures. The conventional wisdom pertains that laminar fluid flow (Q) through an isolated, smooth-walled, parallel-plate fracture, embedded in an impermeable matrix, is directly proportional to the cube of its aperture width (b, equivalent to Davg; cubic law: Q α b3). This assumes a linear relationship between length and fracture aperture. However, the modified relationship between cleat length and average aperture width changes the cubic law applicable for Raniganj coal seam and now fluid flow correlates with aperture width in a power-law function with an exponent of 4.25 (Q α b4.25) instead of 3 (cube). Such simplifications will come handy for the modeling and estimation of fluid flow as it will reduce the effort of cleat length measurement which is anyway difficult and can be misleading due to the risk of undersampling.

Cultural Strength, Connection to Land, Social Justice and the Adani Carmichael Mine: Placing Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Front and Centre in Mining Decisions in Australia

The harvesting of Australia’s massive mineral reserves began the 1840’s; 50 years after Captain Cook landed in Botany Bay, driving massive population influx, environmental degradation and forced evacuation of Aboriginal homelands and communities. Today, the impacts of fossil fuel mining continue to disturb the physical, social and emotional, spiritual and cultural wellbeing and community cohesion of Aboriginal Australians. These First Australians already experience enormous inequalities in health, social and economic status, as well as transgenerational trauma from widespread death, systematic removal from Lands and disempowerment of family and culture since 1788. Today’s Australian focal point of environmental activism is opposition to the $16.5 billion Adani Carmichael mega-mine proposal to extract 6.3 billion tons of coal over 60 years from the Traditional Lands of the Wangan and Jagalingou people. Highlighting contravention of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples endorsed by Australia in 2009, Traditional Owner Adrian Burragabba warns, they will stop our dreaming… where will the song go; what will the song be; there will be nothing left… [but] we are still here and no still means no. Now is the time to stand stronger than ever to step up to the fight. Like most Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Australians recognise inseparable connections between the health of Land and its people. This talk examines benefits to epidemiologists in understanding the importance of social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing as a foundational environmental health determinant. We focus on principles developed by Aboriginal Australians (NHMRC Roadmap) to ensure that research strengthens health, spirit and integrity. We argue that these must underpin urgently needed research partnerships to improve health impact assessment with Aboriginal people facing destruction of their Lands and enforce deeper consideration in government decisions on fossil fuel developments.

TDLAS直接吸收法和波长调制法在线测量CO2的比较

According to the statistics, 39.65 billion tons of coal has been consumed up from China in 2015. Obviously, CO2 emission from power generation and thermal supply industry segment contributes a large part to global warming. Therefore, it is of great importance for online monitoring of CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants. The CO2 concentration was measured by tunable semiconductor laser absorption spectrum(TDLAS), which had the benefits of high accuracy, rapid response, non-contact, etc. In order to prevent interference from absorption of other gases, a distributed feedback laser with a center wavelength of 1 580 nm was chosen as the light source. Simulated flue gas was made referring to the concentration of CO2 in the flue gas of the power plant. The direct absorption(DA) and wavelength modulation(WM) methods were used to measure the CO2 concentration. The results show that the relative standard deviation(RSD) for DA and WM are 0.94% and 0.22%, while the maximum relative errors and detection limits for DA and WM are 2.64% and 1.65%, 0.013 6% and 0.001 4%. It is found that WM is better than DA in measurement qualities. But the WM method is influenced by the calibration method in field application and the line width is interfered by the fluctuations of the parameters such as pressure and temperature, resulting in reduced long-term stability. In the case of the DA method, the concentration can be calculated directly by measuring the absorbance, line strength and pressure without calibration. It has a high signal-to-noise ratio for the measurement of gas with high concentration. Meanwhile, the measurement accuracy is high enough to meet the requirement for CO2 online measurement in power plants. Therefore, the DA method is a better choice for the CO2 measurement in the flue gas of power plant boiler.

A fault controlled, newly discovered Eskişehir Alpu coal basin in Turkey, its petrographical properties and depositional environment

Recent findings suggest that Turkey contains about 15 billion tons of coal within its borders. A small proportion of it (NW part) is bituminous, but the rest is sub-bituminous and lignite coal. About 80% of the coals are utilized in power generation. The newly found coal field, Alpu Basin, contains about 1.3 billion tons of coal. The coal basin is a fault controlled and deeply buried basin which is close to the industrial areas in Turkey.In the studied area, there are two coal horizons in the Middle Miocene aged m2 unit. The average mineable coal seam thickness is approximately 13–14m. In order to determine the coalification degree, petrographic composition and depositional environment of the coals, petrographic and XRD analyses were conducted on coal samples taken from three boreholes which were drilled by MTA in the Eskişehir–Alpu Basin. According to the ASTM classification, the rank of the coals is sub-bituminous. Alpu coals contain two prominent types of maceral assemblages: either containing high amounts of funginites, macrinites, ulminite and gelinites, or high amounts of liptinites associated with detrital huminites (attrinite and densinites). The first type exhibits rather more homogeneous features, but the second has a more complex, mixed appearance with detrital macerals, intensive lineation, laminations and considerably higher pyrite contents. The Alpu coals contain montmorillonite, heulandite, α-quartz, pyrite, gypsum, kaolinite, illite, illite–montmorillonite, orthoclase and clay minerals which indicate variation in the pH conditions. The tissue preservation index (TPI) and gelification index (GI) indicate a limnic environment. The sample points are located between open marsh and clastic marsh areas on the TPI–GI diagram. This case indicates that the water table was variable during the coal formation.

「環境調和的な石炭利用」石炭の資源・環境制約へのＪＣＯＡＬの取り組み

The world produced over 6.7 billion tons of coal in 2008. Coal is one of the world's most important resources of energy, generating almost 40% of electricity worldwide. The world relies on coal for about 30% of the primary energy consumption in the Asia Pacific region. The largest coal producing countries are not confined to one region. Coal will continue to play a key role in the world's energy mix, with demand in certain regions, such as Asian countries, set to glow rapidly. The world consumption of coal can have a significant impact on the environment. Minimizing the negative impacts of human activities-including coal utilization- is a key global priority. Essentials to continue the clean use of coal are economically efficient and stable supply.It is also important to evaluate non-conventional type resources such as low rank coal and Coal Bed Methane/Coal Mine Methane, to raise an increase of the amount of the resources and the resources recovery rate.

Coal Poised for a Comeback?

Coal could be called energy’s comeback kid: sometimes forgotten, perhaps underappreciated, but always available for one more shot at the big time. It is one of humankind’s original sources of energy, and is used worldwide for cooking, heating, forging steel, and making electricity. In the United States, coal’s role today is limited almost exclusively to electricity generation; for the last decade or so, even that use has stagnated. For years new power facilities that relied on coal were spurned in favor of natural gas, as American electric companies were wooed by the cleaner-burning fossil fuel and its easier-to-site and cheaper-to-build power plants. Still, because so many coal-fired plants were built before the natural gas craze, coal accounts for over 50% of our annual electric generation. And now many energy experts say coal is poised to once again play a prominent role in the United States. Coal does have an appeal. For one thing, there’s plenty of it. It’s located here in the United States, a comfort to those worried about the political and security hazards of overdependence on imported energy. It’s cheap. And its price is stable, at least compared to natural gas. But coal can be ugly, too. If left unchecked with inadequate emissions control, it can emit ash (which has been linked to human cancers and genotoxic effects in some animal studies), sulfur dioxide (which contributes to acid rain), carbon dioxide (CO2; the chief culprit behind global warming), nitrogen oxides (NOx; which can produce smog and low-lying ozone), and mercury (linked to disorders in the kidneys and the nervous, digestive, and respiratory systems). Mining coal can also be a messy business, carving scars into the Earth, releasing clouds of dust, leaving behind sources of acidic water that can persist decades after a mine closes, and requiring dams—“impoundments” in industry lingo—that sometimes break and ravage miles of waterways. In coming years, however, what’s right about coal will almost certainly overpower what’s wrong, says Richard Gendreau, a senior market consultant for R.W. Beck, a Framingham, Massachusetts, management consulting and engineering company. And what’s wrong, he says, will be made better by new technologies and more vigorous application of existing technologies. “The ultimate driver on all of this,” he says, “is that ninety-five percent of our fossil energy reserves—the amount of fossil energy that we have within our boundaries that we can rely on for energy and economic security, as well as national security—is coal.”

Material Matters

The following article is based on a talk for Symposium X presented by Wolfgang Stoll, Chief Scientific Advisor and Consultant in Siemens, Germany, at the 1996 MRS Fall Meeting.Since 1941 when Glenn Seaborg first isolated plutonium in milligram quantities, the total amount converted through neutron capture in U-238 has increased worldwide to about 1,200 tons and continues to grow about 70 tons/year. What was fissioned in situ in operating nuclear power stations is roughly equivalent to 5 billion tons of black coal, while the fission energy contained in those 1,200 tons unloaded in spent fuel is equivalent to another 2 billion tons of coal. About 260 of these 1,200 tons are ready to release their energy in about 4 kg-portions each in microseconds which is equivalent to 10,000 tons of coal. Most people believe this release of energy poses a major threat of the worldwide arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The about 20-fold overkill stored in worldwide WMD is considered superfluous after the crumbling of the Soviet Union. Options are sought to dispose of this surplus in a safe, speedy, and controllable manner. While for highly enriched uranium (HEU) (the other nuclear weapons material) dilution into low-enriched uranium and utilization in current light water reactors (LWR) poses market adaptation problems only, and while the worldwide consensus on the elimination of chemical and biological WMD is still in an initial phase, the decision of both the United States (US) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) to remove most of the plutonium out of weapons looks as if it was a firm political decision.

97/03945 CWS co-firing on two cyclone-fired electric utility boilers

Coal water slurry (CWS) Co-firing is of interest to electric utilities for several reasons. Studies have shown that there are some two billion tons of coal in coal pond impoundments throughout the Eastern/Midwestern United States with an additional 50 million tons being added each year. The use of such coal pond fines can provide utilities with a fuel that is potentially lower in cost than currently contracted supply coal. A CWS fuel used for co-firing in a cyclone-fired unit requires only minimal processing for this type of unit can handle high ash coals. CWS Co-firing in a cyclone might also be done in such a way to reduce NO{sub x} emissions. Further, certain utilities operate their own coal preparation plants. By removing coal fines from preparation plant impoundments, more landfill volume becomes available. This paper describes a demonstration of CWS combustion on a 33 MWe cyclone-fired unit.

Preserving Natural Environments on Coal Lands at Minimum Cost

In the U.S., about 67 billion tons of coal (27% of the nation`s surface minable coal) have been placed off-limits to surface mining by the Federal Land Policy Management Act and other restrictions in order to protect the environment. By the year 2005, it is projected that this reduction in coal reserves will add about $500 million per year to the nation`s energy costs. As set-aside costs grow and the locked-up coal is perceived as progressively more valuable over time, it is likely that pressure will be brought on the U.S. Department of the Interior to revise its resource management plans. As a general rule, a rational management objective is to achieve a given amount of environmental preservation at the lowest cost. This paper provides an analytic framework, namely constrained cost minimization, for implementing that objective. Examples are given for protecting sage grouse and eagle habitat.

Planning China's Coal and Electricity Delivery System

Although China produces 1.1 billion tons of coal per year, demand is projected at almost 1.6 billion tons in 2000. Transport bottlenecks, coal and electricity shortages, and worsening air pollution threaten the country's double-digit GNP growth. To address these problems, the World Bank and the Chinese State Planning Commission developed a decision support system consisting of a mixed-integer program, a geographic information system, and related submodels. The Coal Transport Study (CTS) model covers coal mining, washing, and transport; thermal, hydro, and nuclear power generation; electricity transmission; pollution levels; and scrubbers; which together will require at least $240 billion in new investments over a 15-year horizon. The analysis results influenced several government policies concerning GNP growth, coal imports, and various capital investments, with a potential benefit of about $6.4 billion from 1991 to 2005.

Mining's impact on groundwater assessed

Detailed studies have indicated that groundwater is contaminated in the immediate vicinity of many mines in the eastern United States. However, no underground mines and very few refuse disposal areas have monitoring systems that can provide adequate warning of impending threats to groundwater quality.This was one of the conclusions of a 3‐year study by Geraghty & Miller, Inc., a firm of consulting groundwater geologists and hydrologists based in Syosset, New York. The study focused on mines east of the 100th meridian. These mines will produce an estimated 1.1 billion tons of coal and 200 million tons of waste by 1985.

Perspectives of Energy Development in New Mexico: ABSTRACT

New Mexico ranks fourth in the nation in natural gas and natural gas liquids production. It is seventh in crude oil and lease condensate extraction, has 55% of the country's uranium, and ranks first in providing this crucial energy fuel. Over 120 billion tons of coal lie between the surface and 3,000 ft (915 m) in northern New Mexico with 3 to 6 billion tons of low-sulfur coal accessible for relatively inexpensive strip mining. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Valles Caldera of the Jemez Mountains alone contains geothermal fluids capable of sustaining 2,700 Mw of electrical generating capacity for 30 years. Solar insolation in southern New Mexico is within 10% of the maximum received anywhere in the world. Energy in all its forms will be the major force in New Mexico's economic future. More than half of the state's gross product is now derived from energy-oriented activities. It is not unreasonable to expect that, just as a century or so ago major communities and industrial enterprises developed around transportation corridors of rivers and railroads, the new commerce of the next decades will locate where assured energy supplies exist. Massive service, social, financial, and environmental burdens and impacts must be addressed by industry, government, and citizens if the state is to provide orderly, stable, and beneficial development, to avoid the potential misfortunes of boom and bust cycles, and to preserve its unique environment and life style. End_of_Article - Last_Page 560------------

Coal Resources of Indiana and Potential Geologic Problems in Their Exploration: ABSTRACT

Indiana has about 33 billion tons of coal resources, and about 17 billion tons are estimated to be recoverable by present-day mining technology. Coal mining, beginning in the early 1800s and continuing until the late 1930s, was principally underground, but since 1940 mining has been mainly surface. At present only five of the more than 120 active operations are underground, and they produce about 2% of the annual tonnage. Underground mining of coal in Indiana is expected to increase, since about 15 billion of the 17 billion tons of recoverable coal appear to be recoverable only by deep mining methods. Studies of past and present underground operations in the Springfield Coal Member (V), taking into consideration partings, roof conditions, faults, water problems, and gas concentrations in the coal and roof strata, should prove useful in planning for future operations. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1284------------

Coal in Pennsylvania: Geology, Current Production, and Reserves: ABSTRACT

Pennsylvania is at the northern end of the Appalachian coal basin. Approximately 15,000 sq mi (39,000 sq km) or one third of the state, is underlain by coal measures. The coal is Pennsylvanian to Permian in age, and includes bituminous and anthracite coal found in several separate fields. The bituminous coals have dips of less than 2°, with some beds dipping up to 8° and rarely exceeding 8°. These steeper dips are found along the flanks of the major Plateau fold structures and in proximity to the Allegheny Front. Bituminous coal in the Broad Top field and in the anthracite basins have dips commonly exceeding 60°. The earliest record of coal being mined in Pennsylvania was at Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh) in 1761. To date, more than 22 billion tons of coal have been mined out or lost due to mining. Coal production in 1978 was 80,342,913 net tons of bituminous coal and 5,037,960 net tons of anthracite coal. Recoverable reserves are estimated at 22 billion tons of bituminous coal more than 28 in. (71 cm) thick, and 8 billion tons of anthracite coal more than 24 in. (61 cm) thick. These estimates assume that all the major coals are continuous throughout their projected area of occurrence, as with the Pittsburgh seam. However, recent detailed studies on the sedimentology of the Upper Freeport coal in southwestern Pennsylvania indicate that the stratigraphy of the coal-bearing measures may be more complex than previously believed. These units consist of a highly variable sequence of coals, clays, sandstone, shales, limestones, and other rock types occurring in lenses, pods, channel-fills, etc. Because of the presence of these coal-seam discontinuities in some of the coals, the current coal reserve estimates may be significantly inaccurate. The Pennsylvania Geological Survey is currently cooperating with the U.S. Geological Survey in the National Coal Resources Data System. We are currently in the third year of the program to enter all point-specific data, including coal thickness and quality, into the computer. In addition, coal crop maps for each principal coal seam showing areas of deep and strip mining are being compiled. This program will result in much more accurate estimates of the remaining coal reserves in Pennsylvania. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1284------------

Multiple Barrier-Island and Deltaic Progradational Sequences in Upper Cretaceous Coal-Bearing Strata, Northern Kaiparowits Plateau, Utah: ABSTRACT

The Kaiparowits coalfield, Utah, contains reserves of 20 billion tons of coal which are confined to three major coal zones within the John Henry Member of the Straight Cliffs Formation (Upper Cretaceous). Mapping and subsurface work in the northern part of the coalfield End_Page 796------------------------------ indicates that the coal-bearing strata accumulated during seven minor progradations of the shoreline of the Cretaceous seaway. The lower and middle coal zones consist of eight and six seams, respectively, and were deposited in a swamp 20 km wide on the landward side of a barrier-island complex. The upper coal zone consists of a single seam that accumulated in interdistributary swamps in a deltaic setting. The three coal zones were deposited during the three of the seven progradations that are completely developed. The remainder are incompletely developed and do not contain significant coal seams. Complete vertical sequences of barrier-island and deltaic progradation are present in the Straight Cliffs Formation. Incomplete progradational sequences are usually composed of transition, shoreface, and foreshore deposits. The repetitious nature of the several progradations and transgressions of barrier-island deposits and the local incompleteness of their development suggest periodic fluctuations in the quantity of sediment supplied by longshore transport currents from deltas northwest of the study area. Delta-lobe abandonments probably resulted in the periodic interruption of sediment supplied to the barrier-island complex and allowed sufficient time for compactional subsidence in the barrier complex to cause minor transgressions. End_of_Article - Last_Page 797------------