Coal

1
Coal

• By Josephine Latimer
• Jonathan Klosop
• Evan Sedor

2
Topics to Cover

• Is coal a source of air pollution what are the
  impacts of it?
• Health risks of mining
• Clean coal
• Surface and Underground Mining Comparing their
  effects on the environment.

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Coal Source of Air Pollution?

• Pollution from coal powered plants produce smog
• Doctors say inhaling smog is like sunburn for
  lungs
• Triggers asthma attacks and causes lung damage
• Soot pollution- a by product of burning coal
• Exposure leads to heart attacks and lung damage

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Reduction of Impacts

• Improvements in technology
• highly effective technologies developed to detect
  release of pollutants
• Pre Planning projects, pollution controls,
  monitoring effects of mining, coal industries
  minimizing impacts on communities
• Coal washing
• reduces ash content by over 50

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Health Effects of Mining

• Acid Rain
• Dust and Noise Pollution
• Water Pollution

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Clean Coal

• From 1970 to 2012 emissions of major pollutants
  from coal-fueled power plants has reduced 90
• Its not entirely clean but a lot cleaner and
  efficient than in the past

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Can coal be converted to other forms of energy?

• Yes, a major source of the United States
  electricity comes from coal
• Coal is used to generate electricity in 48 states
• 39 of electricity in the
• U.S. comes from coal
• There are over 600 coal
• power plants in the U.S.

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Methods of Coal Extraction

• There are two methods of coal extraction
• Underground Mining
• Surface Mining

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Underground Mining

• Deep Mining
• Can be used to mine coal up to 1,000 feet
  underground.
• Early form of mining
• They used elevators, hand tools, and several
  machines to bring up coal.

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Underground Mining Environmental Impacts

• Methane gas trapped in the mines
• Grounds above the mines can collapse
• Water can get into the mines
• Contaminated water left in abandoned mines

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Surface Mining

• Two thirds of coal is mined using this method.
• Coal beds less than 200 feet below the surface.
• Cheaper mining
• The use of heavy machinery to remove soil and
  rocks to uncover coal streams.

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Surface Mining Environmental Impacts

• Mountaintop removal and valley filling
• Dirt and rocks polluting streams
• Other chemical pollutants in the water

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Comparing Impacts of Mining Methods

• Methane Emissions
• Underground Mining 7 of total US Methane
  emissions
• Surface Mining 2 of total US Methane emissions
• Surface and Water Pollution
• Surface mining is considered more dangerous.

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Does Clean Coal Exist?

• A question that has been greatly debated.
• Many believe that there will never be a way to
  capture the emissions from burning coal.
• However, there are advancements being made that
  could make this possible.

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Clean Coal

• DOEs (Department of Energy) Carbon Capture
  Program
• Conducted research on two different areas of
  technology
• Pre-Combustion Capture
• Post-Combustion Capture

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Pre-Combustion Capture

• Removing CO2 before burning it in a power plant
• The coal is turned into a synthesis gas.
• Water gas shift reaction
• The CO2 is then captured and separated.

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Post-Combustion Capture

• Deals with capturing CO2 after the coal is
  burned.
• Not used currently
• Not cost effective or efficient
• Research in the field consists of
• Improvements on current CO2 separation
• CO2 capture options for larger existing plants
• Advancing CO2 Compression technologies.

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Post-Combustion Capture
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Clean Coal Issues and Outlooks

• These processes are still not ready for large
  scale use.
• The power generated would greatly decrease.
• Equipment would not be cost effective.
• However, this could change in the near future.
• Some still remain skeptical of the idea of clean
  coal.

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Conclusion

• Coal is a source of pollution, causes problems
  such as asthma and lung damage
• Health risks from pollution come in forms of acid
  rain, dust and noise pollution and water
  pollution.
• Coal extraction has many harmful effects on the
  environment. However, underground mining, which
  is much more dangerous, is not as harmful to the
  environment as surface mining.
• Clean coal technology is used in small scale
  today, but is not ready for large scale plants.
  However, it may be in the near future.

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Works Cited

• Carbon Capture RD. Energy.gov. U.S. Department
  of Energy, N.d. Web. 15 October 2013.
  lthttp//energy.gov/fe/science-innovation/carbon
  -capture-and-storage-research/carbon-capture-rdgt.
• U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S.
  Energy Information Administration Independent
  Statistics and Analysis. U.S. Department of
  Energy, 2011. Web.15 October 2013.
  lthttp//www.eia.gov/coal/gt.
• "Coal Mining the Environment."N.p.. Web. 15 Oct
  2013lthttp//www.worldcoal.org/coal-the-environment
  /coal-mining-thenvironment/gt.
• Walsh, Bryan. Exposing the Myth of Clean Coal
  Power. Time. Time Inc. 10, January 2009. Web. 15
  October 2013.
• "How Air Pollution Threatens Our Health N.p..
  Web. 15 Oct 2013. lt."http//content.sierraclub.org
  /coal/.gt
• "Coal Use the Environment." N.p.. Web. 15 Oct
  2013. ltwww.worldcoal.org.gt
• Google Images