7B+Coal+Power+2

What is Coal?
Coal is a black or a [|brownish-black sedimentary rock.] It is usually found in rock strata layer or veins which are called coal beds or coal steams. There is also a harder type of coal called the [|anthracite coal], which is also known as the metamorphic rock. It is called this because of the exposure to raise temperature and pressure. Coal is mostly form by carbon, but there is a little bit of [|hydrogen], [|sulfur], [|oxygen], and [|nitrogen].

[[image:grade7isyscience/coal_to_electricity.gif width="402" height="251" align="left"]]1. How does coal produce electricity?
There are many steps to change coal to electricity. First, coal is mined and taken to a power plant. Then, the coal is burnt in a boiler, which makes the water in the pipes become steam. After the steam is made, it travels to the turbine, and make the turbine spin. As the turbine spins, it starts to run a generator, and the big magnets spin near the coils of wire. When this happens, electric current is produced in the wires, and it make electricity, which is used in schools, houses, factories, hospitals. etc.

2. How widespread is it?
The world largest coal consumers are China, United State, India, Russia, Germany, South Africa, Japan, Australia, North Korea, Ukraine. China consumes 1,310,000,000 tons, for United State is 1,060,000,000 tons, India consume 339,000,000 tons, Russia consume 298,000,000 tons, Germany consume 265,000,000 tons, South Africa consume 170,500,000 tons, Japan consume 149,500,000 tons, Australia consume144,170,000 tons, North Korea consume 103,600,000 tons, Ukraine consume 97,200,000 tons, and Ghana 3,000 ton.

3. How efficient is it?
The efficiency of coal depends on the temperature. If the temperature is higher, it is more efficient. Not just the temperature, also the quality of affect the efficiency. For example, coal with high moisture content will be less efficient. There are 45% of efficiency if it is a good kind of coal, and 42% of coal made up the electricity. For the whole world 70 % of the world’s coal to make electricity, and other 18 per cent is used in steel making and the remaining 12 per cent is used for other industrial and other purposes.

[[image:grade7isyscience/coal_mining.gif width="435" height="297" align="right"]]


Benefits:

 * Coal is Cheap
 * Electricity that is made by coal is easy, simple and reliable
 * Coal can be stored, and can be use anytime.
 * Does not need high pressure pipes and does not need protection while transporting
 * Using coal reduces the dependence on using oil

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Drawbacks:

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When burning coal, it create harmful wastes such as Co2, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfuric acids, arsenic and ash
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Can cause pollution and it will cause global warming
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Coal is a limited resource, and it will be entirely gone, if humans continue to keep burning them in the future
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When mining, it can cause health difficulties for miners
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">They produce radioactive elements
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">nonrenewable

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">5. Role in the future
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">We think that the coal will be no longer used or necessary for humans, and also the amount of coal is getting lesser. If it is no longer in use, we can use other new easy inventions, such as [|solar power], which is limitless, beside solar power we can also use [|hydrogen], [|sulfur], [|nitrogen], [|wind], and [|power]. It would be better, because instead of using coal, solar power will be more useful in the future. It will do many good to the future because coal make many pollutions, acid rains, and other global warming, which create natural disasters and many people to die more frequently. Also, in fifty years time, we think that there will not be much coal left in the world, so the coal prices will increase which will more people to not use coal, and we won’t be able to use it in our daily life such as cars, trains, buses and even airplanes. Also people would have electricity at their house, factories, schools, and other places so people would think of using other power source such as the power sources above. So this is what we think will happen in the future.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Information:
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 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|http://www.ket.org/trips/coal/agsmm/agsmmfuture.html]
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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Pictures:

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|http://www.worldcoal.org]
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 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|http://www.solarthermalmagazine.com]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|http://www.siencelearn.org.nz]