Coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Industry: Energy

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Coal

volatile matter

Mining; Coal

The parts of coal that is given off a gas or vapor through heating it to 950 degrees centigrade.

white damp

Mining; Coal

Carbon monoxide (CO), a deadly gas found in mines after an explosion.

working face

Mining; Coal

The location in a mine where coal or other materials are being excavated.

all-electric home

Energy; Coal

A residence in which electricity is used for the main source of energy for space heating, water heating, and cooking. Other fuels may be used for supplementary heating or other purposes.

alternate energy source for primary heater

Energy; Coal

The fuel that would be used in place of the usual main heating fuel if the building had to switch fuels. (See Fuel-Switching Capability.)

alternating current (AC)

Energy; Coal

An electric current that reverses its direction at regularly recurring intervals.

alternative fuel

Energy; Coal

Alternative fuels, for transportation applications, include the following: *methanol *denatured ethanol, and other alcohols *fuel mixtures containing 85 percent or more by volume of methanol, ...