Coal Introduction Geology of Coal Formation of Coal
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COAL INTRODUCTION STATE OF OHIO Ted Strickland, Governor Coal is one of Ohio’s most valuable mineral resources DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES and the nation’s most abundant fossil fuel. More than 3.7 bil- Sean D. Logan, Director lion tons of Ohio coal has been mined since 1800, and recent DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY fi gures indicate that Ohio is the 3rd largest coal-consuming Larry Wickstrom, Chief state in the nation, consuming about 62 million tons per year. Ohio ranks 13th in the nation in coal production, and 7th in terms of demonstrated coal reserves with approximately 23.3 billion short tons, or 4.7% of the nation’s total coal reserves. (“Demonstrated Coal Reserve” is a term used to identify the part of the total resource that is potentially mineable when considering economic, legal, and engineering constraints). At present production levels, Ohio has more than 500 years worth of potentially mineable coal remaining. GEOLOGY OF COAL Th e coal-bearing rocks of Ohio were deposited during the Pennsylvanian and Permian Periods, approximately 320 to 245 million years ago. During Pennsylvanian time, or the great Coal Age, a shallow sea covered central Ohio. A series of river deltas extended into this sea carrying sediments that eroded from the ancestral Appalachian Mountains and fl owed northwest into the deltas. Extensive freshwater and brackish-water peat-forming COAL ecosystems formed in these low-lying coastal and near-coastal deltas, which were similar to those of the current Mississippi and Amazon Rivers. Th ese peat swamps remained undisturbed for thousands of years. Coal forms from the accumulation and physical and chemi- cal alteration of plant remains that settle in swampy areas and form peat, which thickens until heat and pressure transform it into the coal we use. Th e ancient wetland areas where Ohio’s coal originated included swamps, marshes, lakes, abandoned or cut-off river channels, and back-barrier lagoons and bays associated with the development of river deltas. Th e Everglades of Florida, the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia, and the Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and Virginia are modern-day examples of such wetlands. Th e coal we use is combustible sedimentary rock composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and various trace elements (it has a carbonaceous content of more than 50% by weight and more than 70% by volume). Pennsylvanian rocks have been divided into four groups based primarily on their mineable coal content: Pottsville, Allegheny, Conemaugh, and Monongahela. More than 95% of Ohio’s coal production comes from the Allegheny and Monongahela Groups. Permian rocks of the Dunkard Group overlie the Pennsylvanian rocks and do not contain signifi cant coal resources in Ohio. FORMATION OF COAL Educational Leaflet No. 8 Revised Edition 2008 Ohio Geological Survey Peat-forming environments are poorly drained; they have a high water table (intermittently or permanently covered with water) and contain stagnant, anoxic (oxygen-poor) water 1 COAL that inhibits microscopic organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, from decomposing plant materials. Over a long period of time, this debris accumulates, partially decomposes, and becomes peat. Plant production is fastest in hot, humid areas and slowest in dry, cool areas; the rate of accumulation of peat is estimated to be 3 feet per 500–600 years in a tropical climate and 3 feet per 1,500–1,700 years in a cool climate. Peat is compacted to approximately one-tenth of its original thickness when it forms coal, so environmental conditions have to remain stable for thousands of years before it can form mineable coal. During the Coal Age, Ohio was located at or near the Equator, experiencing climatic conditions similar to the present-day Amazon River delta. Th us, a 6-foot-thick Ohio coal seam would have required approxi- Reconstruction of a Pennsylvanian-age swamp dominated by widely spaced mately 60 feet of peat that formed over a period of 11,000 years. trunks of the lycopod Lepidophloios. Based on an array of tree trunks found Th e fossil record of Ohio’s Coal Age plants shows an almost total in the Sterling North Mine, Jeff erson County. From Hook and Miller, absence of growth rings, suggesting little climatic diff erence between 1996, p. 4. seasons. In addition, the plants that formed coal had giant leaf fans and thin barks that are characteristic of tropical and subtropical rainforest plants. Th e Pennsylvanian peat swamps were dominated some lycopods grew in areas of standing water. As the peat substrate by tree-like lycopods (giant relatives of modern club mosses, spike thickened and reached the water surface, larger trees and ferns began mosses, and quillworts), which stood more than 100 feet tall, and growing in the substrate. later by tree ferns that grew more than 30 feet tall. Other tree-like Ohio’s fossil record shows that swamps of the Coal Age were also plants that contributed to the formation of peat included sphenopsids alive with amphibians, reptiles, fi shes, and insects. Amphibians and (related to today’s horsetails) and seed ferns that are possibly linked to reptiles ranged in appearance from alligator-sized species to limbless, modern conifers such as spruce, pine, and tamarack. Sphenopsids and serpentine forms to agile, lizard-like species. Sharks and a great number of bony fi shes, including air-breathing and armored species, inhabited distributary channel freshwater lakes of the Coal Age swamps. Th e insects of the Coal Age included millipedes, cockroaches, and long-legged fl ying insects. lake During most of the Coal Age, Ohio experienced a wet tropical lake crevasse climate. However, through long periods of Conemaugh time and into splay p Permian time, Ohio experienced a drier climate that led to a decline in peat am sw lycopods, a rise in tree ferns, and a general decline in peat formation. Changing sea levels and an increased seasonality of rainfall limited vegeta- bay bay shale tive growth and left organic debris vulnerable to decomposition. Rivers sandstone meandering through swamps and the erosion of peat also interrupted local peat accumulation. Eventually peat swamps were buried by marine marine or freshwater sediments such as sand, mud, and lime-bearing sediments limestone (sandy sediments would later become obstructions to the coal-mining coal clay process). After the peat was buried, the coal-forming process, called coalifi cation, began. MI NY PA ENERGY FROM COAL IN OHIO Th e energy stored in coal began as energy stored in plants. During photosynthesis, a plant absorbs carbon dioxide and water. Using chlo- r to rophyll and sunlight, the plant converts carbon dioxide and water into a u q 6 12 6 e carbon compounds consisting of starch, sugar (glucose, C H O ), and deltas ps MD cellulose (C6H10O5), and releases oxygen into the atmosphere. As the am w plant dies and organic debris accumulates in the swampy, anoxic area, s l the underlying debris is compressed and undergoes gradual decomposi- sea a WV o VA tion, so that cellulose is chemically changed, producing carbon dioxide c (CO2), methane (CH4), water (H2O), and peat (C26H20O2). As the peat is buried, the weight of overlying sediments exerts increasing pressure and temperature on it, driving off water and gases and changing the peat into coal. KY Coals are classifi ed by rank according to their percentage of fi xed carbon and heating value. Fixed carbon is the carbon residue that re- Top, block diagram showing a portion of a delta lobe illustrating environ- mains when coal is heated—without combustion—to drive off volatile ments of deposition and associated rock types. Bottom, generalized paleoge- matter. Volatile matter includes gases and vapors released by coal when ography of Ohio and adjacent areas during the Pennsylvanian Period. heated. Generally, a coal’s heating value and percentage of carbon (ex- 2 COAL Right: Coalifi ed compression of a Pennsylvanian seed fern, Mariopteris muricata, preserved on Brookville shale (Allegheny Group), near Strasburg, Tuscarawas County. From Feldmann and Hackathorn, 1996, p. 467. Above: A fi n-back reptile (Edaphosaurus), an amphibian (Eryops), and a large dragonfl y amidst a fl ora of sphenopsids, lycopods, and ferns. From Carnegie Museum of Natural History diorama in Feldmann and Hackathorn, 1996, p. xviii. cept in anthracite) have an inverse relationship with its moisture and rank. Bituminous coal is mined primarily in Alabama, West Virginia, volatile matter content. A Btu (British thermal unit) is the standard Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. unit of measurement for heating value and is defi ned as the amount Anthracite is the highest coal rank. Th is coal is commonly referred of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree to as hard coal and is black and brittle with a glassy appearance. Anthra- Fahrenheit (°F). cite coal has a carbon content that ranges from 86 to 98% and a slightly Lignite is the lowest rank of coal. It represents the 1st step in the lower heating value than bituminous coal due to a low volatile-matter metamorphosis from peat to coal. Lignite, commonly referred to as content (less than 7%). It makes up 2% of the nation’s coal reserves and brown coal, has a fi brous, earthy texture and is crumbly. It has a high is mined primarily in Pennsylvania; it is not found in Ohio. moisture content, low heating value (less than 8,300 Btus), and forms Ohio’s bituminous coals are noted for their high sulfur content, 9% of the nation’s coal reserves. Lignite is mined primarily in Texas which calls for clean coal technologies; most of Ohio’s coal is classifi ed and North Dakota; it is not found in Ohio.