Pros And Cons Of Coal

Imagine a world without electricity. Unfortunately, that isn’t possible since the modern world depends on it for almost every aspect of daily living. But energy is required to produce electricity. That energy source is either renewable or nonrenewable. Coal is a nonrenewable resource that is part of the fossil fuel category that includes oil and gas, and it remains a vital source of energy for both industrialized and developing nations. As the world’s population grows, and industries continue to expand, the demand for energy will only increase. The accumulation of gases and waste from these carbon-based nonrenewable resources, particularly coal, has led to the greenhouse effect and other adverse consequences, to the point where the world’s

Coal is an organic material that is derived from dead plants and animals that decayed hundreds of millions of years ago. These dead carbon-containing materials that accumulate in moist habitats are called peats. Over time these peats turn into coal. There are four types of coal, depending of their age; they range from younger coal which is low carbon/low energy to older coal which contains high carbon/high energy(XX). Carbon is mined either on the surface, where the topsoil is removed and loaded into trucks, or from deeply underground, where tunnels and underground rooms are built and the coal is cut away to be loaded into conveyer belts, and delivered to coal

The burning of coal in power plants, factories, and automobiles is the largest producer of these by-products. One 500 megawatt coal plant that provides electricity to 140, 000 people will burn 1.4 million tons of coal, creating 10, 000 tons of SOx and 10, 200 tons of NOx. These chemical gases react with water and oxygen to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid. The acids then spread during rain, damaging our lakes and its inhabitants, forests and its trees, and corroding limestones and bronze in buildings and