The article tells about the formation of coal, in what areas it is used, what is made from it, and also in what way the mineral is mined.
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Mankind took possession of fire in time immemorial and quickly realized its usefulness. The bonfire not only protected from wild animals and the cold, it was possible to cook food on it that old people and children could chew, which seriously increased the survival rate of the entire human population. Throughout history, fire has been a constant companion of man. At the beginning of the 18th century, with the development of the first industry, the need arose for a new type of fuel, and coal became such. How does the formation of coal occur , where is it used and what is its feature? This we will understand.
Legacy of prehistoric times
According to the encyclopedic definition, coal is the remains of ancient plants and their parts, they, in the depths of the Earth, under pressure and without oxygen, have turned into this useful type of fuel that the whole world is now using.
The main period of formation of coal, according to some estimates of scientists, began about 400 million years ago. Then most of the Earth was covered with swamps and dense, moist forests. In the marshes, where decay and dying off of plants took place faster, the latter gathered in layers, which in oxygen-depleted water turned into peat. Then, after a while, under the pressure of other layers of plant organic matter, peat gradually loses liquid and gases, and ultimately turns into coal.
The widespread formation of coal, according to scientists, soon ceased due to mushrooms that caused the so-called white rot. This process impeded the conversion of peat into its next stony state.
If pressure is required to obtain it, greater depths, then why are there external exits of this fossil? The thing is that over these 400 million years the earth's crust has undergone many changes, and because of its movements, some deposits moved to the surface or, conversely, turned out even deeper. And by the way, in almost any school or museum of local lore you can find flat pieces of coal, on which imprints of prehistoric plants, most often ferns, are clearly visible.
Minerals: coal and its role in Russian industry
Until the middle of the 18th century, this type of fuel was not used anywhere in the Russian Empire. However, even Peter the Great in 1696, returning from the Azov campaign, appreciated the prospect of a combustible mineral and predicted its usefulness and widespread use by descendants.
And starting from 1722, the very same Peter the Great gave orders to industrialists and geologists to begin a broad search for this fossil. And it bore fruit: deposits were discovered in a number of places.
But minerals found their widespread use only in the first quarter of XIX. Coal just then gave a powerful impetus to industry. After all, it is cheap, effective and relatively easy to extract fuel, which disorder surpasses wood or other species.
What is the value?
Coal is a combustible material that, thanks to its large reserves, has made the industrial revolution. At the beginning of the XIX century, with the help of it, they began to produce cast iron on a huge scale, to heat houses, it became a source of food for steamers and all steam equipment. Unlike oil or gas, its production is simpler and carries less risk. After rising from the depths of the earth and sorting, it is immediately ready for burning without any additional processing. But first things first. We figured out how coal is formed, but where else will it be used, in addition to furnaces, and what is made of it?
Application
Artificial graphite is also made from coal, which is used in pencils, chemistry, or as parts for electric motors. During the Second World War, German technologists produced gasoline from it. Rather, first oil, and only then refined fuel. In the same way, coal can be gasified. True, this process is costly and not widely used. Also, vanadium, gallium, zinc, lead, and molybdenum are extracted from it as an accompanying material during mining.
So we figured out how coal is formed and what its value is.
Danger
In addition to its positive properties, the extraction and use of this substance entails a number of serious dangers. This is a severe environmental pollution. When burning a kilogram of coal, 2.93 kilograms of carbon dioxide is obtained, which gradually and slowly, but still enhances the greenhouse effect on Earth.
The second danger is the impact on the health of miners. In the face, a high content of coal dust, protecting themselves from it, people have to use respirators that make breathing difficult, and as a result, gas exchange. In addition, the fuel contains a number of elements dangerous to living things, such as mercury and lead.
So now we know about such a process as the formation of coal. Minerals, according to scientists, will end sooner or later, and this is a good reason to think about switching to alternative sources of nutrition.