GEOG 1070 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11: Peak Oil, Spoil Tip, Anthracite
3 Apr 2016
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Geog 1070: contemporary environmental issues reading notes chapter 11. Oil formed when large numbers of microscopic aquatic organisms dies and settled into sediments that became covered and buried deeper. Natural gas formed the same way as oil but at higher temperatures. Coal exposed to high heat and pressure during its formation is drier, more compact, and has higher heating value. Lignite coal soft, brown/black, moist, often used to fuel electric power plants. Subituminoius coal has relatively low heat value and sulfur content used in coal fired electric plants. Bituminous coal most common, contains sulfur which causes sever environmental problems when burned used by electric power plants because it produce a lot of heat. Dark, burns cleanly, has high heat producing capacity. Subsurface mining - if deeper in the ground it is mined underground. Surface mining is usually less expensive and safer for miners and allows for complete coal removal: surface mining is very ecologically damaging.
