Coal is a heterogeneous, carbon-rich solid fossil fuel formed from the diagenesis and coalification of ancient plant material under elevated pressure and temperature over geologic timescales. It consists primarily of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and mineral matter, with a maceral composition dominated by vitrinite, inertinite, and liptinite. Coal is classified by rank (e.g., lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, anthracite) based on carbon content, volatile matter, and calorific value, which reflect the degree of metamorphism. Its physicochemical properties, including porosity, reflectance, sulfur content, and trace element composition, are critical for combustion behavior, gasification, coking performance, and environmental impact in industrial applications.
In addition to serious economic damage, the energy crisis of 2021/22 also had dramatic consequences for the environment and people's health. This is the conclusion reached by two researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität ...
Environment
Jan 27, 2026
0
1
For the past 250 years, people have mined coal industrially in Pennsylvania, U.S.. By 1830, the city of Pittsburgh was using more than 400 tons of the fossil fuel every day. Burning all that coal has contributed to climate ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 1, 2025
10
322
Since its initial discovery in 2004 by two professors at the University of Manchester, graphene has made a big splash in the scientific community. Its discoverers won a Nobel Prize in 2010 for developing the idea—then the ...
Nanomaterials
Oct 18, 2023
8
27
In a warming world, coal can often seem the "bad guy." But we can do other things with coal besides burn it. A team at Ohio University used the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's Bridges-2 system to carry out a series of ...
Nanomaterials
Jan 5, 2023
0
30
A low-value byproduct of the coal mining process is proving highly effective at helping reclaim the land and water used in mining, University of Alberta research shows.
Nanomaterials
Jul 22, 2021
1
14
