What type of resources does coal come from

The resulting pressure and heat turned the plants into the substance we call coal. Coal is classified into four main types, or ranks: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. The ranking depends on the types and amounts of carbon the coal contains and on the amount of heat energy the coal can produce.

The rank of a coal deposit is determined by the amount of pressure and heat that acted on the plants over time. All of the anthracite mines in the United States are in northeastern Pennsylvania. In the United States, anthracite is mainly used by the metals industry.

Bituminous coal in the United States is between million and million years old. Bituminous coal is used to generate electricity and is an important fuel and raw material for making coking coal or use in the iron and steel industry. Most subbituminous coal in the United States is at least million years old. The remainder was produced in Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico. Lignite coal deposits tend to be relatively young and were not subjected to extreme heat or pressure.

Lignite is crumbly and has high moisture content, which contributes to its low heating value. Lignite is mostly used to generate electricity. A facility in North Dakota also converts lignite to synthetic natural gas that is sent in natural gas pipelines to consumers in the eastern United States. Coal explained. Peacock coal is not a specific class of coal, but rather the name for an effect in which oxidizing materials in the coal create a dazzling array of colors on the surface of the coal.

Usually it is short-lived, as the material fully oxidizes away shortly after exposed to air. A sample of lignite, the lowest rank of coal. It is primarily mined for burning in steam-generation power plants. Lignite is low rank, or relatively unaltered soft, or "brown" coal, and is characterized by a brownish color and appearance that often resembles wood.

This lignite releases copious amounts of dissolved organic substances into groundwater. Skip to main content. Search Search. The four ranks are: Anthracite : The highest rank of coal. Bituminous : Bituminous coal is a middle rank coal between subbituminous and anthracite.

Bituminous coal usually has a high heating Btu value and is used in electricity generation and steel making in the United States. Bituminous coal is blocky and appears shiny and smooth when you first see it, but look closer and you might see it has thin, alternating, shiny and dull layers. Subbituminous : Subbituminous coal is black in color and is mainly dull not shiny.

Subbituminous coal has low-to-moderate heating values and is mainly used in electricity generation. Lignite : Lignite coal, aka brown coal, is the lowest grade coal with the least concentration of carbon. Lignite has a low heating value and a high moisture content and is mainly used in electricity generation.

Apply Filter. What is the biggest coal deposit in the United States? The coal in the Powder River Basin is These early coal mining activities made a significant contribution to the progress of European settlement in Australia. With the progressive spread of settlement to other locations in Australia lead to further discoveries and mining of black coal including the discovery of coal near Ipswich in , at Cape Paterson in Victoria in and Irwin River in Western Australia in Knowledge of the existence of brown coal in Victoria dates back to The Yallourn North open-cut began production in As of January , the United States has the largest recoverable coal reserves with an estimated billion short tons of coal remaining, according to the U.

Learn more: U. What are the types of coal? The four ranks are: Anthracite : The highest rank of coal. It is a hard, brittle, and black lustrous coal, often What is coal? Coal is a sedimentary deposit composed predominantly of carbon that is readily combustible. Coal is black or brownish-black, and has a composition that including inherent moisture consists of more than 50 percent by weight and more than 70 percent by volume of carbonaceous material.

It is formed from plant remains that have been compacted, Filter Total Items: 2. Year Published: Assessing U. Shaffer, Brian N. View Citation. Shaffer, B. Geological Survey Fact Sheet —, 6 p. Year Published: Coal--a complex natural resource : an overview of factors affecting coal quality and use in the United States Schweinfurth, Stanley P. Coal--a complex natural resource : an overview of factors affecting coal quality and use in the United States; ; CIR; ; Schweinfurth, Stanley P.