Energy for Sustainable Society

3Fossil Fuels

Strip coal mining near Frostburg, MD. Surface mining is the process of extracting coal deposits located near the surface. After the overlaying soil and rocks are removed, the exposed seam of coal is collected by excavators and bulldozers, then carried by trucks to a coal processing plant to be screened, crushed, and washed. Coal fired power plants convert the chemical energy of coal into electric energy.

According to EIA statistics, Cabin Run coalmine shown in the photo produced on average about 613 tons of bituminous coal per day in 2016 to supply electric generation plants in the region.

3.1 Introduction

All types of coal, petroleum, and natural gas are classified as fossil fuels. Hydrocarbons are produced in living organisms by the process of photosynthesis or biosynthesis, which convert solar radiation into chemical energy. Vegetation and dead organisms buried underground are transformed to fossil fuels by a natural process that takes millions of years.

The formation of most fossil fuels started during the Carboniferous Age about 325 million years ago. Pressure and heat have transformed in long time dead plants and organisms to hydrocarbon compounds in the absence of oxygen. The general chemical formula of hydrocarbons is C_xH_y, where x and y determine the properties of the organic compound. All fossil fuels are extracted from the Earth's crust as a mixture ...