Coal
- Older coal has higher carbon
- Higher carbon means more energy when burned
- Higher carbon means less air pollution from sulfur impurities
- Peat- precursor to coal and made of decayed plant material. It is formed in wetland bogs and is mined by cutting into oblong peat bricks. When it is dry, it can be burned for cooking and heating.
- 1st category: Lignite- low carbon, high moisture, 25-30% carbon, lowest quality, crumbly texture, located in Gulf Coast and Northern Plains
- 2nd category: Subbituminous- Higher carbon, lower moisture, harder than lignite, 35-45% carbon, high quality
- 3rd category: Bituminous- most common, high carbon content, low moisture, 35-86% carbon, harder and shinier
- 4th: anthracite- high carbon, very low moisture, 86-97% carbon, least polluting, most valuable, highest quality, very hard and shiny
Gas
- Synthetic natural gas (SNG)- created from coal by coal gasification
- Creating synthetic fuels has low net energy because it needs 50% more coal than just burning coal
- Russia possesses 25% of world reserves
- Middle East also contains large amount
- U.S has less than 4% of reserve but use 1/4 of natural gas production
- Advantages: Large reserves remain, less air pollutants, high net energy
- Disadvantages: low net energy when converted to LNG, releases CO2, difficult and costly to transport, pipeline infrastructure is underdeveloped.
Charcoal
- Charcoal- biomass fuel created by burning wood to remove moisture and increase energy content per unit of mass.
- Widely used for cooking and heating in developing countries throughout the world
- Advantages- Inexpensive, high energy content, easy to transport, widely available, less smoke than wood or dung, renewable
- Disadvantages- Deforestation, charcoal production is hazardous to workers, using charcoal produces smoke that is unhealthy