Coal Products

Introduction

For our necessities, we use a variety of materials. Some are present in the environment, while others are the result of human labour. Natural resources are abundant due to the abundance of numerous resources in nature. Carbonization accounts for a significant amount of global coal production. Coke is the principal byproduct of high-temperature carbonization; roughly 4 percent of the total input coal is transformed into tar and crude benzol (light oil), and significant amounts of gas are also generated. The various useful products generated by processing coal without air:

• Coal Gas

• Coke

• Coal Tar

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What is Coal Gas?

Coal gas is a combustible vapour fuel derived from coal that is delivered to customers via a piped system. Town gas is a broader phrase that refers to gaseous fuels that are made for commercial sale and communities. In some places, it's also known as manufactured gas, syngas, or producer gas.

Coal gas is a mixture of gases like $\mathrm{H_{2}}$, $\mathrm{CO}$, and $\mathrm{CH_{4}}$ along with volatile hydrocarbons, with minor quantities of non-caloric gases such as $\mathrm{CO_{2}}$ and $\mathrm{N_{2}}$ as impurities, depending on the techniques used to create it.

Coal gas, which was primarily a by-product of the cooking process, was widely used for lighting, cooking, and heating in the nineteenth century. The rise of produced gas coincided with industrialization and urbanisation, and the byproducts, coal tars and ammonia, served as key chemical feedstock for the chemical business at times.

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Production of Coal Oil and Gas

When coal is heated in an enclosed chamber without any air, coal gas is created. When bituminous coal is burned to around 400$\mathrm{^{\circ}}$, it relaxes and coalesces, releasing water steam, rich gas, and tar in the process. Fossil fuels are crude oil, coal, and gas. Coal oil was created from the remnants of dead trees and other plant debris over centuries. Dead sea creatures were used to make crude oil and natural gas.

Coal Gas Composition

Coal gas is a gaseous combination of $\mathrm{H_{2}}$, $\mathrm{CO}$, and $\mathrm{CH_{4}}$ produced via destructive distillation (burning bituminous coal in the inert atmosphere) and used as a fuel. Steam is sometimes introduced to combine with the heated coke, boosting the gas production. It is mostly made up of $\mathrm{H_{2}}$ and $\mathrm{CH_{4}}$ with tiny quantities of other hydrocarbons, Carbon monoxide (a deadly gas), Carbon dioxide, and Nitrogen. It's both a fuel and an illuminant.

Uses of Coal

Coal is used for a variety of purposes like:

• Electricity production: Coal is mostly exploited to generate electricity. Steam is generated when thermal coal is burnt, which drives turbines along with generators that create energy.

• Liquification along with Gasification: Coal is burnt and crushed with steam to produce town gas for house heating along with lighting. It's liquefied to make synthetic fuels similar to gasoline and diesel.

• Chemical along with other industries: Syngas may be used to make chemical building blocks such as methanol and urea. Coal is used extensively in the paper, cloth, and glass industries. Carbon fibre and other speciality components, such as silicon metals, are also made from coal.

Coke: Definition and its properties

Coal is destructively distilled to produce a high-carbon product. Because of its high Carbon concentration, coke is referred to as a virtually pure form of carbon. It's a hard, porous solid that's greyish-black in hue. It is employed as a reducing agent in mineral extraction and steel making, as well as a fuel.

Properties

• It's a nearly pure type of carbon.

• It's hard, porous along with black

• It doesn't produce any smoke when it burns.

Uses of Coke

• Utilised as a reducing agent in metal extraction.

• Used in steelmaking.

• It may also be utilised as a source of energy.

Coal Tar: Definition and its properties

Coal Tar is produced as a by-product of the coke-making process. It has a similar hue as coke, but it is a thick, viscous liquid with a terrible odour. Synthetic colours, pharmaceuticals, fragrances, plastic, paints, and other products are made with it. It may also be used to make naphthalene balls.

Coal tar was first found in 1665 and was first utilised for medicinal purposes in the 1800s. Skin Itchiness, UV sensitivity, allergic responses, and skin discolouration are all possible side effects. It's uncertain if using it during pregnancy is healthy for the infant, and it's not usually advised to take it while breastfeeding.

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Uses of Coal Tar

Coal tar is mainly used to make coal-tar products along with refined chemicals like coaltar pitch along with creosote. Coal tar treatments have long been utilised to treat eczema and dandruff, among other skin disorders.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that coal is a solid Carbon-rich material that is black/brown and occurs in stacked sedimentary layers, creating it one of the major important fossil fuels. Coal liquefaction techniques have the potential to provide readily available, nonpolluting fuels and chemical raw materials in the future. Analytical criteria are significant in the four coal refining processes outlined above. Fumes, oils along with tars, soluble but low-volatile extracts, pitches, and cokes must all be investigated. Their optimal manufacture and use need a thorough understanding of their qualities.

FAQs

Q1. Why do fossil fuels cause air pollution?

Ans. Burning fossil fuels creates a lot of air pollution and pollutants like $\mathrm{H_{2}}$, $\mathrm{CO}$, and $\mathrm{SO_{2}}$ all of which can promote climate change by increasing the greenhouse effect.

Q2. What are the types of coal?

Ans. Types are -

• Peat is the least valuable and softest type of coal, with the lowest carbon concentration. It has a high level of moisture and is therefore unsuitable for use as a fuel.

• Anthracite is the highest quality coal. Hard coal is another name for this type of coal. It has the most carbon. It emits only a small amount of smoke.

• Lignite is a bit firmer than peat, but it's still rather soft. It has a higher carbon content than peat.

Q3. What is Petroleum?

Ans. Petrol, plastic, as well as other chemical compounds, are made from petroleum, which is a mineral oil found beneath the ground or in the sea. Wax, kerosene, LPG, petrol, lubricating oil, as well as diesel, are all petroleum by-products.

Q4. What is Natural Gas?

Ans. Natural gas is easy to transmit through pipelines and is stored as compressed natural gas at high pressure (CNG). CNG is used to generate electricity. Because it is less polluting, it is now employed as a transportation fuel. It is also a non-polluting fuel.

Q5. Is Coke a smokeless fuel?

Ans. Solid fuels such as anthracite, coke, as well as charcoal are sometimes referred to as smokeless fuels since they do not emit smoke when burned. As a result, coke is a nonsmoking fuel.