Coal is a complex solid material primarily used for electricity generation and industrial processes requiring high heat. It is also used as a reducing agent for metal refining.
Coal is a complex solid material derived primarily from plants that died and were buried hundreds of millions of years ago and were subsequently subjected to high temperatures and pressures.
It is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with a high amount of carbon and hydrocarbons. Coal is used for various purposes:
Electricity Generation: In the United States, 91% of coal is used for electrical generation.
The heat produced by burning coal is used to make steam, which then powers turbines or machinery for producing electricity.
Industrial Processes: A smaller portion of coal is used in industrial processes that require high heat, such as creating molten steel in blast furnaces.
Metal Refining: Coal is also used as a reducing agent for metal refining from ores.