LIGNITE - GEOGRAPHY
News: Leaders
call for removal of lignite blocks from auction process
What's in the news?
● The
leaders of various parties condemned the move to auction lignite blocks in the
delta region.
Lignite:
● Lignite,
referred to as brown coal, is a
soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed
peat.
● It
has a carbon content of around 25–35% and
is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat content.
● Lignite
is mined all around the world and is used almost exclusively as a fuel for
steam-electric power generation.
● The
combustion of lignite produces less heat for the amount of carbon dioxide and
sulfur released than other ranks of coal.
Go back to basics:
Other types of coal:
Anthracite:
● It
is the best quality coal.
● It
contains about 80 to 90 percent carbon.
● It
is hard coal.
● In
India, it is mainly found in the district of Reasi in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir.
● It
has very low moisture content and ignites slowly and burns with a nice short
blue flame.
Bituminous:
● It
is the most widely available and used
coal.
● It
contains about 40 to 75 percent carbon.
● Its
calorific value is very high due to the high proportion of carbon and low
moisture.
● It
is used in the production of coke and gas.
● It
is soft, dense, compact, and is usually of black color.
● Moisture
and volatile content is around 15 to 40 %.
Peat:
● It
is the middle stage in the process of coal formation.
● It
contains less than 40 percent carbon.
It has more impurities.
● The
parts of the wood are remarkably present in it.
● It
contains lots of moisture and volatile material.
● It
emits more smoke and leaves a lot of ash.