Lignite
Lignite (derived from
The combustion for lignite produces less heat for the amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur released than other ranks of coal. As a result lignite is the most harmful coal to human health.
Characteristics
Lignite is brownish-black in color and has a carbon content of 60–70 percent on a dry ash-free basis. However, its
The energy content of lignite ranges from 10 to 20 MJ/kg (9–17 million BTU per short ton) on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. The energy content of lignite consumed in the United States averages 15 MJ/kg (13 million BTU/ton), on the as-received basis.[6] The energy content of lignite consumed in Victoria, Australia, averages 8.6 MJ/kg (8.2 million BTU/ton) on a net wet basis.[7]
Lignite has a high content of volatile matter which makes it easier to convert into gas and liquid petroleum products than higher-ranking coals. Unfortunately, its high moisture content and susceptibility to
Lignite rapidly degrades when exposed to air. This process is called slacking or slackening.[9]
Uses
Most lignite is used to generate electricity.[2] However, small amounts are used in agriculture, in industry, and even, as jet, in jewelry. Its historical use as fuel for home heating has continuously declined and is now of lower importance than its use to generate electricity.
As fuel
Lignite is often found in thick beds located near the surface, making it inexpensive to mine. However, because of its low
The
In 2014, about 12 percent of Germany's energy and, specifically, 27 percent of Germany's electricity came from lignite power plants,[17] while in 2014 in Greece, lignite provided about 50 percent of its power needs. Germany has announced plans to phase out lignite by 2038 at the latest.[18][19][20][21] Greece has confirmed that the last coal plant will be shut in 2025 after receiving pressure from the European Union[22] and plans to heavily invest in renewable energy.[23]
Home heating
Lignite was and is used as a replacement for or in combination with
In agriculture
An environmentally beneficial use of lignite is in agriculture. Lignite may have value as an environmentally benign
Lignite may also be used for the cultivation and distribution of
In drilling mud
Reaction with
As an industrial adsorbent
Lignite may have potential uses as an industrial
In jewellery
Geology
Lignite begins as an accumulation of partially decayed plant material, or peat. Peat accumulates most readily in areas where there is ample moisture, slow subsidence of the land surface, and lack of disturbance by rivers or oceans. Peat swamps are otherwise found in a wide variety of climates and geographical settings. Under these conditions, the area remains saturated with water, which covers dead plant material and protects it from degradation by atmospheric oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria may continue to degrade the peat, but this process is slow, particularly in acid water. Once the peat is buried by other sediments, biological degradation essentially comes to a halt, and further changes are a result of increased temperature and pressure from burial.[45]
Lignite forms from peat that has not experienced deep burial and heating. It forms at temperatures below 100 °C (212 °F),[1] primarily by biochemical degradation. This includes humification, in which microorganisms extract hydrocarbons from the peat and humic acids are formed. The humic acids make the environment more acidic, which slows the rate of further bacterial decay. Humification is still incomplete in lignite, coming to completion only when the coal reaches sub-bituminous rank.[46] The most characteristic chemical change in the organic material during formation of lignite is the sharp reduction in the number of C=O and C-O-R functional groups.[47]
Lignite deposits are typically younger than higher-ranked coals, with the majority of them having formed during the Tertiary period.[1]
Extraction
Lignite is often found in thick beds located near the surface.[1][7] These are inexpensive to extract using various forms of surface mining, though this can result in serious environmental damage.[48] Regulations in the United States and other countries require that land that is surface mined must be restored to its original productivity once mining is complete.[49]
Once the lignite is removed, restoration involves grading the mine spoil to as close an approximation as practical of the original ground surface (Approximate Original Contour or AOC). Subsoil and topsoil are restored and the land reseeded with various grasses. In North Dakota, a performance bond is held against the mining company for at least ten years after the end of mining operations to guarantee that the land has been restored to full productivity.[49] A bond (not necessary in this form) for mine reclamation is required in the US by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.[51]
Resources and reserves
List of countries by lignite reserves
Countries | Lignite reserves (billions of tons) |
---|---|
Russia | 90.447 |
Australia | 73.865 |
Germany | 35.7 |
United States | 29.91 |
Turkey | 19.32[53] |
Pakistan | 17.5[54] |
Indonesia | 14.746 |
China | 8.25 |
Republic of Kosovo | 7.112 |
New Zealand | 6.75 |
Poland | 5.752 |
Australia
The
A partnership led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and backed by the governments of Japan and Australia has begun extracting hydrogen from brown coal. The liquefied hydrogen will be shipped via the transporter Suiso Frontier to Japan.[56]
North America
The largest lignite deposits in North America are the
Types
Lignite can be separated into two types. The first is xyloid lignite or fossil wood and the second form is the compact lignite or perfect lignite.
Although xyloid lignite may sometimes have the tenacity and the appearance of ordinary wood, it can be seen that the combustible woody tissue has experienced a great modification. It is reducible to a fine powder by
Jet is a hardened, gem-like form of lignite used in various types of jewelry.[41]
Production
This article needs to be updated.(January 2023) |
Germany is the largest producer of lignite,[58] followed by China, Russia, and United States.[59] Lignite accounted for 8% of all U.S. coal production in 2019.[2]
Country or territory | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Germany | 261 | 258.1 | 280 | [a] | ||||||
Germany | 108[b] | 129.9[b] | 107.6[b] | 167.7 | 169 | 176.5 | 185.4 | 183 | 178.2 | 178.1 |
China | – | 24.3 | 45.5 | 47.7 | 125.3 | 136.3 | 145 | 147 | 145 | 140 |
Russia | 145[c] | 141[c] | 137.3[c] | 87.8 | 76.1 | 76.4 | 77.9 | 73 | 70 | 73.2 |
Kazakhstan | [d] | 2.6 | 7.3 | 8.4 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6.6 | – | ||
Uzbekistan | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | – | – | – | |||
United States | 5 | 42.8 | 79.9 | 77.6 | 71.0 | 73.6 | 71.6 | 70.1 | 72.1 | 64.7 |
Poland | – | 36.9 | 67.6 | 59.5 | 56.5 | 62.8 | 64.3 | 66 | 63.9 | 63.1 |
Turkey | – | 14.5 | 44.4 | 60.9 | 70.0 | 72.5 | 68.1 | 57.5 | 62.6 | 50.4 |
Australia | – | 32.9 | 46 | 67.3 | 68.8 | 66.7 | 69.1 | 59.9 | 58.0 | 63.0 |
Greece | – | 23.2 | 51.9 | 63.9 | 56.5 | 58.7 | 61.8 | 54 | 48 | 46 |
India | – | 5 | 14.1 | 24.2 | 37.7 | 42.3 | 43.5 | 45 | 47.2 | 43.9 |
Indonesia | – | – | – | – | 40.0 | 51.3 | 60.0 | 65.0 | 60.0 | 60.0 |
Czechoslovakia | 82 | 87 | 71 | [e] | ||||||
Czech Republic | [f] | 50.1 | 43.8 | 46.6 | 43.5 | 40 | 38.3 | 38.3 | ||
Slovakia | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.3 | – | – | – | |||
Yugoslavia | – | 33.7 | 64.1 | [g] | ||||||
Serbia | [h] | 35.5[i] | 37.8 | 40.6 | 38 | 40.1 | 29.7 | 37.3 | ||
Kosovo | [j] | 8.7[k] | 9[k] | 8.7[k] | 8.2[k] | 7.2[k] | 8.2[k] | |||
North Macedonia | 7.5 | 6.7 | 8.2 | 7.5 | – | – | – | |||
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3.4 | 11 | 7.1 | 7 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.5 | |||
Slovenia | 3.7 | 4 | 4.1 | 4 | – | – | – | |||
Montenegro | [j] | 1.9 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | |||
Romania | – | 26.5 | 33.7 | 29 | 31.1 | 35.5 | 34.1 | 24.7 | 23.6 | 25.2 |
Bulgaria | – | 30 | 31.5 | 26.3 | 29.4 | 37.1 | 32.5 | 26.5 | 31.3 | 35.9 |
Albania | – | 1.4 | 2.1 | 30 | 14 | 9 | 20 | – | – | – |
Thailand | – | 1.5 | 12.4 | 17.8 | 18.3 | 21.3 | 18.3 | 18.1 | 18 | 15.2 |
Mongolia | – | 4.4 | 6.6 | 5.1 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 9.9 | – | – | – |
Canada | – | 6 | 9.4 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 9.0 | 8.5 | 10.5 |
Hungary | – | 22.6 | 17.3 | 14 | 9.1 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.3 |
North Korea | – | 10 | 10.6 | 7.2 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Source:
– no data available |
- ^ East Germany became a part of Germany as a result of German reunification in 1990.
- ^ a b c Data prior to 2000 are for West Germany only.
- ^ a b c Data prior to 2000 represent the Soviet Union.
- ^ Country was a part of the Soviet Union during this time.
- ^ Czechoslovakia dissolved in 1993.
- ^ Country was a part of Czechoslovakia during this time.
- ^ Yugoslavia broke up in a process that concluded in 1992.
- ^ Country was a part of Yugoslavia during this time.
- Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- ^ Federal Republic of Yugoslaviaduring this time.
- ^ a b c d e f Albanians unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, but the country it is not member of UN and its status is heavily disputed.
Gallery
-
Saxony, Germany
See also
- Coal assay– Measurement of properties of coal
- Dakota Gasification Company
- Energy value of coal
- Karrick process – low temperature carbonization process
- Kemper Project – Power station in Mississippi, US
- Orders of magnitude (specific energy)– Physical quantity representing energy content per unit mass
- Torrefaction – mild form of pyrolysis to convert biomass to a char-like substance
- International Humic Substances Society
References
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- ^ a b c d "Coal explained". Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
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- ^ "Lignite". Glossary. U.S. Energy Information Agency. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
- ^ a b c https://web.archive.org/web/20110317032514/http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/37518/Brown-Coal-050710.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-17. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
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Germany has been the largest lignite producer in the world since the beginning of industrial lignite mining. It still is, followed by China, Russia, and the United States. The softer and moister lignite (also called brown or soft coal) has a lower calorific value than hard coal and can only be mined in opencast operations. When burned, it is more CO2 intensive than hard coal.
- World Coal Association. 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2012. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - OCLC 506249066.
External links
- "Coal and lignite domestic consumption". Global Energy Statistical Yearbook. 2016.
- Geography in action – an Irish case study
- Photograph of lignite
- Coldry:Lignite Dewatering Process