Coal+Power

 =coal power = Coal power Is It a Good Move From Our Island?

Pro

1.The world has vast reserves of coal, which are more widely distributed than oil and gas reserves.

2.The coal industry is well-established, with adequate technologies for conventional mining.

3.Coal's energy is easily released.

4.Coal is easily stored, transported, and controlled in large volumes.

5.There are enough sites, coal mines, engineering talent and materials to construct coal plants on schedule.

6.In areas of the United States where coal is abundant, coal-fired power plants have a significant economic advantage over oil-fired and nuclear plants.

7.Coal power plants and the coal fuel cycle are not subject to low-probability, high-consequence accidents or sabotage. The hazards of coal can be made relatively predictable, given sufficient research on such matters as the health effects of coal-derived air pollutants.

8.Coal burning in utilities does not raise the problem of nuclear weapons proliferation and related safeguards.

9.The lead time for planning coal-burning power plants is less than that for nuclear plants.

Con

1.The combustion of coal is the largest single source of sulfur oxide pollution worldwide.

2.Carbon dioxide, an unavoidable by-product of coal combustion, causes a warming of the earth which can lead to global climatic changes.

3.Toxic metals and carcinogenic compounds are released through the combustion of coal.

4.Coal combustion produces solid wastes such as boiler ash and flyash, and causes water pollution.

5.Strip-mining produces soil waste problems, acid drainage, unproductive land, and ugly terrain. Soil erosion pollutes streams.

6.Coal mining causes black lung disease.

7.100,000 men lost their lives through coal mining in this century; more than 1 million have been permanently disabled.

8.The sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide wastes released when coal is burned can have serious adverse effects on agriculture. Acid rain is caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. realesed easley into inviroment

coal produces CO2 and global warming/ fumes that create air polution(mercury and such) it is also a fossil fuel, meaning that it cannot be renewed

How does burning coal affect the environment?
Coal is a chemically complex fuel. Whenever it is burned, gases are given off and particles of ash, called "fly ash," are released. The sulfur in coal combines with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide, which can be a major source of air pollution if emitted in large enough quantities. Today, many of the effects of coal burning have been reduced significantly or eliminated. Three basic methods are used to reduce the quantity of pollutants resulting from coal combustion. The first, a pre-combustion method for removing contaminates from coal, is coal cleaning or "coal benefication." In coal cleaning the coal is crushed and screened from impurities. Further processing utilizes the different gravities of coal and impurities to separate them in a liquid medium. Coal cleaning can remove the pyritic sulfur, which can reduce sulfur content by as much as 30 percent. The second, a post-combustion method, uses flue gas desulfurization systems, commonly called scrubbers. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, scrubbers can remove more than 90 percent of the sulfur dioxide emissions from coal combustion. The flue gas is sprayed with a slurry made up of water and an alkaline agent-- usually lime or limestone. The sulfur dioxide reacts chemically, forming calcium sulfate or calcium sulfite. This is removed and disposed of as a wet sludge. There are currently 134 scrubbers operated by the electric utility industry in the United States. The final method for reducing or eliminating pollution from coal combustion is the use of electrostatic precipitators or baghouses which are used to remove fly ash. In electrostatic precipitators, the particulate matter is given an electrical charge. The charge attracts it to a collector plate, where the particles are collected, preventing their discharge into the atmosphere. In a baghouse, the particulate matter is filtered out as it passes through a series of filters, similar to a household vacuum cleaner. The two major environmental concerns today dealing with the use of coal are: increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and acid rain. Much remains to be learned about the relationship between fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and the environment. It is believed that combustion has partially contributed to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may result in warmer climates due to the "greenhouse effect." The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide prevents heat from escaping from the earth, thus warming the atmosphere. The combustion of coal also appears to contribute to acid rain, although precise measures of the scope and seriousness of acid rain are not clear or well understood. What is clear is that further study of the phenomenon is necessary. There is an interesting riddle to the acid rain phenomenon, and that is that acid rain damage has occurred during periods when sulfur dioxide discharges have declined or remained stable (sulfur dioxide is considered to be the principal cause of acid rain). (Provided by National Energy Foundation)

environmental impacts, from both coal mining and coal use.
Coal mining raises a number of environmental challenges, including soil erosion, dust, noise and water pollution, and impacts on local biodiversity. Steps are taken in modern coal mining operations to minimise these impacts.Continuous improvements in technology have dramatically reduced or eliminated many of the environmental impacts traditionally associated with the use of coal in the vital electricity generation and steelmaking industries. Viable, highly effective technologies have been developed to tackle the release of pollutants - such as oxides of sulphur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx) - and particulate and trace elements, such as mercury. More recently, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) have become a concern because of their link to climate change.

(World Coal Institute.)