Coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Industry: Energy

Add a new term

Contributors in Coal

Become a Contributors

Coal

Coal zone

Energy; Coal

A series of laterally extensive and (or) lenticular coal beds and associated strata that arbitrarily can be viewed as a unit. Generally, the coal beds in a coal zone are assigned to the same geologic ...

Column sample

Energy; Coal

A channel or drill core sample taken to represent the entire geologic coalbed; it includes all partings and impurities that may exist in the coalbed.

Domestic uranium industry

Energy; Coal

Collectively, those businesses (whether U.S. or foreign-based) that operate under the laws and regulations pertaining to the conduct of commerce within the United States and its territories and ...

Average delivered price

Energy; Coal

The weighted average of all contract price commitments and market price settlements in a delivery year.

Byproduct

Energy; Coal

A secondary or additional product resulting from the feedstock use of energy or the processing of nonenergy materials. For example, the more common byproducts of coke ovens are coal gas, tar, and a ...

Coal-producing regions

Energy; Coal

A geographic classification of areas where coal is produced.

Drilling

Energy; Coal

The act of boring a hole (1) to determine whether minerals are present in commercially recoverable quantities and (2) to accomplish production of the minerals (including drilling toinject fluids). * ...