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

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Coal

Integral collector storage (ICS)

Energy; Coal

A solar thermal collector in which incident solar radiation is absorbed directly by the storage medium.

Mineral rights

Energy; Coal

The ownership of the minerals beneath the earth's surface with the right to remove them. Mineral rights may be conveyed separately from surface rights.

Load control programme

Energy; Coal

A programme in which the utility company offers a lower rate in return for having permission to turn off the air conditioner or water heater for short periods of time by remote control. This control ...

Local distribution company (LDC)

Energy; Coal

A legal entity engaged primarily in the retail sale and/or delivery of natural gas through a distribution system that includes main lines (that is, pipelines designedto carry large volumes of gas, ...

Interest coverage ratio

Energy; Coal

The number of times that fixed interest charges were earned. It indicates the margin of safety of interest on fixed debt. The times-interest-earned ratio is calculated using net income before and ...

Moisture content

Energy; Coal

The water content of a substance (a solid fuel) as measured under specified conditions beingthe "dry basis," which equals the weight of the wet sample minus the weight of a (bone) dry sample divided ...