Coal fired power stations - we love you really

[newshound]

IIRC it is higher in sulphur, but perhaps they have FGD everywhere?

[The Natural Philosopher]

"Types of coal

Coal is classified into four main types, or ranks: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. The ranking depends on the types and amounts of carbon the coal contains and on the amount of heat energy the coal can produce. The rank of a coal deposit is determined by the amount of pressure and heat that acted on the plants over time.

Anthracite contains 86%?97% carbon and generally has the highest heating value of all ranks of coal. Anthracite accounted for less than 1% of the coal mined in the United States in 2020. All of the anthracite mines in the United States are in northeastern Pennsylvania. In the United States, anthracite is mainly used by the metals industry.

Bituminous coal contains 45%?86% carbon. Bituminous coal in the United States is between 100 million and 300 million years old. Bituminous coal is the most abundant rank of coal found in the United States, and it accounted for about 44% of total U.S. coal production in 2020. Bituminous coal is used to generate electricity and is an important fuel and raw material for making coking coal or use in the iron and steel industry. Bituminous coal was produced in at least 18 states in 2020, but five states accounted for about 74% of total bituminous production: West Virginia (28%), Pennsylvania (14%), Illinois (13%), Kentucky (10%), and Indiana (8%).

Subbituminous coal typically contains 35%?45% carbon, and it has a lower heating value than bituminous coal. Most subbituminous coal in the United States is at least 100 million years old. About 46% of total U.S. coal production in 2020 was subbituminous and about 88% was produced in Wyoming and 8% in Montana. The remainder was produced in Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Lignite contains 25%?35% carbon and has the lowest energy content of all coal ranks. Lignite coal deposits tend to be relatively young and were not subjected to extreme heat or pressure. Lignite is crumbly and has high moisture content, which contributes to its low heating value. Lignite accounted for 9% of total U.S. coal production in 2020. About

54% was mined in North Dakota and about 39% was mined in Texas. The other 7% was produced in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Montana. Lignite is mostly used to generate electricity. A facility in North Dakota also converts lignite to synthetic natural gas that is sent in natural gas pipelines to consumers in the eastern United States."

------------------------------------------------------------------- AFAIUI lignite is full of water and unreformed plant material and cyclic hydrocarbons as well as pure carbon.

[newshound]

Looks like I was right about the sulphur. OTOH Germany might be ahead of the game in FGD.

[williamwright]

But now you can look to your right and see the Marr wind turbines.

Bill

[Andy Burns]

Three, they're getting a bit of a reprieve ...