C4D--MINERAL RESOURCES - COAL

POWER RESOURCES

India’s future ‘Energy Vision’

“To reliably meet the demand for energy services of all sectors including the vulnerable households in all parts of the country with safe, clean & convenient energy at the least cost in technically efficient, economically viable and ecologically viable and sustainable ways considering different fuels and forms of energy, both conventional and non-conventional as well as new technologies and emerging energy sources."

•Coal, Petroleum, water, nuclear products etc constitute – main power resources
•South Asia – sufficient in coal, poor in petroleum
•Sufficient water in rivers and otherwise which ahs been successfully utilized for power generation
•Coal is used for generation of electric energy to maximum possible extent

COAL

Coal is valuable if used right…

C Convenient

O Obtainable

A Abundant

L Low cost

Clean Coal Technologies provide solutions to control EMISSIONS

Abundance of coal resources compared to oil and gas
--Indian energy supply largely dependent on coal
Coal contributes to about 55% of the commercial energy
consumption as compared to 27% world average
India is the 3rd largest coal producing country.
More than 65% of electricity generation capacities are
coal based.
Surging oil and international coal prices compels coal Industry to play key role for energy security of the country.

Important source of power in south Asia
•Used in generation of electric power in thermal plants, in industries, in railways for locomotion and also for domestic purposes.
•Important raw material for various industries
•India and Pakistan – main producers

INDIA

•India’s coal is mainly associated with Gondwana series of rocks and is primarily found in peninsular India.
•About 2% Indian coal is of new (tertiary)type and is found in Assam, Jammu and Kashmir

•Gondwana coal is mainly found in Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, in various river valleys such as Damodar-Jharia, Bokaro, North and South Karanpura, Daltonganj, Giridih, all in Bihar and Raniganj in West Bengal;
•Son Valley – Simiroklli, Umeria, Tatapani, Sohagpur, Jhilmili, Chirmiri in Madhya Pradesh
•Mahanadi Valley – Cobra, Sonhat, Talcher, Raigarh and Sambalpur
•Godavari Vardha Valley – Singharani, Tandur, Kothagudam, in Andhra Pradesh
•Panch Valley and Ballarpur in Maharashtra
•Tertiary coal is found in Namchak and Nakum in Assam
•Kalakot, Metka and Ladda in Jammu and Kashmir
•Lignite Coal is mined in Neyveli in south Arcot district of Tamil Nadu
•Also export to neighbouring countries

Q.Describe the four different types of coal found in India.

Ans. Coal is found in a variety of forms.

a. Peat: Decaying plants in swamps produce peat. It has a low carbon and high moisture contents and low heating capacity.

b. Lignite is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content. The

principal lignite reserves are in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu and are used for generation of electricity.

c. Bituminous coal is buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures. It is

the most popular coal in commercial use.

d. Metallurgical coal is high grade bituminous coal which has a special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.

e. Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal.

© S u r y a v e e r S i n g h , S . D . P u b l i c S c h o o l , P i t a m p u r a Page

Q. Mention two types of coal reserves found in India.

Ans. Coal in India is found in two geological structures:

i. Gondwana coal: which are metallurgical coal, are located in Damodar valley (West Bengal-Jharkhand). Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro coalfields.

ii. Tertiary coal: occur in the north eastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

PAKISTAN

•Minor producer of coal
•Is of sub bituminous and of lignite type
•Coal seams are thin and tilted and deposits are found in remote areas making exploitation difficult and limited to about one million tonnes per year
•Major deposits – Makerwal area in North West Frontier Province
•Largest reserves – Baluchistan province where Sharikh field has coking coal
•It lies along Sibi railway line.
•Is also found in Mack field in Bolan pass area
•Some deposits are found in Koistan region of western Sind
•Lignite and pete coal deposits exist in Peshwar

BANGLADESH

•Minor producer
•Most – poor quality (pete and lignite) having large moisture content
•Found in Sylhet, Tippera, Mymensingh, Faridpur districts
•Some coking coal is found in Bogra district and the mines are deep
•A small quantity of good quality is found in Paharpur area.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

a. Which is the best quality of coal? Name two states of India where it is found.
Anthracite is the best variety of coal. It is found in Jammu and Kashmir.

b. Why is it called black gold? Name one state where it is found in India?
It is called black gold because of its high utility as a source of energy and as a raw material for a large
number of Industries.
State: Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, M.P., Chhatisgarh and Andhra Pradesh

c. Name the four types of coal. Which is the best for industrial purposes? Justify your answer. (3)
Anthracite – (90% carbon) : It is jet black in colour and burns slowly without smoke or soot. It is clean to handle and has a high heating value.
Bituminous coal (50-80% carbon) : Coke required for smelting of iron ore is derived from bituminous coal.
Lignite (40% carbon) : It is brown or brownish in colour. It has large quantities of ash and
moisture. Its by-products can funish several materials for industries.
Peat - It is considered to be inferior to other three varieties due to least carbon content.
Anthracite coal is the best for industrial purpose because it has high heating value and burns without smoke..

d. How the India coal field have been classified? Mention any three features of Gondwana coal fields of India. (3)
The India coal fields have been classified as : i) Gondwana coal fields ii) Tertiary coal fields.
* It accounts for about 98% of the total reserve and 99% of the total coal production in
India.
· These coal fields occur mostly in the river valleys such as Damodar, Mahanadi, Godavari, and Narmada
· The Gondwana coal is a luminated bituminous coal within which dull and bright layers alternate..
· It is about 250 million years old.
· Gondwana coal is almost free from moisture but it contains variable quantities of sulphur and phosphorous. In general, Gondwana coal is good steam or gas coal.

e. Give India’s ranking in the world after China and USA in production of coal. Which state produces the most coal? Also name the main coal fields of this state.
India ranks third in the world after China and USA in production of coal.
Jharkhand.
The main coal fields are Jharia, Bokaro, Karanpura, Ramgarh and Girdih

f. Mention any two uses of coal.
* Manufacturing or iron and Steel & variety of chemicals depend upon the availability of coal.
* It is used for power generation.

g. Name any four Indian states where coal is found. (3)
Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh

h. Distinguish between Gondwana and tertiary coalfields.
GONDWANA COAL FIELD
TERTIARY COAL FIELD
1. It accounts for 98% of the total reserves and 99% of the total coal production in India.

1. It has very less reserves.
2. These are 250 million years old.
2. These are 15 to 60 million years old.
3. These coal mines provide superior quality coal.
3. These provide inferior coal.
4. less moisture compared to Tertiary coal.
4. higher moisture content and more sulphur.

i. State two main draw backs of the coal found in India. (2)
* The distribution of coal is unevern. This involves high transport cost to carry heavy commodity
like coal over long distances.
* Indian coal has high ash content and low calorific value.
* The coal seams are too thin (0.5m thick only) to allow modern machinery to work on them.
* Obsolete methods of mining, in most of the coal mines, reduces the total output.

j. What are the four varieties of coal? (3)
a) Anthracite (90% carbon) b) Bituminous (50-80% carbon) c) Lignite (40% carbon)

k.) Name an important coal producing state in India and a coal-mine located in that state.
The important coal producing state in India are :
i) Jharkhand - important mines are Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih
ii) Orissa – important mines ae Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, Sundargarh

l) Classify the Coal-fields in India. Name one State for each classification.
GONDWANA COAL FIELS : i) Jharkhand – Jharia
ii) Bihar – Chandrapura
iii) West Bengal – Raniganj
iv) Chhattisgarh – Korba

TERTIARY COAL FIELDS : i) Assam – Nazira
ii) Rajasthan – Palna

m. Name an important coal producing state in India and a coal-mine located in that state.(2)
The important coal producing state in India are:
i) Jharkhand – important mines are Jharia, Bokaro and Giridih
ii) Orissa – Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, Sundargarh are important coal mines.

n. i) Which quality of coal is best for industrial purposes? - Anthracite

ii) Name a region of India where coal is found? - Gondwana coal fields, Jammu and Kashmir

iii) Which is the most popular coal for commercial use? - Bituminous

iv) Which is the largest producer of coal in South Asia? - India

v) Which is the poorest quality of coal? - Peat is the poorest quality of coal. Bihar

vi) Which are the two richest and oldest coalfields of India? - Jharia and Raniganj. They are in Bihar

vii) Which state is the largest producer of coal? - Jharkhand state

viii) Which state is major producer of Anhracite and Bituminous? - Anthracite – Jammu and Kashmir
Bituminous – Jharkhand and Orissa
ix. Name the largest coalfield in India - Lower Gondwana coalfield is the largest coalfield

o. Name the states where Gondwana coal is found.
Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashrtra, Andhra Pradesh

p. Name the main coal fields in the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Jharkhand - Jharia, Bokaro, giridih
West Bengal –Raniganj
Orissa - Raigarh, Talcher, Sonhat and Sambhalpur, Sundargarh, Dhenkanal
Andhra Pradesh – Singhareni, Kothagudem and Tandur
Maharashtra – Umrer, Kamptee and Wardha
Madhya radish – Chindwara and Singrauli

q. Name the states which tertiary coal fields are found.
Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir

r. Which state has maximum deposits of tertiary coal?
Tamil Nadu

s. Which INDIAN State supplies coal to Bangladesh?
West Bengal

t. Why are tertiary coal fields considered inferior? Name two states, one from North India and one from South India having such reserves.
Such reserves have a less carbon content since they are new and young.
North – Riasi/Lakhimpur
South – Neyveli

u. What is lignite? Name one place in India where it is mined.
Lignite is a brown coal with high moisture and low carbon content.
Tamil Nadu - Neyveli

v. Name two states with large deposits of coal. Name the coalfields in the states that you have named.
West Bengal – Raniganj Jharkhand – Jaria

9.a. What are the advantages of the anthracite coal?
It has a carbon content of 90 percent and burns slowly without smoke. it burns for a long time and leaves very little ash behind.

b. Which type of coal has the maximum carbon contents? Which coal variety has the least carbon contents? Which type of coal is used for smelting iron-ore? Which type of coal has a large quantities of ash and moisture?
* Maximum carbon contents - Anthracite (more than 80 % carbon)
* Least carbon content - Peat
* used for smelting iron-ore - Bituminous
* coal that has large quantities of moisture and ash - Lignite

c. Which is the most important source of power in India? - Coal

d. ‘Coal plays major role in the industrialization process”. Justify the statement by giving two examples.
* It is the main source of energy. More than 60% of commercial energy is obtained from coal.
* It is used as basic input in iron and steel industry.

e. Name any four major centres of coal mining in South India.
# Adilabad # Karimnagar # Warrangal # Khamman

f. Name two centres of coal mining of the following states: West Bengal and Maharashtra
WEST BENGAL – Raniganj and Daling Kot
MAHARASHTRA – Kamptee and Wardha Valley

g. Which varierty of coal is used for the production of coke and gas ? Name a state of India where it is found.
Bituminous is used for the production of coke and gas. It is found in Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal

h. How coal is powerful power resource?
Coal is used in generation of electric power in thermal plants. In railways, coal is used for locomotion. It is most important raw material for various industries. In this way, it is powerful power resources.

i. Describe in detail coal under the following heads: i) Distribution of coal in India
ii) Demerits of Indian coal (any two) iii) Need of conservation of coal.
i. Nearly three fourth of the coal deposits are located in the Damodar river valley. The places are
Raniganj, Jharia, Giridih, Bokaro and Karanpura
The other river valleys associated with coal deposits are the Godavari, Mahaadi, Son, and Wardha.
The coal fiels of Singreni in Andhra Pradesh, Talcher in Orissa and Chanda in Maharashtra are also
very famous.

ii. DEMERITS OF INDIAN COAL:
* The quality of coal required for producing coke as an essential input in steel industry is deficient.
* the Indian coal has high ash content and low carorific value.

iii. NEED OF CONSERVATION OF COAL:
· Because it is a non-renewable resource.
· It is backbone of industrialization process.

10.a. Name some countries which are the main producers of coal.
India and Pakistan are the main producers of coal.

b. In Pakistan, where we find coal? Which type of coal we find in Pakistan?
In Pakistan, we find coal in Baluchistan, Mack field and Koistan region of western Sind.
In Pakistan, we find sub-bituminous and lignite varieties of coal.

c. Which type of coal we find in Bangladesh? In which part of Bangladesh , coal is found?
In Bangladesh, we found poor quality coal. (Pete and lignite)
In Sylhet, Tippera, Mymensingh and Faridpur discticts we find coal in Bangladesh.

d. What steps should be taken to conserve coal?
Following steps should be taken to conserve coal.
i) Wastage of coal should be prevented by discouraging selective mining.
ii) New reserves of coal are needed to be explored.
iii) New technology should be adopted in mining, production and use of coal.
iv) Inferior coal should be blended with superior quality coal.
v) Private sector investment in the coal mining should be encouraged.

e. Explain why coal is often used near the source of production and mineral oil is often transported to great distances.
Coal is often used near the source of production because it is found abundantly in many regions in India which is sufficient for various industries and power plants.
Mineral oil is often transported to great distances because a major part of its requirement is met through import. So, it has to be transported from the port to the refineries.

f. How is the poor quality Indian coal being utilized?
The poor quality Indian coal, specified as Lignite is used mainly in combustion in the industries of fertilizers, paints, chemicals, etc.
Another poor quality coal, the Peat, is usually used as fuel in households and various small-scale or cottage industries.

g. What are the uses of coal?
* Coal is known as the basic source of energy. It plays an important role in the growth of industries. The electricity (Thermal Power) is generated by coal.
* Our Railway system is still dependent on coal.
* Coal is not only used as energy resources, but also it is used as a raw material in smelting iron ore.

h What is the importance of coal in India?

Ans. Coal is an important fossil fuel of India.

* It provides about 80% of the nation’s energy needs.

* It is used for power generation.

* It is used to supply energy to industry as well as for domestic needs.

* India is highly dependent on coal for meeting its commercial energy requirements.\