Question

i. Name any three types of coal found in India.
ii. Which type of coal is mostly used in Iron and Steel Industries?

Answer 1

Hint:
Coal is a black sedimentary rock which can be burned for fuel and also generate electricity. Coal is the main source of energy in the United States of America. It has a black or brownish-black colour. There are broadly 4 types of coal.

Complete solution:

i. There are four main types of coal. Given below is a description of any three types of coal found in India -
* Anthracite: This is the highest grade of coal possessing a high percentage of fixed carbon. It is hard, brittle, black and lustrous. It is present in smaller quantities in the regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
* Bituminous: It is a medium grade of coal which has a high heating capacity. It has the most frequent use in comparison to other coals. It is also used for electricity generation in India. Most of the bituminous coal is found in the parts of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
* Subbituminous: It has a black colour and dull, matte finish. Plus it has a higher heating value than that of lignite.

ii. Coking coal also known as metallurgical coal is used in the manufacturing of steel, carbon must be volatile-free and ash-free as possible. Coking coal is required to be heated in order to produce coke. Coke is a hard, grey, porous material which is used in blast furnaces for extracting iron from the iron ore.
Metallurgical coal differs from thermal coal, that is utilised for energy and heating, through its carbon content and its cooking ability.

Note:
Coal is mostly used as a fuel. While coal has been known and highly used for more than a century, its usage was first limited prior to the Industrial Revolution. Coal consumption increased greatly with the invention of the steam engine. Referring to 2016, coal remains an important fuel as it supplied about a quarter of the world's primary energy and two-fifths of electricity. Few iron and steel making and other industrial processes also burn coal.
China is the largest consumer and importer of coal in the world. China mines almost half of the world's coal, followed by India with about a tenth. Thirdly, Australia accounts for about a third of the world’s coal exports followed by Indonesia and Russia.