How do you process Coal into an energy source?

Question

How do you process Coal into an energy source?

Answer 1

There really isnt any processing.  You burn the coal to fire the electric generators.  Its the burning that releases all the greenhouse gases from coal.

Answer 2

Coal gasification offers one of the most versatile and clean ways to convert coal into electricity, hydrogen, and other valuable energy products.

The first coal gasification electric power plants are now operating commercially in the United States and in other nations, and many experts predict that coal gasification will be at the heart of the future generations of clean coal technology plants for several decades into the future. For example, at the core of the U.S. Department of Energy's FutureGen prototype power plant will be an advanced coal gasifier. [> Read more about FutureGen]

Rather than burning coal directly, gasification (a thermo-chemical process) breaks down coal - or virtually any carbon-based feedstock - into its basic chemical constituents. In a modern gasifier, coal is typically exposed to hot steam and carefully controlled amounts of air or oxygen under high temperatures and pressures. Under these conditions, carbon molecules in coal break apart, setting off chemical reactions that typically produce a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and other gaseous compounds.

Gasification, in fact, may be one of the best ways to produce clean-burning hydrogen for tomorrow's automobiles and power-generating fuel cells. Hydrogen and other coal gases can also be used to fuel power-generating turbines, or as the chemical "building blocks" for a wide range of commercial products. [> Read more about hydrogen production.]

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Answer 3

It already is an energy source.  In power stations it's ground into powder and mixed with air.  It can also be used to make synthetic gasoline - though that's one idea that won't be popular with environmentalists.

Answer 4

You burn it. You light it on fire. It burns like wood but hotter and longer. Then you can use the heat from the fire to boil water to run a steam engine to turn a generator to make electricity.

Answer 5

You don't have to "process" coal to retrieve its energy potential. However, there is a process called "coal to liquid" or CTL, this is a very dirty way (invented by the n***s to off set the oil embargo of WWII) to achieve an energy source. Especially dirtier than burning coal with clean technologies.

Answer 6

You grind it up, mix it with water, and then press it into a cake.  After that, you light it with a fat stick.