Hard coal is a sedimentary rock that was created by the accumulation of plant material under appropriate environmental and climatic conditions. For a long time, it underwent long-term processes of biogenic metamorphosis, at the level of the discovered bog, and subsequently the processes of geochemical metamorphosis taking place in geological history. Coal is a rock used mainly as a valuable source of heat and energy, used since the first century AD. However, what is the best coal?
Coal is a popular raw material
Coal as one of the coals belonging to the fossil group contains 78 – 92% of the carbon element. The sedimentary rock, which is hard coal, is characterized by inhomogeneous structure, because it contains several components that differ in such features as gloss and hardness. Black coal is characterized by black color, tenderness, firmness. When burning, a shiny long flame appears. It comes from the process of destroying dead plant remains as a result of complex biochemical, geophysical and geochemical changes taking place in the Carboniferous, Permian and Tertiary period.
However, coal heating has a lot of disadvantages, mainly dirty walls and clothes and requires frequent visits to the boiler room. However, it has one advantage, which for some rewards these inconveniences, costs little. Coal is the cheapest fuel in Poland and is easily available.
Different types of coal for heating your home
Heating your home with coal can be very price divergent. The costs depend to a large extent on the coal you choose, brown or stone.
Lignite is a fuel used mainly in industry, although it is also often used to heat homes. It is distinguished by high humidity, because if we decide on this fuel, we must pay attention to its parameters. Moist fuel burns worse, which will consume more of it. In addition, it has a higher ash content than hard coal. It is up to 35%. In addition, there are large amounts of sulfur in the composition, which can contribute to damage to the boiler. Also in terms of calorific value, this fuel falls out worse than other types of coal. This means that you will need as much as twice as much fuel to heat your home as for hard coal.
In turn, hard coal is the most frequently selected type of fuel for heating single-family houses. It is sold in three different forms depending on the size. It may have the product in the form of cubes, nuts or peas. We can buy it in sacks or on pallets, or in bulk. This type of coal has a significantly higher calorific value than its predecessor. Coal is better in quality, has six times lower humidity and contains much less sulfur. It is therefore more environmentally friendly and safer for heating boilers.
Regardless of which coal we choose, we must take care of the appropriate place to store it. Ideally, if we allocate a separate room near the boiler, because the carbon can get very dirty. Let’s also ensure that there is no moisture in the room. As a result, the fuel will be ready for use at any time and will not lose its properties. Coal firing also requires regularly adding fuel to the furnace. Deciding on this solution, we must also remember about removing ash from the boiler. Such works are waiting for us even daily.
What to look for when buying coal?
Let us pay attention primarily to the calorific value of coal. It is really divergent because the best hard coal can have twice the heating value of the worst. It is this parameter that will affect how much coal we use in a year.
Coal from Polish or coal from Russian?
Recently, there has been a lot of information about the import of hard coal from Russia. Hard coal, commonly referred to as black gold, is massively imported into our country. Over 17 billion tons of coal can reach Poland from abroad this year. Imports remain at record levels mainly due to the problems of Polish mines with efficiency. As much as 70 percent imported coal to Poland comes from Russia.
Record import is a problem for the government, which decided to base the Polish energy on coal for decades. However, Polish mines are not able to satisfy demand and therefore coal must be imported from abroad, mainly from Russia.
Not everyone is satisfied with the fact of buying Russian hard coal, which for many customers is a slightly lower quality product. It is not without significance that our Polish coal is known above all from high calorific value as well as excellent quality. However, it may turn out that we will not buy Polish hard coal this season. The low efficiency of the Polish coal industry may to a certain extent result from geological problems that have recently been faced by the leading mines.
Experts doubt whether Polish mines will be able to increase the production of steam coal this year. Deciding to buy hard coal from Russia, we should first of all pay attention to its calorific value and under no circumstances be guided by the price of this raw material. By learning the calorific value of such coal, we will be able to calculate how many tons of this raw material we will use during the entire heating season.
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