Coal Energy Resources
- Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in India.
- It is formed from organic residue that remains in sedimentary rocks.
- The formation of coals started in the Carboniferous time[400-600] million years. These are high-quality coal. Indian does not have much carboniferous coal, very small deposits are found in the Himalayan region in Jammu and Kashmir.
- 80 % of Indian coals in India are bituminous types or non-coking grade.
- India does have many deposits of Gondwana[400-250 million years old] and tertiary coal[15-60 million years old].
Gondwana coals are found in the sedimentary rocks of Gondwana times, these are found in:
- Damodar valley:
- Jharkhand: Jhariya[ Largest reserve], Giridih, Dhanbad, Bokaro.
- West Bengal: Raniganj[ 2nd largest]
- Godavari Valley
- Mahanadi Valley
- Son Valley in Singrauli region
Tertiary Coals are found in:
- Assam
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Meghalaya
- Nagaland
As per Quality, Coal can be divided into the following types::
Lignite or low-quality coal or brown coal:
- Soft with high moisture content.
- It is found in Tamilnadu, Puducherry, Gujarat, and Jammu, and Kashmir.
Bituminous Coal:
- It is used in the Steel industry for make coke
Anthracites:
- It is the highest quality coal
Uses of Coal:
- It is mainly used in Thermal Power. 62 % of Electricity in India is generated from Coal as of 2016.
- Melting Iron ore in the steel industry.
- Domestic use
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