What are the advantages and disadvantages of using coal?

Answer 1

The Advantages are as follows:

• Easily combustible, and produces high energy
• Readily if not easily accessible
• Not expensive : very large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly cheaply, compared to alternate energy sources
• A fossil-fuel power station can be built almost anywhere, if you can get large quantities of fuel to it

The Disadvantages are as follows :

• It is non-renewable and will eventually run out (or be more expensive to extract)
• Causes pollution with by-products of combustion (requires cleaning these from the air)
• It cannot be recycled (takes a very long time to form)
• Prices for all fossil fuels are rising, especially if the cost of produced carbon is included
• Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming
• Burning coal emits harmful waste such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphuric acids, arsenic and ash. It also emits twice as much carbon dioxide when compared with natural gas to produce the same level of heat, which increased the levels of harmful greenhouse gases emitted into the earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels now account for about 65 per cent of the extra carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
• The burning of coal by large-scale factories to power industry has led to acid rain in some regions
• Coal can be cleaned and/or turned into a liquid of gas but this technology has yet to be fully developed and adds to the expense of creating fuel via coal
• Coal mining can scar the landscape and the equipment used for mining is large and noisy which may affect local wildlife
• Transporting coal can be problematic because it requires an extensive transportation system and can also cause additional pollution in the form of emissions from transportation vehicles such as lorries, etc
• There are limited stocks of coal remaining - they will be entirely depleted this millennium if we continue to burn coal in the future at the same rate we are today coal can be considered as a non-renewable energy source
• The mining industry can cause health difficulties for miners and fatalities due to the potentially dangerous nature of the work
• Burning dirty coal can create significant pollution problems

PROS- we depend upon it for industry, heating, and of course electricity

CONS- it pollutes the air, can cause lung cancer, and it might run out in about 50-70 years

Answer 2

The Advantages are as follows:

• Easily combustible, and produces high energy
• Readily if not easily accessible
• Not expensive : very large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly cheaply, compared to alternate energy sources
• A fossil-fuel power station can be built almost anywhere, if you can get large quantities of fuel to it

The Disadvantages are as follows :

• It is non-renewable and will eventually run out (or be more expensive to extract)
• Causes pollution with by-products of combustion (requires cleaning these from the air)
• It cannot be recycled (takes a very long time to form)
• Prices for all fossil fuels are rising, especially if the cost of produced carbon is included
• Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming
• Burning coal emits harmful waste such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphuric acids, arsenic and ash. It also emits twice as much carbon dioxide when compared with natural gas to produce the same level of heat, which increased the levels of harmful greenhouse gases emitted into the earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels now account for about 65 per cent of the extra carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
• The burning of coal by large-scale factories to power industry has led to acid rain in some regions
• Coal can be cleaned and/or turned into a liquid of gas but this technology has yet to be fully developed and adds to the expense of creating fuel via coal
• Coal mining can scar the landscape and the equipment used for mining is large and noisy which may affect local wildlife
• Transporting coal can be problematic because it requires an extensive transportation system and can also cause additional pollution in the form of emissions from transportation vehicles such as lorries, etc
• There are limited stocks of coal remaining - they will be entirely depleted this millennium if we continue to burn coal in the future at the same rate we are today coal can be considered as a non-renewable energy source
• The mining industry can cause health difficulties for miners and fatalities due to the potentially dangerous nature of the work
• Burning dirty coal can create significant pollution problems

PROS- we depend upon it for industry, heating, and of course electricity

CONS- it pollutes the air, can cause lung cancer, and it might run out in about 50-70 years