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Chapter 8: Problem 8

As we exploit the best coal resources first, working our way from the premium Anthracite towards Lignite (Table \(8.1\) ), will we need to mine more coal, or less, to achieve the same energy output from coal, in terms of mass removed?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: We would need to mine more coal from lower-quality resources (Lignite) to achieve the same energy output as from high-quality resources (Anthracite), due to the lower energy content in Lignite compared to Anthracite.

Step by step solution

01

Review the properties of different types of coal

Start by understanding the differences in energy content between Anthracite, Bituminous, Sub-bituminous, and Lignite coal. These are sorted by energy content from highest to lowest, with Anthracite having the highest energy content and Lignite having the lowest.
02

Compare energy output of various types of coal

To answer this question, we need to compare the energy output of different types of coal. This can typically be measured in energy units per unit mass, such as BTUs per pound or joules per kilogram. Calculate the energy output for each type of coal and compare those values.
03

Determine the amount of coal needed for the same energy output

With the energy outputs calculated, we can now determine the amount of coal needed for the same energy output by comparing how much mass needs to be mined for each type of coal to achieve the same total energy. If a lower-quality coal has lower energy content, we would need to mine more of it to achieve the same energy output as a higher-quality coal.
04

Conclude whether more or less coal must be mined

Based on the comparison made in step 3, we can conclude whether more or less coal must be mined when working from Anthracite to Lignite for the same energy output. Since the energy content decreases from Anthracite to Lignite, we would need to mine more of the lower-quality coal (Lignite) to achieve the same energy output as that obtained from a smaller mass of the higher-quality coal (Anthracite).

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Most popular questions from this chapter

One liter of gasoline \((1,000 \mathrm{~mL})\) has a mass of about \(750 \mathrm{~g}\) and contains about \(9.7 \mathrm{kWh}\) of energy. Meanwhile, a typical AA battery occupies \(7.4 \mathrm{~mL}\) of volume at a mass of \(23 \mathrm{~g}\), while holding about \(0.003 \mathrm{kWh}\) of energy. How much volume and how heavy would a collection of AA batteries be in order to match the energy in a liter of gasoline, and by what factors (in volume and mass) is gasoline superior?

A number of attempts to estimate the energy investment in our food arrive at the conclusion that every kcal of food we eat took \(10 \mathrm{kcal}^{85}\) of fossil fuel input energy, so that we are effectively eating our fossil fuels! As a sanity check, what fraction of our fossil fuel energy would have to go into food production in the U.S. if diets are typically \(2,000 \mathrm{kcal} /\) day and we use fossil fuels at a rate of \(8,000 \mathrm{~W} ?^{86}\) Does the answer seem plausible?

It is hard for many people to appreciate that fossil fuels will not just "run out one day," because they don't appreciate the substantial amount of work that must go into extracting the resource from a reluctant ground. What common, day-to-day personal experiences do you imagine contributes to this disconnect? \(^{89}\)

If the inevitable decline in fossil fuel availability is a potentially important disrupter of the status quo in the decades to come, what are some reasons it gets little attention compared to, say, climate change? No right answer here, but what do you think contributes?

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