We will discuss here about coal and its uses. We treat coal as a mineral. More than 200 million years ago the land was covered with thick forests. In course of time the huge trees tell down either due to natural disaster or owing to normal death.
Gradually those dead trees were buried under soil and rocks. Due to mounting pressure of the Earth’s crust the wooden trunks of those trees were ultimately transformed into a black fossil, called coal. Now we get it by excavating deep or open-cast mines.
Coal mines in India are situated at West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.
The different uses of coal are discussed here. Coal is the first fossil fuel used by man and still its importance is unbounded. it is used in power generating plants and different other factories. In rural areas it is also used as a domestic fuel.
By some physical and chemical processing a number of useful materials can be produced from coal. These are coal gas, coal tar, pitch etc. Coal gas is also a good fuel. We can protect wood from termites and other pests by applying coal tar. In chemical refineries we can extract saccharin, naphthalene from coal tar. Saccharin is used as a sweetening pill. We use naphthalene to protect our precious books and clothings from pests. From coal tar we also get ingredients of medicines, paints and perfumes. Pitch is used for construction of roads and as a sealing material of building roofs. Considering the various utilities of coal, it is termed as black diamond.
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