Advantages and disadvantages of Coal

Coal or mineral coal is a sedimentary rock of black color originated by the decomposition of terrestrial vegetables which makes it a fossil fuel with high energetic properties and very rich in carbon, although other elements such as hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen or nitrogen can also be found in coal.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Coal

The exploitation of coal can be traced back to more than 2000 years ago, being one of the most used energy sources at that time in China. Later it began to be used in England around the eleventh century and in the thirteenth century and extracted frequently, but it would not be until the eighteenth century, when the steam engine was invented, that the English managed to invent a machine that exploited all the qualities of this mineral. The invention of the steam engine led to the industrial revolution, generating the society we know today.

Advantages of Coal

• It is a tremendously abundant fuel
• Its extraction guarantees safety since it can be done in different ways.
• The coal supply is guaranteed, it does not depend on the weather or adverse factors.
• The energy it produces is very cheap.
• It is a fuel that is very simple to acquire.

Disadvantages of coal

• Highly polluting fuel.
• Its extraction provides little safety for workers.
• Serious impact on the environment, both visually and with its residues.
• Limited. As it is a non-renewable energy, its quantity is limited.