Waste-to-energy (WtE) facilities have been established worldwide as a sustainable method for the disposal of residual waste. In the present study the following competing WtE systems were compared: (1) municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) with energy recovery; (2) co-incineration of waste in old lignite or coal-fired power plants; (3) substitute [refuse-derived fuel (RDF)] incinerators wit...

A hybrid hydrogen-carbon (H(2)CAR) process for the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels is proposed wherein biomass is the carbon source and hydrogen is supplied from carbon-free energy. To implement this concept, a process has been designed to co-feed a biomass gasifier with H(2) and CO(2) recycled from the H(2)-CO to liquid conversion reactor. Modeling of this biomass to liquids process has...

Coal ash, generated from coal combustion, is composed of small particles containing metals and other elements, such as metalloids. Coal ash is stored in open-air impoundments, frequently near communities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of health and sleep problems in children living near coal ash and compare these prevalences to children not living near coal ash. In ...

Disabilities of coal miners due to black-lung decease morbidities are rather high (up to 10 men per 1 million tons of mined coal). Besides that, dangerous to health biological activity is also proper to various carbon nanoparticles. The analysis of relationships between coal miner morbidities, biological activities of coals and bibliographical data has shown that: activity of coals is mainly de...

Stricter emissions requirements on coal-fired power plants together with low natural gas prices have contributed to a recent decline in the use of coal for electricity generation in the United States. Faced with a shrinking domestic market, many coal companies are taking advantage of a growing coal export market. As a result, U.S. coal exports hit an all-time high in 2012, fueled largely by dem...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the component of coal responsible for coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP). METHODS A literature search of PubMED was conducted to address studies that have evaluated the risk of CWP based on the components of coal. RESULTS The risk of CWP (CWP) depends on the concentration and duration of exposure to coal dust. Epidemiology studies have shown inverse links between CWP a...

Mercury emissions from coal-fired electric generating utilities are a major uncontrolled source of mercury in the environment. This mercury may be contributing to serious health problems in segments of our society. The USGS is compiling information on mercury in coal that may be useful in developing strategies for reducing mercury emissions from coal use. The USGS coal-quality database contains...

Coal is a highly variable fuel, which ranges from high heating-value anthracite through various forms of bituminous coal to intermediates in coal formation, viz. lignite and peat. Each of these types of fuel can contain different levels of moisture, non-combustible inorganic material (ash), sulfur, and sometimes significant levels of other impurities, e.g. arsenic, fluorine, lead and mercury. R...

The correlation between local mechanical (elasto-plastic) and structural (composition) properties of coal presents significant fundamental and practical interest for coal processing and for the development of rheological models of coal to coke transformations. Here, we explore the relationship between the local structural, chemical composition, and mechanical properties of coal using a combinat...

Coal ash is the main waste from power plant. It is estimated that the consumption of the coal for power plant will increase to 240 million tons each year and the coal ash wastes will produce more than 2 million tons per year. Although the utilization of coal fly ash can be reached 74.1%, large amount of coal fly ash and bottom ash still cannot be utilized. The purpose of this research is to dev...