Coal And Its By - Products: Coke, Tar And Coal Gas

What is Coal Gas?

Coal is one of the most useful fossil fuels. A mixture of gases obtained by the destructive distillation of coal and formerly used for lighting and heating.

It has many applications, some of which include the production of heat for households, firing of industrial generators, manufacturing of cast iron, etc. It can also be processed industrially in order to obtain products like coke, tar and coal gas. These by-products are beneficial to us too.

Table of Contents

• Coal Gas
• Recommended Videos
• Production-of-Coal-Oil-and-Gas
• Coal Gas Composition
• Uses of Coal
• Coke and its Uses
• Coal Tar
• Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

Coal Gas

Coal gas is also obtained as a by product while producing coke, and again, just like tar, its smell is not very pleasant. It is a highly flammable gas as the main component of it is methane. Thus, if not regulated carefully, it can form mixture with air resulting in explosions.

Production of Coal Oil and Gas

Plants and animals decompose to produce fossil fuels. These fuels, which can be found in the Earth’s crust and contain carbon and hydrogen, can be burned to generate energy. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas, to name a few. Oil was discovered as a solid material between layers of sedimentary rock, such as shale, at first.

Fossil fuels include crude oil, coal, and natural gas. They were generated from the remains of deceased species over millions of years: coal was formed from dead trees and other plant debris. Dead sea organisms were used to create crude oil and gas. Petroleum is a fossil fuel that is also known as crude oil. Petroleum was generated from the remains of ancient sea organisms such as plants, algae, and bacteria, just as coal and natural gas.

Oil is a fossil fuel made up of a vast number of microscopic plants and animals such as algae and zooplankton. When these species die, they sink to the ocean’s bottom and become imprisoned under numerous layers of sand and mud.

Recommended Videos

Coal Gas Composition

Coal gas, also known as a gaseous mixture, is a fuel made up of hydrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide produced by destructive distillation (continuous heating in the absence of air) of bituminous coal. Coal is mostly made up of carbon, with varying proportions of additional elements such as hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is generated when dead plant matter decays into peat, which is then transformed to coal over millions of years by the heat and pressure of deep burial.

Typical composition of the Coal gas is as follows:

• Hydrogen 50%
• Methane 35%
• Carbon monoxide 10%
• Ethylene 5%

Uses of Coal

• It is mainly used as a fuel in industries situated near coal processing plants.
• Earlier, it was used as a source of light. In the year 1820, it was used in London for the first time as street lighting.
• Now, it is more commonly used to provide heat for domestic and industrial purposes.

Coke and its Uses

Coke is a high-carbon product obtained by the destructive distillation of coal. The amount of carbon content in coke is so high that it is said to be an almost pure form of carbon. Coke is greyish-black in colour and is a hard, porous solid.

Uses of Coke:

• The most common use of coke is as a fuel for stoves, furnaces and blacksmithing. It is sometimes preferred over coal because burning coke produces very little smoke.
• It is also used to produce iron in a blast furnace.
• Coke is used to manufacture steel and many other materials.

Coal Tar

It is obtained as a by-product in the process of making coke. Though its colour is the same as coke, tar is a highly viscous liquid. It also has an extremely unpleasant smell. Uses:

• Coal tar is widely used to manufacture paints, perfumes, synthetic dyes, photographic material, drugs and explosives.
• It can be utilized to make insecticides and pesticides. Naphthalene balls that are commonly used to keep moths away are made from tar.
• Coal tar is an ingredient of anti-dandruff and lice-repelling shampoos, soaps and ointments.

To know more about this fossil fuel, its uses and its by-products and how they are produced commercially, download BYJU’S – The Learning App.