Have you ever wondered where coal comes from? Many people know of the mining process to extract it from the Earth, but few people look into where the substance comes from.
Don’t let the term ‘fossil fuel’ fool you. Coal doesn’t come from dinosaur fossils, despite a common myth that is bandied around. Within the fossil fuels in circulation these days, you’ll find carbon and green organisms that can be traced back hundreds of millions of years; this doesn’t mean that fossil fuels contain fossilised dinosaurs.
Another reason this misconception shouldn’t be believed is that coalification happened on our planet long before dinosaurs even existed. So, what exactly is coalification? HouseFuel does more than supply your coal, we’re also here to explain how it’s formed.
Details of the coalification process
Way before velociraptors or stegosauruses roamed the Earth, a cycle of vegetation happened that formed the basis of the coal we have today, but the process from vegetation to coal is long but fascinating.
Boggy areas were a breeding ground for plants and all sorts of algae and bacteria to thrive in. Naturally, the cycle in existence at the time ceased and the dead organisms were left to rot.
Over time, the lifeless greenery will drop under the nearby water’s surface, resulting in no oxygen to contribute to its decomposition as it was before but instead, the plants would remain on, or in, the Earth’s surface.
Gradually, compression occurred and forced these previously limp plants to become more compact which began to heat thanks to build-ups of pressure.
Submerged beneath the swamp’s water, the vegetation then forms layers of peat which lay on top of each other, but the next few steps of the coalification process take millions of years.
New forests crop up and mountains decay, piling on top of the peat that is underneath, burying it deeper into the Earth. These new occurrences on land will cause the peat to eventually split and form into lumps of coal that we envisage today.
Coal today
It’s a remarkable process that even helps scientists discover what the ecosystems were like back then and the timeline of vegetation in that period due to traces of roots, leaves, and even insect excrement in the record of the coal.
Coal has since become integral to the Industrial Revolution experienced around the world. It’s a fuel source that has contributed to projects on a grand scale like the operation of the very first trains or farming, as well as having domestic uses like fuel for heating or cooking.
HouseFuel is on hand for all of your coal needs. Explore our range of options online today.