Solid fuel purposes, such as refining metals. Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, as well as one of the largest worldwide anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide releases. The extraction of coal, its use in energy production and its byproducts are all associated with environmental and health effects including climate change. Variations such as smokeless coal can be formed naturally in the form of anthracite, a metamorphosed type of coal with a very high carbon content that gives off a smokeless flame when set alight. Coke is a fuel with few impurities and a high carbon
Coal gasification Coal gasification Coal gasification is the process of producing syngas–a mixture consisting primarily of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H), carbon dioxide (CO), methane (CH), and water vapour (HO)–from coal and water, air and/or oxygen. Historically, coal was gasified using early technology to produce coal gas (also known as "town gas"), which is a combustible gas traditionally used for municipal lighting and heating before the advent of industrial-scale production of natural gas. In current practice, large-scale instances of coal gasification are primarily for electricity generation, such as in integrated gasification combined cycle power plants, for production of chemical feedstocks, or for