Coal breaker remaining. The sorting by size is particularly important for anthracite coal. In order to burn efficiently, air must flow evenly around anthracite. Subsequently, most anthracite coal is sold in uniform sizes. In the 1910s, there were six commercial sizes of coal (with the smallest size having three subsets): Coal pieces smaller than in size were considered "culm," and unable to be separated from the impurities (and thus useless). The grade of coal ranged from a low of 5 percent impurities for steam or broken coal to a high of 15 percent for pea-size coal and its subsets. Coal breakers were
Activated carbon commonly used on the laboratory scale to purify solutions of organic molecules containing unwanted colored organic impurities. Filtration over activated carbon is used in large scale fine chemical and pharmaceutical processes for the same purpose. The carbon is either mixed with the solution then filtered off or immobilized in a filter. Activated carbon, often infused with sulfur or iodine, is widely used to trap mercury emissions from coal-fired power stations, medical incinerators, and from natural gas at the wellhead. This carbon is a special product costing more than US$4.00 per kg. Since it is often not recycled, the mercury-laden activated