Coal the heat and pressure of deep burial causes the loss of water, methane and carbon dioxide and an increase in the proportion of carbon. Thus first lignite (also called "brown coal"), then sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, and lastly anthracite (also called "hard coal" or "black coal") may be formed. The wide, shallow seas of the Carboniferous Period provided ideal conditions for coal formation, although coal is known from most geological periods. The exception is the coal gap in the Permian–Triassic extinction event, where coal is rare. Coal is known from Precambrian strata, which predate land plants—this coal is presumed to
Pulverized coal-fired boiler the mixture. Coal contains mineral matter which is converted to ash during combustion. The ash is removed as bottom ash and fly ash. The bottom ash is removed at the furnace bottom. This type of boiler dominates the electric power industry, providing steam to drive large turbines. Pulverized coal provides the thermal energy which produces about 50% of the world's electric supply. Prior to the developments leading to the use of pulverized coal most boilers utilized grate firing where the fuel was mechanically distributed onto a moving grate at the bottom of the firebox in a partially crushed gravel like