Is the Filthiest Fossil Fuel

There are several ways to make burning coal a cleaner process. The coal can be purified before it is burned, pollutants can be filtered out after combustion, or the ctimbustion process can be modified. so that it is more efficient and fewer pollutants are produced. 

Pulverized coal floats on water, but impurities sink. Tins difference in densities allows for a simple and efficient means of purifying coal before it is burned. 

S02-containing-effluents from coal-fired power plant 

A scrubber is used to remove most of the sulfur dioxide created when coal is burned. 

What is the major advantage of using coal as an energy source  

Worldwide, the amount of energy available from coal is estimated to be about ten times greater than the amount available from all petroleum and natural gas reserves combined. Coal is also the filthiest fossil fuel because it contains large amounts of such impurities as sulfur, toxic heavy metals, and radioactive isotopes. Burning coal is therefore one of the quickest ways to introduce a variety of pollutants into the air. More than half of the sulfur dioxide and about 30 percent of the nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere by humans come from the combustion of coal. As with other fossil fuels, the combustion of coal also produces large amounts of carbon dioxide. 

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