chap2 Origin of Coal 煤的生成概要1.pptVIP

Origin of Coal What Is Coal and How Does It Form? What is Coal? Coal is a fossil fuel. It is a combustible, sedimentary, organic rock, which is composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with lesser amounts of sulfur and nitrogen. It is formed from vegetation, which has been consolidated between other rock strata and altered by the combined effects of pressure and heat over millions of years to form coal seams. ① fossil fuel: 化石燃料 （coal; oil; nature gas）② Combustion: 燃烧 ③ rock strata 岩层 stratum, pl strata ④ lesser amounts of 较少数量的 How Does Coal Form? Coal forms from the accumulation of plant debris, usually in a swamp environment. When plant debris dies and falls into the swamp the standing water of the swamp protects it from decay. Swamp waters are usually deficient in oxygen, which would react with the plant debris and cause it to decay. This lack of oxygen allows the plant debris to persist. In addition, insects and other organisms that might consume the plant debris on land do not survive well under water in an oxygen deficient environment.  ① accumulate：累积 ② be deficient in ；lack of 缺乏；③swamp /bog：沼泽 How Does Coal Form? To form the thick layer of plant debris required to produce a coal seam the rate of plant debris accumulation must be greater than the rate of decay. Once a thick layer of plant debris is formed it must be buried by sediments such as mud or sand. These are typically washed into the swamp by a flooding river. The weight of these materials compacts the plant debris and aids in its transformation into coal. About ten feet of plant debris will compact into just one foot of coal. ① coal seam：煤层 How Does Coal Form? Plant debris accumulates very slowly. So, accumulating ten feet of plant debris will take a long time. The fifty feet of plant debris needed to make a five-foot thick coal seam would require thousands of years to accumulate. During that long time the water level of the swamp must remain stable. If the water becomes too