HOW COAL IS USED
About 92 percent of the coal used in the United States, is for generating electricity. Except for a small amount of net exports, the rest of the coal is used, as a basic energy source in many industries, including, steel, cement and paper. The four major uses of coal are:
FOR ELECTRIC POWER
Coal is used to generate almost half of all electricity produced in the United States. Besides electric utility companies, industries and businesses with their own power plants use coal to generate electricity. Power plants burn coal to make steam, the steam turns turbines which generate electricity.
FOR INDUSTRY
A variety of industries use coal's heat and by-products. Separated ingredients of coal (such as methanol and ethylene) are used in making plastics, tar, synthetic fibers, fertilizers, and medicines. The concrete and paper industries also burn large amounts of coal.
FOR MAKING STEEL
Coal is baked in hot furnaces to make coke, which is used to smelt iron ore into iron needed for making steel. It is the very high temperatures created from the use of coke that gives steel the strength and flexibility for products such as bridges, buildings, and automobiles.
FOR EXPORT
In 2006, 49.6 million short tons, or about four percent of the coal mined, were exported to other countries from the United States. Coal is exported to many different countries, but most trade is with Canada, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Italy. More than half of coal exports are used for making steel.
Coal exports have been generally shrinking in the past 10 years, while the amount of coal imported from other countries has been growing. In 2006, about 36.2 million short tons of coal were imported from other countries. Most of these imports (from Colombia, Venezuela, and Indonesia) were shipped to electric power producers along the U.S. coastlines. Read about a visit to a coal export facility.