Energy Assignment Part 2

In this portion of the assignment you are going to research the type of energy currently used in your country. You will likely find that there are multiple types used (and you can mention this) but please try to focus on the primary type used. Explain how this is used, the cost, the impact, etc. It may be one of the three that you researched yesterday or may not be….It doesn't matter.

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Primary energy used:
In Indonesia the primary type of energy used is coal.Indonesia is well supplied with medium and low quality thermal coal. At current rates of production, Indonesia's coal reserves are expected to last for over 80 years. Coal is a combustible black or dark brown rock that is mainly in underground deposits and widely is used as fuel.

How is it used?
The most significant uses of coal are in electricity generation, steel production, cement manufacturing and as a liquid fuel.Different types of coal have different uses. Steam coal - also known as thermal coal  is mainly used in power generation. Coking coal  also known as metallurgical coal is mainly used in steel production. Other important users of coal include alumina refineries, paper manufacturers, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Several chemical products can be produced from the by-products of coal. 

How is Coal Converted to Electricity?

Steam Coal is first milled to a fine powder, which increases the surface area and allows it to burn more quickly. In these pulverised coal combustion systems, the powdered coal is blown into the combustion chamber of a boiler where it is burnt at high temperature. The hot gases and heat energy produced converts water,  in tubes lining the boiler, into steam.

Costs?

Coal is much more inexpensive however in the long run costs us the environment and our health. Covenional coal is around $94 per meawatthour! Compare this price to solar which is $160 per megawatthour.

Impacts:

The environmental impact is a negative with the coal industry. Such issues include land use, waste management, water and air pollution, which is all caused by the mining of coal,  There are severe health effects caused by burning coal. According to the reports issued by the World Health Organization in 2008 state coal particulates pollution are estimated to shorten approximately 1,000,000 lives annually worldwide.Surface mining of coal causes direct and indirect damage to wildlife. The impact on wildlife begins primarily from disturbing, removing and redistributing the land surface. Some impacts are short-term but some can be long term! The combustion of coal is one of the largest man made contributor to carbon dioxide in the air! Electric generation using coal burning produces around twice the greenhouse gases compared to the generation of natural gas. Over all the coal may be cheap and easy to use however it is impacting the live hood around it severely in the long run!