Coal is classed as an organic sedimentary rock and rocks are made from inorganic (not from living) material such as minerals. Mineral and/or Locality Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy , a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. While coal has been reported in rocks as old as Proterozoic (possibly 2 billion years) and as young as Pliocene (2 million years old), the great majority of the world's coal was laid down during the Carboniferous Period, a 60-million-year stretch (359-299 m.y.a.) Coal has neither. How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Changed Schools and Education in Lasting Ways. Coal is the largest source of energy for generating electricity in the world, and the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States. In general, there are four basic varieties of coal, which are the result of geologic forces having altered plant material in different ways. A mineral is made of rocks. If the wood was immune to rot before 300 million years ago, then perhaps anoxic conditions were not always necessary. There are several definitions of a mineral, but essentially for a substance to be called a mineral it has to satisfy the following criteria: 1. naturally occurring - yes. This cycle of rock types is called a cyclothem. The U.S. Supreme Court: Who Are the Nine Justices on the Bench Today. And so what if it breaks one little rule? Organic is probably the answer that is sought. A fossil is any evidence of life that has been preserved in rock. It forms over millions of years from the compressed, heated remains of dead plants and animals. 1, 2, 23, 24, 26 Under reducing conditions, organically-bound sodium and potassium are released as metallic sodium and potassium. An element, such as gold or silver. With more heat and pressure lignite releases more hydrocarbons and becomes the higher-grade bituminous coal. Coal is a combustible rock and, along with oil and natural gas, it is one of the three most important fossil fuels. That set of circumstances has never recurred, and the coals of the Carboniferous (and the following Permian Period) are the undisputed champions of their type. In that context peat is quite useful during oil spill cleanup. Bituminous and sub-bituminous coals are used in steam power generators. While coal is a naturally-occurring solid, it is composed of organic plant material. Oil Comes from Dinosaurs - Fact or Fiction? It forms over millions of years from the compressed, heated remains of dead plants and animals. We know that. Coal is made from decomposed plants that are organic (were living) The geologic process of turning peat into coal is called "coalification.". Most mined coals are less than 20 percent mineral matter, and many coal contracts require less than 10 percent … Coal is an organic sedimentary rock that forms from the accumulation and preservation of plant materials, usually in a swamp environment. Mineral Information Institute Coal is defined as having more than 50 percent by weight (or 70 percent by volume) carbonaceous matter produced by the compaction and hardening of altered plant remains—namely, peat deposits. Coal can be an economically mineable “mineral”. Steam locomotives, however, are powered by steam coal, which is sometimes called "see-coal." b. Mineral matter found in coal includes organically-bound sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and trace amounts of aluminium and iron. There are three groups of macerals: inertinite, liptinite, and vitrinite. So yes, coal is classified as an organic sedimentary rock, and yes, rocks are supposed to be made of minerals and minerals can't be organic. 4. predictable and homogenous - no Bituminous coal, also called soft coal, the most abundant form of coal, intermediate in rank between subbituminous coal and anthracite according to the coal classification used in the United States and Canada. So in this case, it is a rock. It is used as pencil "lead" and as a powder lubricant. Minerals have a repeating crystalline structure and a homogeneous chemical profile. Today, the vast majority of dead plant matter is consumed by fire and decay, returning its carbon to the atmosphere as the gas carbon dioxide. Bituminous coal is black, hard and usually dull to glossy in appearance. Black, semi-shiny anthracite coal is the highest quality coal used for heat and power generation. It is non-living and made up of atoms of elements. According to the World Coal Organization, the chemical composition of coal includes carbon, sulfur, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. The key to preserving the forests' dead matter was burying it. High grade coal is known as anthracite which i believe is a mineral. The seventh coal type, graphite, is purer than anthracite but does not burn readily. State legislators struggle with this topic as well: Utah and West Virginia list coal as their official state rock while Kentucky named coal its state mineral in 1998. Coal comes in three main types or grades. The answerers above are correct. In other words, it is oxidized. Calcite is a mineral but since it is secreted by animals to form shells it is inorganic. And sure enough, fossil leaves and wood are found in some coal beds. A coal seam may consist of as much as 50 percent minerals. Still more valuable is the fate of deeply buried carbon, which at conditions found in the mantle is transformed into a new crystalline form: diamond. 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