The use of brown coal is not so common in comparison with its stone counterpart, but the low cost determines the relevance of heating through this fossil among small and private boiler houses. In Europe, this breed is also called lignite, although it is rarely distinguished from the general classification of coal. As for the intended purpose, for example, in Germany it is used to supply steam power plants, and in Greece brown coal allows you to generate up to 50% of electricity. But again, this material does not have wide distribution as a type of solid fuel, at least in the form of an independent resource.
Brown coal overview
Lignite is a dense rock-like mass of light brown or black color. Upon careful examination, you can notice its plant woody structure. Brown coal burns rather quickly in the boiler room with the release of soot and a peculiar smell of burning. As for the composition, it is formed by ash, sulfur, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Impurities correspond to the same elements that are present in other varieties of coal.
In terms of material composition, most of these minerals belong to humites. Transitional sapropelitic and humic inclusions are found in the form of interlayers in deposits of humites. In the basins, brown coal is grouped by vitrinite microcomponents. It should be noted that ash components in such deposits are the most difficult to calculate. To calculate the thermal performance, it is recommended to refer to special tables and compare the breed data with the characteristics of the boiler equipment.
Origin of deposits
The largest deposits are characteristic of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic sediment groups. As an exception, only low-carbon deposits of the Moscow Region basin can be distinguished. European deposits are mainly associated with strata of the Neogene-Paleogene period, and in Asia Jurassic deposits predominate. Less common are fossils of the Cretaceous period. Russian reserves also for the most part have material from Jurassic deposits. The bulk of the minerals lies at a shallow depth (10-60 m). Due to this factor, open-pit mining of coal is allowed, although problematic channels up to 200 m are also encountered. The main raw materials for the formation of lignite were once deciduous and coniferous trees, peat bogs and pyalpas. Carbon enrichment is due to the fact that the decomposition process occurred under water and without access of air. Also, the wood base was mixed with sand and clay, due to which a further stage of the transformation of deposits forms graphite.
Coal mining
Russia in fifth place in terms of lignite production. About 75% of the total volume of minerals is supplied to production and fuel and energy enterprises, and the rest is used in the chemical industry and metallurgy. Also, a small proportion is exported. The technology of development and direct mining in general resembles the methods of working with other varieties of carbon deposits. But brown coal mining has its advantages. Since this breed is relatively young, a large proportion of the resource is extracted from open fields. To date, this method is the most effective, safe and cheapest. True, from an environmental point of view, this is not the best mining method, since the development of deep quarries entails extensive dumps of so-called overburden rocks.
Large deposits
If we talk about Russia, then the largest brown coal deposit is the Solton quarry complex. This is the only source of coal located in Altai. According to experts, this field contains about 250 million tons of rock. The Kansk-Achinsky multi-kilometer brown coal basin, which is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, is also known. In both cases, production is conducted using open technology. Quite promising lignite deposits are also being developed in Germany, which is the largest supplier of this coal in Europe. The most large-scale developments are carried out in East Germany, where the Central German and Lauzitsky basins are located. According to some reports, these deposits contain 80 billion tons. As in Russia, German experts are guided by an open-cast mining method, moving away from the expensive mine method.
The cost of brown coal
By its quality characteristics, brown coal loses to the more familiar stone counterpart. At the same time, several factors made it possible to slightly increase the demand for a less attractive resource. Among them, one can note the cost at which brown coal is sold. The price on average varies from 800 to 1200 rubles. for 1 ton. The higher the calorific value, the higher the price tag. For comparison: a ton of coal can be purchased at best for 2000 thousand rubles. As already mentioned, the nuances of the operation of boiler plants using brown coal nevertheless impede its widespread distribution. But suppliers of quality material find customers both among energy companies and in the individual consumption segment.
Conclusion
The lignite can be delivered to the final consumer in sorted or unsorted form. As a household fuel, it is usually used for pulverized combustion, and for complex metallurgical industries, coke briquettes are made from it. Due to the low cost and wide distribution of large deposits, brown coal is not the last in the list of popular fuel materials. Nevertheless, against the background of increased requirements for energy efficiency of heating systems and stricter environmental standards, such raw materials are becoming less attractive. In many countries, the use of brown coal is limited only by production needs, but examples of Russia and Germany confirm the relevance of the breed in terms of domestic use.