Coal takes millions of years to form

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock with a high amount of carbon and hydrocarbons. Coal is classified as a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to form. Coal contains the energy stored by plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago in swampy forests.

Layers of dirt and rock covered the plants over millions of years. The resulting pressure and heat turned the plants into the substance we call coal.

Types of coal

Coal is classified into four main types, or ranks: anthracite, bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite. The ranking depends on the types and amounts of carbon the coal contains and on the amount of heat energy the coal can produce. The rank of a coal deposit is determined by the amount of pressure and heat that acted on the plants over time.

Anthracite contains 86%–97% carbon and generally has the highest heating value of all ranks of coal. Anthracite accounted for less than 1% of the coal mined in the United States in 2017. All of the anthracite mines in the United States are in northeastern Pennsylvania. Anthracite is mainly used by the metals industry.

Bituminous coal contains 45%–86% carbon. Bituminous coal in the United States is between 100 million and 300 million years old. Bituminous coal is the most abundant rank of coal found in the United States, and it accounted for about 46% of total U.S. coal production in 2017. Bituminous coal is used to generate electricity and is an important fuel and raw material for making iron and steel. West Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Indiana were the five main bituminous coal-producing states in 2017, accounting for 74% of total bituminous production.

Subbituminous coal typically contains 35%–45% carbon, and it has a lower heating value than bituminous coal. Most subbituminous coal in the United States is at least 100 million years old. About 45% of total U.S. coal production in 2017 was subbituminous and nearly 89% was produced in Wyoming.

Lignite contains 25%–35% carbon and has the lowest energy content of all coal ranks. Lignite coal deposits tend to be relatively young and were not subjected to extreme heat or pressure. Lignite is crumbly and has high moisture content, which contributes to its low heating value. Lignite accounted for 9% of total U.S. coal production in 2017, and about 50% was mined in Texas and 43% in North Dakota. Lignite is mostly used to generate electricity. A facility in North Dakota also converts lignite to synthetic natural gas and pipes it to natural gas consumers in the eastern United States.