Abandoned Mine Posts

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

More than half of the electricity produced in the United States currently comes from coal. With the demand for electricity expected to double by 2050, environmental concerns growing ever stronger, and renewable resources still years away from offsetting the increased energy demand, industry and government have been looking for ways to keep up with our energy demands while utilizing currently available energy sources and technologies. One fairly recent technological innovation getting more press lately is the process of coal gasification.

The gasification process was originally developed in the 1800s to produce gas for lighting and cooking. Electricity and natural gas later replaced town gas for these applications, but the gasification process has been used for the production of synthetic chemicals and fuels since the 1920s.

Just What is Coal Gasification?

Simply put, gasification itself is a process that converts carbonaceous materials, such as coal, petroleum, or even wood, into carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reacting the raw material at high temperatures with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam. The resulting gas mixture is called synthesis gas or “syngas” (containing mostly Hydrogen with some Carbon monoxide and small amounts of other constituents) and is itself a fuel. This syngas is potentially more efficient than direct combustion of the original fuel because it can be combusted at higher temperatures or even in fuel cells. The hydrogen obtained from gasification can be used for various purposes such as powering a hydrogen economy, making ammonia, or upgrading fossil fuels. Additionally, liquid fuels such as a low sulfur diesel fuel, can be created from the products of gasification.

Gasification can also be used with materials that are not seen as traditionally useful fuels, such as plastic or organic waste. Practically any type of organic material can be used as the raw material for the gasification process. In a traditional coal combustion plant, heat from burning coal is used to boil water to make steam that drives a steam turbine-generator. According to reports, only a third of the energy value of coal is actually converted into electricity by most old-fashioned combustion plants, the rest is lost as waste heat.

In a coal gasification power plant, everything revolves around the “gasifier.” This is basically a big compartment where feedstock (coal, in this case) is fed in and is then converted into syngas by applying heat and steam in a high pressure environment. The amount of oxygen allowed into the gasifier is very carefully controlled so that only a small amount of the feedstock burns completely. This partial oxidation process provides the heat necessary to break the feedstock down chemically into syngas (source: U.S. Dept. of Energy).

Co-Generation, More Bang For The Buck

The gasification plant typically gets double duty from the gases it produces. First, the coal gases, cleaned of their impurities, are fired in a gas turbine much like natural gas, to generate one source of electricity. The hot exhaust of the gas turbine is then used to generate steam for a more conventional steam turbine-generator. This dual source of electric power, called a “Combined cycle” or “Co-generation” (Co-gen for short) converts much more of coal’s inherent energy value into useable electricity.

While Coal Gasification plants are “Co-gen” plants, not all “Co-gen” plants are Coal Gasification plants. For example, non-traditional power plants using a different process called “Circulating Fluidized Bed” technology, known as CFB plants, may also be Co-generation plants. For more information on CFB plants, click here to view WPCAMR’s CFB educational brochure.

Waste coal piles, a bane of life in the coal regions, can be used to fuel Coal Gasification plants just as they can fuel CFB plants. This use for waste piles helps remove an eyesore and pollution source while at the same time making use of a resource long considered unprofitable for more conventional uses.

Greenhouse gas production is still an issue with coal gasification as it is with traditional coal combustion. However, some contend that the gasification process lends itself better to carbon sequestration but we’re not aware of any practical application of that at this point.

The US. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy says there are currently two commercial gasification plants currently operating in the U.S., one in Florida and one in the State of Indiana. A $400 million coal gasification plant is currently proposed for the Good Spring area of Schuylkill County, PA where, once permits are secured, construction is slated to begin in 2010.

Click here to read an additional article about the future of coal gasification plants.

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

During the coldest part of the year, I’m especially grateful for warmth, glorious warmth. But, even as I adjust my thermostat and take inventory of various snacks residing in the cupboard to prepare for the impending Super Bowl (Go Steelers!), I think of how our ancestors lived and how they kept warm on those brutal, three dog nights.

Back in our grandparents’ and great grandparents’ days, coal was the fuel of choice when heating your home. For some folks, wood was more available but for many, coal meant warmth…and life. The radiant heat coming from their coal stove was like manna from heaven. No doubt about it, the work of our coal communities touched many in this country. Coal filled an important niche in the home heating market throughout the 19th and 20th centuries–even in places very far removed from Pennsylvania’s coal regions.

One such place was the city of Albert Lea in southermost Minnesota near the Iowa border. This week we offer an article from the December 8, 2008 edition of the Albert Lea Tribune, an article that reminisces about the town’s history when coal was king.

Click here to view the article.

By Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

In this continuing series at Abandoned Mine Posts, we take a fascinating journey back through time. It’s a journey of discovery and a journey of connections. It’s the story of how coal came to be part of Western Pennsylvania life and the story of the coal connections that would shape our future.

Part 4: The Birth Of A Giant

So, where have we come to thus far? In our journey, we’ve traced coal’s use from the ancient Romans all the way up to the end of the war of 1812. As mankind evolved and developed a penchant for tinkering, the more mundane uses for coal such as disposing of the dead and heating the living gave way to more novel uses. Coal began to fuel our more creative nature. In Great Britain, that creative use for coal led to the industrial revolution with the birth of the iron industry which of course, led to the creation of steam engine, locomotives, and the iron rails that they operated upon. But, back in Pennsylvania, another industry was waiting to be born.

By the early part of the 19th century, Pennsylvania had discovered the merits of burning anthracite coal (hard coal)—thanks in part to the energy crunch which resulted from the War of 1812. When the war ended in 1815, people in the eastern population centers found that burning anthracite was still a good idea and stayed with it. Also, during the 1820s and 30s, gravity railroads (railroads built on a slope allowing minerals-laden cars to coast down the hill) developed in the anthracite region made anthracite even more available by allowing more coal to be brought to market. Those gravity railroads, engineering feats unto themselves,occurred simultaneously with an even bigger engineering marvel, the construction of the inland canal system. The combination of railroad and canal development resulted in the nation’s largest inland transportation network. Anthracite was finally moving and moving fast! By the 1850s, anthracite was the most used of all types of coal at the time. anthracite fueled the iron production in Pennsylvania and became a primary fuel for the textile industry in New England. The boom years of 1863 and 1864 in the anthracite region and the rest of the northeastern United States would be driven by the need for blankets, firearms, and other goods during a certain domestic altercation. But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Back to the 1830s.

Out in western Pennsylvania, use of bituminous coal continued to grow, albeit more slowly than anthracite. Pittsburgh,by virtue of its geographic placement near rivers and within relatively easy reach of raw materials, began to produce significant quantities of iron, brass, tin, and glass products.In Pittsburgh and points west, bituminous coal (soft coal) continued to play an ever increasing role in fueling Pittsburgh’s economy and by 1830, the city of Pittsburgh was consuming more than 400 tons per day of bituminous coal for domestic and light industrial use. It was also around this time that coke, bituminous coal partially burned to remove impurities, began to make the scene. Coke production had begun at the bituminous mines in Great Britain years before but it was only now that coke began to make its mark in America. Why coke? Well, coke burns hotter than ordinary coal. That hotter fire in the blast furnaces would improve the quality of iron produced.

Another big plug for coal use came from the first commercially practical American-built locomotives One locomotive in particular, The Tom Thumb, burned coal and once folks starting seeing how great that was, almost overnight, virtually every American locomotive that burned wood was converted to use coal. So much for wood.

Okay, so now that we have more uses for coal, we needed more of it and better ways to get at it. In walks a creative American by the name of Mr. William Otis and presto, in 1839 the steam shovel is born. The subsequent use of the steam shovel resulted in a plentiful supply of more easily obtainable surface coal. More coal allowed for more growth in industry, which led to more industrial work, which in turn, led to a need for more workers. Interestingly enough, around that time, many European nations were going through some hard economic times—potato famines and whatnot. Quite frankly, their citizens were fed up—and hungry. They wanted a better life and thought that moving to the US, especially the anthracite region, would provide them with more opportunities, not to mention more to eat. After all, it was said that in America, the streets were paved with gold. While this immediate infusion of willing workers to America would be good for the anthracite mining industry, this and successive waves would also benefit a fledgling industry yet to come.

Photo of William Kelly Courtesy of Thompson D. Smith, fourth generation Grandson

In 1847, following a failed stint at managing a dry goods store in western Pennsylvania, a Pittsburgher by the name of William Kelly threw up his hands and decided to try his hand in the iron industry in Eddyville, Kentucky. Kelly had ventured to Kentucky several times on buying trips and became interested in the iron industry there. Kelly persuaded his brother to join him and together they bought an iron furnace and 14,000 acres of timberland and ore deposits. They did rather well with their Eddyville Iron Works. But, iron had its limitations and Kelly knew it. You see, iron, although very functional, just didn’t have the strength and durability that was needed. Steel, a more refined and stronger metal than iron, had long been known. It was produced here and there in the ancient world for small things like swords and the odd dagger or two. However, there just wasn’t a practical way to make steel on a wholesale basis.

As they began to run out of timber for charcoal and with their carbon-free iron deposits dwindling, the brothers Kelly began searching for a more efficient means of refining pig iron while experimenting with making steel.

Around 1850, after several failures, Kelly succeeded in producing iron and steel with his process, although the quality of the steel was still kind of “hit or miss”. He didn’t patent the process right away but continued working on it. It so happens around that same time back in England, an fellow by the name of Sir Henry Bessemer was also working on a way to mass produce steel. In 1855 Bessemer obtained an English patent, and the following year several American patents, on the same process. When Kelly heard of Bessemer’s patents, he became incensed and immediately filed a priority claim. In 1857, Kelly received a U.S. patent superseding Bessemer’s patents. After a lot of hard work, it looked like Kelly’s bread was finally going to be buttered. Not so fast…fate had another obstacle in store for him. Kelly went bankrupt during the panic of 1857. But all was not lost. Before he declared bankruptcy, Kelly sold his patent to his father to keep it in the family.

In 1859, after getting his finances back in order, Kelly renewed his experiments at the Cambria Iron Works in Johnstown, Pa., and by 1862 managed to scrape up enough funds to enable him to build a steel plant out in Michigan. Within two years he produced the first commercial steel using the Kelly process. In 1863 the Kelly Pneumatic Process Company was organized, and the following year a rival company using Bessemer’s patents was organized in Troy, N.Y. With only minimal success with their respective patents and processes, the two companies pooled their resources in 1866. Eventually Bessemer’s process became more widely used. In fact, modern steel, up until the mid 20th century, would be made using technology based on the Bessemer Process.

In the meantime, while all of this was going on , back in the Anthracite region in the 1840s, two brothers by the name of George and Seldon Scranton were toying with using Anthracite for their iron works and eventually for their steelmaking experiments. They wound up being a pretty successful pair with their Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, so successful in fact that in 1850, the citizens of Slocum’s Hollow, where the Scrantons had settled, renamed their town “Scrantonia” in honor of the pair. However, that name just didn’t roll off the tongue well enough and after a year, the townsfolk thought it best to rename the town “Scranton”.

With coal as the keystone, the components were now in place for an incredible transformation in Pennsylvania —a transformation that would shape history – a transformation based on steel—a transformation that would eventually be shaped by the actions of two men, Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Steel, America’s modern industrial giant, was born.

by Bruce Golden, Regional Coordinator and Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator

On behalf of the Pennsylvania Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference Planning Committee, we invite you to attend the 10th PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference to be held at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in State College August 12 - 14, 2008.

This year, in addition to providing learning, sharing, and networking opportunities for those involved in Abandoned Mine Reclamation work, we’re proud to be doing something special to commemorate our 10th anniversary. We’ve added a new component focusing on Coal Mining Heritage and its preservation. We’ve noticed time and again that many of the same people who are committed to restoring the environment from the legacy problems from old coal mining are equally interested and involved in the history and culture of coal mining, especially as it involves their own communities.

The conference organizing committee, comprised of individuals personally committed to the reclamation of abandoned minelands and water– some professionals, some working at the grassroots level, welcomes seasoned reclamationists, preservationists, and interested newcomers to the 2008 Conference. The committee invites you to explore all of the opportunites afforded by the 2008 Conference including the chance to learn about what others are doing to preserve our Coal Mining Heritage.

To find out more about this year’s conference and to register online, go to the conference website, www.treatminewater.com. The registration process is a bit different than in years past in that you now have a suite of attendance options to choose from, in an a-la-carte manner, to match your individual need and budget.

For those needing financial assistance to attend the Conference, we have limited funding available to help. If you are a watershed group member, representing a community organization, an employee of a non-profit organization or academic institution, or other qualifying designation, you will have the option to apply for financial aid to attend the conference. With only a limited amount of financial aid funds available, the Conference Committee will do its best to ensure as many people as possible are able to obtain the financial assistance they need to attend. To help us with this goal, we only ask that those who are truly in need of financial aid ask for it.

The Ramada Inn and Conference Center in State College has set aside a block of rooms at a special Conference room rate of $81.38/night (with tax) for single or double rooms. This flat room rate is available until July 14, 2008. We suspect that guest rooms will fill up fast, so make your reservations early. Additional lodging and Ramada contact information is available on the Conference website.

Incidentally, for those who are interested in viewing Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) and Abandoned Mine Land (AML) sites and can never get enough, there will be an optional bus tour to AMD/AML sites in the State College/Philipsburg area to be held Monday August 11, 2008 at an additional cost. The bus tour will last from approximately Noon until 5:00pm.

We’re still hammering out the final details on speakers, etc. so, check back to the Conference website regularly.

Click here to go to the 2008 Conference website and register online.

Click on the “Play” button on the Player below to see an advertisement for the PA Abandoned Mine Reclamation Conference.