A Case For Domestic Coal

Coal and coal tar provide two of the most abundant sources of energy and industrial applications in the U.S. But it does come with it's drawbacks being a heavy contributor to pollution.However many historical examples can prove its efficiency, and the hope is in the future methods could be applied to to reduce its footprint on the environment and free us somewhat of oil dependency..

In the 1880s coal was turned into gas that fueled streetlights or even gas lamps in households, , and the U.S. government encouraged research toward the production of gas and liquid fuel from coal during the energy crisis in the 70's, and for now the U.S depends on coal as a source of electricity. The fact that there is constant instability in the Middle East, plus the high petroleum prices and the fact that the U.S. has almost unlimited amounts of coal has turned all the attention on the production of liquid fuel and natural gas from coal. Therefore, there are many companies focusing on this process in order to save money and have a reliable source of energy in the coming years by a process called coal liquification, where coal is turned in to diesel fuel or CTL. As of now the projeceted cost per barrel to to produce CTL is around $35 per barrel, well below the current $100 per barrel U.S consumers are paying for to have their oil imported.

Think about it, if every gallon of liquid coal would replace a gallon of gasoline our dependency on foreign oil would be reduced by that factor, and you may have noticed that we're having trouble with several oil producing countries right now.

Another of the most heavily used by products of coal is coal tar. Coal tar is a high viscosity black or brown liquid that smells of aromatic hydrocarbons and naphthalene, and it is obtained when coal is carbonized in order to make coke or gasified to make coal gas. In these cases, coal tar becomes a cost-efficient way of paving or sealing roads. In independent tests coal tar sealers greatly outlast any other type of sealants available in the market today. These findings also corroborate the fact that a lot of costs and extra pollutants are saved in terms of of upkeep and maintenance of public and private roads sealed with coal tar.


The fact that we seem to be heading toward global destruction because of all the pollution, alternative sources of energy are constantly on the minds of researchers. Coal does have it's downsides, namely being a contributor of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) to the environment, however it's important that we open our minds and look at coal as a really palpable and efficient, cheap energy source. We should focus our efforts on scientific discoveries that use coal and its derived products at their maximum, rather than close the door on this path of thinking. America may depend on it.