Coal provides around 30% of global primary energy needs, generates 41% of the world’s electricity and is used in the production of 70% of the world’s steel.
| PR China | 3549Mt | Russia | 359Mt |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 935Mt | South Africa | 259Mt |
| India | 595Mt | Germany | 197Mt |
| Indonesia | 443Mt | Poland | 144Mt |
| Australia | 421Mt | Kazakhstan | 126Mt |
An efficient burner provides the proper air-to-fuel mixture throughout the full range of firing rates, without constant adjustment. Many burners with complex linkage designs do not hold their air-to-fuel settings over time. Often, they are adjusted to provide high excess air levels to compensate for inconsistencies in the burner performance.
An alternative to complex linkage designs, modern burners are increasingly using servomotors with parallel positioning to independently control the quantities of fuel and air delivered to the burner head. Controls without linkage allow for easy tune-ups and minor adjustments, while eliminating hysteresis, or lack of retraceability, and provide accurate point-to-point control. These controls provide consistent performance and repeatability as
the burner adjusts to different firing rates.
Alternatives to electronic controls are burners with a single drive or jackshaft. Avoid purchasing standard burners that make use of linkages to provide single-point or proportional control. Linkage joints wear and rod-set screws can loosen, allowing slippage, the provision of sub-optimal air-to-fuel ratios, and efficiency declines.
Coal mines in South Africa play an important role in the country’s economy, with 77% of all primary energy needs being provided for by coal. South Africa also exports nearly one quarter of all coal, while coal mines in South Africa, and their direct supporting industries, employ roughly 55000 people.
According to Eskom, coal mines in South Africa produce 224 million tonnes per year. South Africa is the world’s seventh largest coal producer after China, USA, India, Australia, Indonesia and Russia. 31% of all coal mines in South Africa can be found in the central Highveld while Witbank and Ermelo feature 30% and 13, 8% respectively.
The coal industry and people who earn a living from it has lived in the shadow of public scrutiny for more than 125 years. Although coal has experienced some good and bad years, the public’s passion for safe working conditions for coal miners has strengthened.
But the question remains: “What would the world be like without coal?”
We could easily understand the reason for all the pressure on the coal industry if there was an alternative to this energy source right now, but there isn’t.
Rick Taylor, the president of Pocahontas Coal Association in America states: “We have essentially maxed out on nuclear energy production, and I can’t see how wind, solar or hydro power can be increased enough to take the place of the present energy consumption. Coal provides more than 50 percent of our domestic energy needs, and the demand for energy is continuing to grow. So far, everything I’ve seen will put a greater cost on energy on working people. A couple of years ago, when the price of fuel went up, it didn’t really have an impact on my mother. She still bought fuel and didn’t change where she went. But I’ll tell you, large increase in her monthly electric bill will have an impact. She’ll have to start making choices.”
Rather than think of life without coal, we should try to think about life without reasonably priced, efficient electricity. There are many people living in Third World countries who would love to have access to even a small portion of the electricity that we take for granted as though it is an entitlement.