How coal formed?

1. Coal

2. COAL FORMATION
1. Most of the coal was formed 300 million years ago,
when the Earth was made of steamy swamps only.
2. When the trees and plants died, the remains sank in
the bottom of the swamps with the help of sediment
building on them, forming soggy, dense material called
peat.
3. Peat is buried under material like sand, clay and
mineral matter.

3. 4. Pushing it down, makes the peat go through physical
and chemical processes called “coalification”.
5. Other changes the peat goes through are: bacterial
decay, compression, heat and time.

5. COAL FORMATION
6. Due to the environment coal is formed (a hot
environment), it exceeds the rate of bacterial decay
until all oxygen is used up and anaerobic processes take
place.
7. As it is being compressed, water in the peat is being
squeezed out.
8. Hydrocarbon compounds break down and alter in very
different ways. For example: the gaseous alteration of
methane are expelled from the deposit (peat).

6. 9. The peat becomes more and more carbon-rich as more
materials are expelled and dispersed.
(It is estimated that with every 10ft of peat 1 foot
of coal is produced)