New, cleaner ways of using coal are being developed by scientists.
Research is important because coal will be needed next century when offshore supplies of oil and natural gas decline. But the coal will have to be used in ways that do not harm the environment.
Photograph of coal combustion research
Fluidised combustion
Some industries are already using a more environmentally friendly combustion system called fluidised bed combustion. When air is blown through sand it looks as if it is boiling - in fact just like boiling water. If it is heated and coal added, the coal burns and keeps it hot. This method of burning coal can take out nearly all the acid rain compounds usually made when burning coal.
Electricity from coal
Three quarters of all the coal burned in the UK is used in power stations to generate electricity, but only one third of its heat is converted into electricity, the rest being lost in the cooling towers. Today scientists are working on new, pollution-free, ways to make electricity from coal using much more of the coal's heat.
Coal refinery
Oil and gas can also be made from coal and experiments have been carried out to ensure that we can do this cleanly and safely when it becomes necessary.