Business Logistics Export of coal from Australia Essay

Business Logistics Export of coal from Australia - Essay Example Substances that burn to release heat energy are called fuels. Fuels that are formed naturally in the similar way to fossils are called fossil fuels. Fossils are the remains of animals or plants preserved through natural process for millions of years below the earth. Fossils fuels are formed from these remains of plants and animals through squashing by rocks built over it through natural wearing process. Coal, Crude Oil and Gas are fossil fuels. Usually the fossil fuels are found underground and therefore very difficult to get out. The organic maturity of coal determines its quality. It refers to the temperature, pressure and time of formation of any coal deposit. There are four types or stages of coal known as coalification; Peat, Brown Coal, Sub-bituminous and Bituminous. Coals are ranked according to its coalification which is the amount of changes occurred during its maturity from peat to anthracite. Sub-bituminous and lignite are ranked as low coals because they have low carbon content and high moisture levels. Their material is very soft and appearance dull earthy. Anthracite is the highest ranked coal as it has high carbon content and low moisture level, having hard and strong black material with more energy. Figure 2 shows the different levels of moisture content and carbon and energy content for coalification of coal. (World Coal Institute, 2005) Figure 2: Moisture and Carbon energy levels of different coal types Uses of Coal The most significant uses of coal as shown in Figure 2 above are in generating electricity, producing steel, manufacturing cement and