Which of the following statements regarding coal is NOT correct?

The correct answer is Option 4.

Key Points

• Metallurgical coal is high-grade lignite coal which has a special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces, this statement is NOT correct.
• Metallurgical coal, also known as coking coal, is a high-quality hard coal (not lignite) used to produce coke, which is necessary for iron smelting in blast furnaces.
• Metallurgical coal needs to have low sulfur and phosphorus contents, making it much rarer and more valuable than thermal coal, which is used to produce heat and electricity.
• Typically, bituminous coal or anthracite is used for this purpose, not lignite, which is lower-grade coal.

Additional Information

• Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal:
  • Anthracite is indeed the highest grade of coal.
  • It's the oldest type of coal, having spent the most time underground exposed to pressure and heat.
  • It's very hard and shiny (hence "hard coal") and burns cleanly with little soot, making it much cleaner than other types of coal.
  • It's less common than other forms, which makes it more expensive.
• Coal that has been buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures is bituminous coal:
  • Bituminous coal is a medium-rank coal between sub-bituminous coal and anthracite.
  • It has been subjected to higher pressures and temperatures than lignite and sub-bituminous coal, but not as much as anthracite.
  • Bituminous coal is commonly used for generating electricity and heating in industrial processes.
• Lignite is a low-grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content:
  • Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is indeed a low-grade coal.
  • It's softer than bituminous coal or anthracite, and it has a high moisture content.
  • This makes it less energy-dense and more polluting than higher-grade coals.
  • Lignite is often used in electricity production in power plants located near mining sites.