快速的事實煤炭是世界上最豐富的化石燃料，廣泛分布在世界各地。它是一種礦物，由數(shù)億年前埋在地下的陸基植物的遺跡在巨大的熱量和壓力下形成(稱為煤化作用)。 煤是由一系列復(fù)雜的材料組成的，不同礦床的質(zhì)量差別很大，這取決于煤的來源的不同植被類型、施加在礦床上的溫度和壓力以及煤形成的時間長短。 煤是根據(jù)植物原物質(zhì)轉(zhuǎn)化成碳的程度來分類的，從最堅硬的無煙煤到煙煤、亞煙煤和褐煤，也稱為褐煤。艾伯塔省開采的煤主要是煙煤或亞煙煤。 加拿大的煤炭探明儲量位居世界前15位。據(jù)估計，阿爾伯塔省的沉積盆地?fù)碛羞@些煤炭儲量的70%，每年生產(chǎn)的煤炭約占全國目前開采量的一半。   據(jù)阿爾伯塔省能源資源保護委員會(ERCB)估計，阿爾伯塔省現(xiàn)有各類煤炭儲量約336億噸，足以滿足未來幾個世紀(jì)的需求。這些煤的能量是該省所有其他常規(guī)不可再生能源(包括石油、天然氣和油砂)的兩倍多。  今天，煤炭仍然是一種極其重要的燃料，因為它是全球最大的單一電力來源，幫助生產(chǎn)了全球70%以上的鋼鐵，并被水泥制造等其它工業(yè)過程所使用。

多年來，隨著先進技術(shù)的應(yīng)用，煤炭的加工和利用發(fā)生了巨大的變化，煤炭被定位為一種價值更高的能源。在未來，包括排放管理技術(shù)在內(nèi)的技術(shù)將使煤炭繼續(xù)在發(fā)電和提供化學(xué)原料等領(lǐng)域作出重大貢獻。  過去的大約從公元前1000年起，煤就被用作燃料了。雖然煤在世界上大部分地區(qū)都很豐富，但直到工業(yè)革命才被廣泛用作燃料。自19世紀(jì)以來，阿爾伯塔省共有1800多座煤礦。  19世紀(jì)60年代，萊斯橋附近開始了煤礦開采。1882年，亞歷山大高爾特開始在萊思布里奇采煤，為加拿大太平洋鐵路(CPR)提供物資。在第一次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，多達10個礦井在萊斯布里奇地區(qū)作業(yè)，最后一個礦井在1957年關(guān)閉。埃德蒙頓的第一座煤礦于1883年開始運營。在世紀(jì)之交的時候，薩斯喀徹溫省北部河谷的幾座煤礦從厚煤層中開采煤炭。阿爾伯塔省最早的一些煤礦就在現(xiàn)在的班夫國家公園內(nèi)。班夫鎮(zhèn)(Banff town)以東幾英里的班克黑德(Bankhead)社區(qū)開采煤炭，為CPR提供物資。煤礦開采很快轉(zhuǎn)移到坎摩爾，那里有一個經(jīng)營了80年的煤礦。阿爾伯塔省南部最擁擠的山口是一個煤礦中心，為CPR提供煤炭。在艾伯塔省中西部的“煤支”地區(qū)也設(shè)立了類似的職能。在辛頓以南的這個地區(qū)，開發(fā)了許多煤礦和城鎮(zhèn)，為大干線和加拿大國家鐵路提供煤炭。Nordegg和Grande Cache鎮(zhèn)也被開發(fā)用于煤礦開采。  目前的阿爾伯塔省的大部分煤歸阿爾伯塔省政府所有。然而，也有煤炭的完全所有權(quán)(由個人和公司擁有，或由聯(lián)邦政府在國家公園或印度保護區(qū)持有)。在一個典型的年份里，阿爾伯塔省50%至60%的采煤量來自政府租賃，其余部分來自私人擁有的租賃。2009年，艾伯塔省生產(chǎn)了3100萬噸可銷售的煤炭。大約73%用于發(fā)電設(shè)施。其余的出口到亞洲——主要是日本和韓國。   艾伯塔省的煤礦開采大多數(shù)阿爾伯塔省的煤是露天開采或露天開采的。在露天開采中，當(dāng)開采完成后，覆蓋層被取代，從而創(chuàng)造出比原來的土地更適合農(nóng)業(yè)或休閑用途的景觀。露天開采只是對土地的臨時使用，而持續(xù)的復(fù)墾項目僅在幾年內(nèi)就使土地恢復(fù)了全部生產(chǎn)力。露天礦開采多用于山區(qū)。當(dāng)一個坑被放棄，最后的圍墾進行。一些采用地表開采技術(shù)的煤礦由于深度太深而無法進行經(jīng)濟開采，因此采用了地下開采技術(shù)。  格蘭德卡什的煤礦有地下作業(yè)。目前在艾伯塔省出現(xiàn)的最新技術(shù)是地下煤炭氣化，通常被稱為地下氣化。煤炭地下氣化是在未開采的煤層中進行的一種就地氣化過程，它使用氧化劑注入，并通過從地表鉆取的生產(chǎn)井將產(chǎn)品氣體帶到地表。產(chǎn)品氣體可以用作化學(xué)原料或發(fā)電的燃料。該技術(shù)可應(yīng)用于開采不經(jīng)濟的資源，也為某些資源提供了傳統(tǒng)煤礦開采方法的替代方法。與傳統(tǒng)的煤炭開采和氣化相比，煤炭地下氣化的環(huán)境足跡和社會影響更小。未來在世界范圍內(nèi)，煤炭作為一種能源的使用對許多發(fā)達國家和發(fā)展中國家的經(jīng)濟仍然至關(guān)重要。尤其是后者，隨著工業(yè)化和城市化的擴展和國家能源需求的激增，隨著潔凈煤技術(shù)的成熟和經(jīng)濟上的商業(yè)化，煤炭似乎將繼續(xù)保持其作為安全、可靠的能源來源的地位，特別是作為發(fā)電的能源。未來的能源系統(tǒng)將依賴于先進、清潔和高效的能源使用和供應(yīng)技術(shù)。為了減少其對環(huán)境的影響，應(yīng)繼續(xù)發(fā)展和應(yīng)用旨在將煤炭轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)楦鍧嵞茉吹母蓛裘禾考夹g(shù)。有條件現(xiàn)金援助的進一步發(fā)展將導(dǎo)致若干技術(shù)選擇，以消除或減少目前令人關(guān)注的大氣排放。艾伯塔省創(chuàng)新——能源和環(huán)境解決方案與工業(yè)、大學(xué)、聯(lián)邦和省級研究機構(gòu)合作，致力于確定和采用最佳、最環(huán)保的技術(shù)，用于生產(chǎn)和使用艾伯塔省的煤炭和煤炭產(chǎn)品。有關(guān)艾伯塔省創(chuàng)新能源和環(huán)境解決方案的更多信息，請訪問www.albertainnovates.ca/ Energy

Quick Facts 

Coal is the world’s most plentiful fossil fuel and is widely distributed around the world.  It is a mineral formed from the remains of land-based plants buried hundreds of millions of years ago then subjected to tremendous heat and pressure (referred to as coalification).
 
Coal consists of a complex range of materials and varies greatly in quality from deposit to deposit, depending on the varying types of vegetation from which the coal originated, the temperatures and pressures exerted on the deposit, and the length of time the coal has been forming.
 
Coal is classified according to the degree of transformation of the original plant material into carbon, ranging from anthracite – the hardest – down through bituminous, sub-bituminous and lignite, also known as brown coal.  The coal mined in Alberta is primarily bituminous or sub-bituminous.
 
Canada places within the top 15 in the world in total proven coal reserves.  Alberta’s sedimentary basins contain an estimated 70 per cent of these coal reserves and produce about half of the coal currently mined in the country each year.  
 
The Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) estimates about 33.6 billion tonnes of established reserves of all types of coal remain in Alberta, an amount that will meet today’s level of demand for several centuries.  This coal contains more than twice the energy of all the province’s other conventional non-renewable energy resources, including oil, natural gas and oil sands. 
 
Today, coal remains an enormously important fuel because it generates the largest single source of electricity worldwide, helps produce over 70 per cent of the world's steel, and is used by other industrial processes like cement manufacturing.  
 
 _{Over the years, with the use of advanced technology, there have been dramatic changes in the processing and uses of coal, thereby positioning coal as a higher value energy source.    In the future, technology, including emissions management technology, will allow coal to continue to provide a significant contribution in areas such as power generation and the provision of chemical feedstocks.}   

_{The Past} 

_{Coal has been used as a fuel since about 1000 B.C.  Although it is abundant in most parts of the world, it was not used extensively for fuel until the industrial revolution.    Over 1800 coal mines have operated in Alberta since the 1800s. 
 
In the 1860s coal mining began near the then future site of Lethbridge.  In 1882 Alexander Galt began mining coal in Lethbridge to supply the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).    During World War I, up to 10 mines operated in the Lethbridge area, with the last mine closing in 1957.  The first mine in Edmonton began operating in 1883.    By the turn of the century several mines extracted coal from thick seams exposed in the North Saskatchewan River valley.   Some of the earliest mining in Alberta was within what is now Banff National Park.  Coal was mined at Bankhead, a community just a few miles east of the Banff town site, to supply the CPR.  Coal mining soon moved to Canmore where a coal mine operated for 80 years.  The Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta was a coal mining centre that supplied coal to the CPR.} 

_{A similar role was established in west-central Alberta for an area known as the “Coal Branch”.  In this area south of Hinton, a number of mines and towns developed to supply coal to the Grand Trunk and Canadian National Railways.  The towns of Nordegg and Grande Cache were also developed for the purpose of coal mining.}   

_{The Present} 

_{The majority of the coal in Alberta is owned by the Alberta Crown.  However, there is also freehold ownership of coal (owned by private individuals and companies or held by the federal government in National Parks or Indian Reserves).  In a typical year, 50 to 60 per cent of Alberta’s mined coal is extracted from Crown leases, the rest from privately owned leases.   In 2009, Alberta produced 31 million tonnes of marketable coal.  Around 73 per cent is used in electricity generation facilities.  The remainder is exported to Asia - mainly to Japan and South Korea.}    

_{Coal Mining in Alberta}

 _{Most Alberta coal is produced by surface mining, either strip mining or open pit.  In strip mining, when extraction is completed, overburden is replaced creating a landscape which is often better suited to agricultural or recreational uses than the original land.  Strip mining is only a temporary use of land and continuing reclamation programs return the land to full productivity in only a few years.    Open pit mining is used most often in the mountainous areas.  When a pit is abandoned, final reclamation is carried out.    Some coal that is too deep for economic recovery using surface mining technology employs underground mining techniques. 
 
The coal mine at Grande Cache has underground operations.   Newest of techniques now emerging in Alberta is underground coal gasification often referred to as UCG.}

_{UCG is an in-situ gasification process carried out in non-mined coal seams using injection of oxidants, and bringing the product gas to surface through production wells drilled from the surface.  The product gas could be used as a chemical feedstock or as fuel for power generation.  The technique can be applied to resources that are otherwise not economical to extract and also offers an alternative to conventional coal mining methods for some resources.  Compared to traditional coal mining and gasification, UCG has less of an environmental footprint and social impact.} 

_{The Future} 

_{Worldwide, the use of coal as an energy source remains crucial to the economies of many developed and developing countries.  Particularly with the latter, as industrialization and urbanization spread and national energy requirements soar, and as clean coal technologies are proven and become economically commercial, coal looks set to retain its position as a secure, reliable source of energy, particularly for the generation of electricity.    The energy systems of tomorrow will rely on a mix of advanced, clean and efficient technologies for energy use and supply.  In order to reduce its environmental impact, development and application of Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs), designed to convert coal to a cleaner source of energy, should continue.     Further development of CCTs will lead to a number of technology options that will eliminate or reduce atmospheric emissions that currently are of concern.   Alberta Innovates - Energy and Environment Solutions works with industry, universities, and federal and provincial research agencies to pursue the goal of identifying and adopting the best, most environmentally sound technologies that may be employed to produce and use Alberta coal and coal products.  Additional information about Alberta Innovates - Energy and Environment Solutions is available at www.albertainnovates.ca/energy   For more information on the coal industry, please visit www.coal.ca or www.coalminer.cawww}