Coal Formation

     Coal formation is a process that takes millions of years and only a few to mine. Coal is actually vegetation that has been smothered in a swamp like condition for years that could not decompose due to the lack of oxygen. This is the formation of what we call peat. As time goes on due to the pressure on top,the peat slowly turns it into Lignite, which is a soft brown coal. From there the pressure turns the lignite into Bituminous, then into Anthracite. As time goes on and the pressure continues to grow greater and greater the coal becomes harder and can burn at higher heat due to the lack of oxygen and the abundance of CO2. From there we use the coal to gather natural gasses used to produce energy, the leftover product is know as coke.