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45-473: In the latter half of the nineteenth century, coal became the predominant energy source in the United States. Coal would be transported by rail or ship, and each method incurred transportation costs that made coal costlier in distant areas, motivating miners in the west to search for local sources. The area around Mount Diablo was discovered to have veins of lignite coal, and several mines were opened, including

90-478: A 24-foot diameter fan was added to the mine for ventilation. In California, the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company employed 315 miners in 1870. Mine employees included "100 coal-cutters and miners, 20 car-men, 11 car-drivers, 3 underground foremen, 4 engineers, 8 bunker men, and the rest are carpenters, watchmen, blacksmiths, firemen, door-tenders, furnace men, and slope men." From 1868 to 1905,

135-560: A fuel for poor people compared to higher value hard coals. In Germany, briquettes are still readily available to end consumers in home improvement stores and supermarkets. An environmentally beneficial use of lignite is in agriculture. Lignite may have value as an environmentally benign soil amendment , improving cation exchange and phosphorus availability in soils while reducing availability of heavy metals, and may be superior to commercial K humates. Lignite fly ash produced by combustion of lignite in power plants may also be valuable as

180-527: A higher grade of coal to compete in the market, the company sent men north in 1880 to search for better sources. They discovered high-quality coal outcroppings in Washington territory, and sent samples to California for testing. The coal they had found was bituminous , higher quality than the lignite coal being mined in the California mines, and the company quickly began clearing trails, building houses, and opening

225-416: A net wet basis. Lignite has a high content of volatile matter which makes it easier to convert into gas and liquid petroleum products than higher-ranking coals. Its high moisture content and susceptibility to spontaneous combustion can cause problems in transportation and storage. Processes which remove water from brown coal reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion to the same level as black coal, increase

270-430: A result of increased temperatures and pressures underground. Lignite forms from peat that has not been subjected to deep burial and heating. It forms at temperatures below 100 °C (212 °F), primarily by biochemical degradation. This includes the process of humification, in which microorganisms extract hydrocarbons from peat and form humic acids, which decrease the rate of bacterial decay. In lignite, humification

315-572: A result, its carbon content on the as-received basis (i.e., containing both inherent moisture and mineral matter) is typically just 25-35 percent. The energy content of lignite ranges from 10 to 20 MJ/kg (9–17 million BTU per short ton ) on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis. The energy content of lignite consumed in the United States averages 15 MJ/kg (13 million BTU/ton), on the as-received basis. The energy content of lignite consumed in Victoria, Australia, averages 8.6 MJ/kg (8.2 million BTU/ton) on

360-413: A soil amendment and fertilizer. However, rigorous studies of the long-term benefits of lignite products in agriculture are lacking. Lignite may also be used for the cultivation and distribution of biological control microbes that suppress plant pests. The carbon increases the organic matter in the soil while the biological control microbes provide an alternative to chemical pesticides. Leonardite

405-579: Is a hardened, gem-like form of lignite used in various types of jewelry. Germany is the largest producer of lignite, followed by China , Russia , and United States . Lignite accounted for 8% of all U.S. coal production in 2019. – no data available Chehalis (steamboat 1867) Chehalis was a sternwheel steamboat that ran on the Chehalis River , Puget Sound , and Lake Washington from 1867 to 1882. This vessel should not be confused with other steam vessels named Chehalis . Chehalis

450-563: Is a soil conditioner rich in humic acids that is formed by natural oxidation when lignite comes in contact with air. The process can be replicated artificially on a large scale. The less matured xyloid (wood-shaped) lignite also contains high amounts of humic acid. Reaction with quaternary amine forms a product called amine-treated lignite (ATL), which is used in drilling mud to reduce fluid loss during drilling. Lignite may have potential uses as an industrial adsorbent . Experiments show that its adsorption of methylene blue falls within

495-431: Is now of lower importance than its use to generate electricity. Lignite is often found in thick beds located near the surface, making it inexpensive to mine. However, because of its low energy density , tendency to crumble, and typically high moisture content, brown coal is inefficient to transport and is not traded extensively on the world market compared with higher coal grades. It is often burned in power stations near

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540-487: Is partial, coming to completion only when the coal reaches sub-bituminous rank. The most characteristic chemical change in the organic material during formation of lignite is the sharp reduction in the number of C=O and C-O-R functional groups. Lignite deposits are typically younger than higher-ranked coals, with the majority of them having formed during the Tertiary period. Lignite is often found in thick beds located near

585-480: The Black Diamond Coal Mining Railroad between Nortonville and New York Landing. New York Landing was renamed Black Diamond Landing, in recognition of the company. Black Diamond also opened a wharf at Port Costa, California . The company town of Nortonville was the largest of the coal towns around Mount Diablo , with a population of over 900. It was named for Noah Norton, who originally opened

630-598: The calorific value of brown coal to a black coal equivalent fuel, and significantly reduce the emissions profile of 'densified' brown coal to a level similar to or better than most black coals. However, removing the moisture increases the cost of the final lignite fuel. Lignite rapidly degrades when exposed to air. This process is called slacking or slackening . Most lignite is used to generate electricity. However, small amounts are used in agriculture , in industry , and even, as jet , in jewelry . Its historical use as fuel for home heating has continuously declined and

675-592: The railway network was dependent on lignite either through steam trains or electrified lines mostly fed with lignite derived power. As per the table below, East Germany was the largest producer of lignite for much of its existence as an independent state. In 2014, about 12 percent of Germany's energy and, specifically, 27 percent of Germany's electricity came from lignite power plants, while in 2014 in Greece , lignite provided about 50 percent of its power needs. Germany has announced plans to phase out lignite by 2038 at

720-532: The Black Diamond Coal Mining Company purchased the Bellingham Bay Coal Company and reorganized it as a subsidiary, operating its mines until closing them in 1878. In the 1870s, the company purchased land in Coos County, Oregon . B.B. Jones opened a 2,636‑acre mine on Isthmus Slough for Black Diamond Coal Mining Company. The Southport Mine operation was above water level. Cars transported the coal to

765-535: The Black Diamond mine and built the first two houses there. The first hotel, the Black Diamond Exchange, opened in 1863. A store, a schoolhouse, and more houses were gradually added. As was common at that time, lodges for several fraternal organizations were established, including International Organisation of Good Templars , Knights of Pythias , and Independent Order of Odd Fellows . The company provided

810-535: The Cumberland and Black Diamond. In 1861, eight men representing the Cumberland Coal Mine and Black Diamond Coal Mine incorporated their mines into the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company, in order to "discover, dig, and develop coal   … and to construct the necessary ways, railroads, and means to transport the same   ... " They developed roads from the mines to Clayton and New York Landing , and built

855-574: The area around Mount Diablo in 1884, they left behind 200 miles of coal mine tunnels. The mines and surrounding land later became part of the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve . When it closed its mines in Bellingham in 1878, Black Diamond had acquired a considerable amount of land around Bellingham Bay, and throughout the next 19 years, the company focused on the sale of its real estate. In 1904, with demand for coal declining,

900-420: The area remains saturated with water, which covers dead vegetation and protects it from atmospheric oxygen. Otherwise, peat swamps are found in a variety of climates and geographical settings. Anaerobic bacteria may contribute to the degradation of peat, but this process takes a long time, particularly in acidic water. Burial by other sediments further slows biological degradation, and subsequent transformations are

945-570: The company attempted to reopen the Clayton Tunnel in Nortonville for coal mining, but were unsuccessful. Lignite Lignite (derived from Latin lignum meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal , is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat . It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat content . When removed from

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990-595: The company sold its mines in Black Diamond, Washington to the Pacific Coast Company. When it sold its Southport Mine in Oregon and was no longer associated to the coal business, the company adopted the name of its subsidiary, Southport Land and Commercial Company, and concentrated on managing its real estate assets, as well as investing in Bellingham Bay Improvement Company . In the mid to late 1920s,

1035-449: The completion of the railroad line, the company closed its mines in California and began moving its miners and their families north. Eventually, several trains a day would haul coal from the mines to Seattle to be sold there or shipped to San Francisco. Black Diamond Coal Mining Company operated numerous ships to transport its coal between Washington and California, including the Ivanhoe , which

1080-906: The governments of Japan and Australia has begun extracting hydrogen from brown coal. The liquefied hydrogen will be shipped via the transporter Suiso Frontier to Japan. The largest lignite deposits in North America are the Gulf Coast lignites and the Fort Union lignite field. The Gulf Coast lignites are located in a band running from Texas to Alabama roughly parallel to the Gulf Coast. The Fort Union lignite field stretches from North Dakota to Saskatchewan . Both are important commercial sources of lignite. Lignite can be separated into two types: xyloid lignite or fossil wood , and compact lignite or perfect lignite. Although xyloid lignite may sometimes have

1125-420: The ground, it contains a very high amount of moisture , which partially explains its low carbon content. Lignite is mined all around the world and is used almost exclusively as a fuel for steam-electric power generation . Lignite combustion produces less heat for the amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur released than other ranks of coal. As a result, lignite is the most harmful coal to human health. Depending on

1170-501: The land for Rose Hill Cemetery , a Protestant burial site for miners and other residents of the area, which was later donated to Contra Costa County. A fire destroyed many of the wooden buildings in 1878, and they were replaced with brick buildings. In 1865, the company's founders lost control of the company when a group of investors bought more than 85% of the stock and filled positions on the Board of Directors with their own members. In 1866,

1215-863: The land has been restored to full productivity. A bond (not necessary in this form) for mine reclamation is required in the US by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 . The Latrobe Valley in Victoria , Australia , contains estimated reserves of some 65 billion tonnes of brown coal. The deposit is equivalent to 25 percent of known world reserves. The coal seams are up to 98 m (322 ft) thick, with multiple coal seams often giving virtually continuous brown coal thickness of up to 230 m (755 ft). Seams are covered by very little overburden (10 to 20 m (33 to 66 ft)). A partnership led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and backed by

1260-466: The latest. Greece has confirmed that the last coal plant will be shut in 2025 after receiving pressure from the European Union and plans to heavily invest in renewable energy . Lignite was and is used as a replacement for or in combination with firewood for home heating. It is usually pressed into briquettes for that use. Due to the smell it gives off when burned, lignite was often seen as

1305-407: The lignite is removed, restoration involves grading the mine spoil to as close an approximation as practical of the original ground surface (Approximate Original Contour or AOC). Subsoil and topsoil are restored and the land reseeded with various grasses. In North Dakota , a performance bond is held against the mining company for at least ten years after the end of mining operations to guarantee that

1350-563: The mine. The village established for the miners was named Black Diamond . Travel from Black Diamond to other towns was by horse or wagon or on foot over rough trails. Heavy equipment had to be brought in by pack animal , crossing the Cedar River six times from the nearest town, Renton . Most homes were built on land owned by the company. By 1885, the population of Black Diamond was 3500, many of them miners. The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad extended its line to Black Diamond in 1884. With

1395-566: The mines, such as in Poland's Bełchatów plant and Turów plant , Australia's Latrobe Valley and Luminant 's Monticello plant and Martin Lake plant in Texas. Primarily because of latent high moisture content and low energy density of brown coal, carbon dioxide emissions from traditional brown-coal-fired plants are generally much higher per megawatt-hour generated than for comparable black-coal plants, with

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1440-503: The mines. To accommodate its international workers, "danger" signs were printed in Russian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Danish-Norwegian, Croatian, Spanish, Serbian, Lithuanian, Italian, Polish, Greek, Swedish, Bohemian, German, Finnish, and French. Methane gas and blackdamp were risks in mines. In 1876, six miners were suffocated by blackdamp generated from a powder explosion in a Black Diamond mine, and several others were severely burned. Later,

1485-728: The range of activated carbons currently used by industry. Jet is a form of lignite that has been used as a gemstone. The earliest jet artifacts date to 10,000 BCE and jet was used extensively in necklaces and other ornamentation in Britain from the Neolithic until the end of Roman Britain . Jet experienced a brief revival in Victorian Britain . Lignite begins as partially decayed plant material, or peat. Peat tends to accumulate in areas with high moisture, slow land subsidence , and no disturbance by rivers or oceans – under these conditions,

1530-468: The shipping point by gravity, and empty cars were pulled back up by horses. Southport was established as a company town. A few years later, the nearby Newport Mine subsidized the Southport Mine, its competitor, to keep it closed. Black Diamond Coal Mining Company sold the mine in 1953, its last connection with coal mining. The coal being mined from the mines in Nortonville was low quality. Needing

1575-505: The source, various toxic heavy metals , including naturally occurring radioactive materials , may be present in lignite and left over in the coal fly ash produced from its combustion, further increasing health risks. Lignite is brownish-black in color and has a carbon content of 60–70 percent on a dry ash-free basis. However, its inherent moisture content is sometimes as high as 75 percent and its ash content ranges from 6–19 percent, compared with 6–12 percent for bituminous coal . As

1620-422: The subsurface beds. Topsoil and subsoil must be properly removed and either used to reclaim previously mined-out areas or stored for future reclamation. Excavator and truck overburden removal prepares the area for dragline overburden removal to expose the lignite beds. These are broken up using specially equipped tractors ( coal ripping ) and then loaded into bottom dump trucks using front loaders . Once

1665-471: The superintendent of the mines was Morgan Morgans, a native of Wales . With the discovery of higher quality coal in Washington, the company closed its mines in California in 1884 and transferred its properties to a newly formed subsidiary, Southport Land and Commercial Company. The Black Diamond Coal Company Engine No. 3 was sold to the Bellingham Bay and British Columbia Railroad . When the miners departed

1710-409: The surface. These are inexpensive to extract using various forms of surface mining , though this can result in serious environmental damage. Regulations in the United States and other countries require that land that is surface mined must be restored to its original productivity once mining is complete. Strip mining of lignite in the United States begins with drilling to establish the extent of

1755-401: The tenacity and the appearance of ordinary wood, it can be seen that the combustible woody tissue has experienced a great modification. It is reducible to a fine powder by trituration , and if submitted to the action of a weak solution of potash , it yields a considerable quantity of humic acid . Leonardite is an oxidized form of lignite, which also contains high levels of humic acid. Jet

1800-689: The vessel on the Skagit River . Chehalis was the first vessel to go up the Skagit as far as Portage Rapids , and the first to ascend the Sauk River . The vessel was in charge of captains Daniel Benson, Curtis D. Brownfield, and Robert Bailey while on the Skagit River. Chehalis was also run on the Seattle - Olympia route under Capt. Hiram Olney. In November 1882, under the command of Capt. W.F. Munroe, Chehalis

1845-497: The world's highest-emitting plant being Australia's Hazelwood Power Station until its closure in March 2017. The operation of traditional brown-coal plants, particularly in combination with strip mining , is politically contentious due to environmental concerns. The German Democratic Republic relied extensively on lignite to become energy self-sufficient , and eventually obtained 70% of its energy requirements from lignite. Lignite

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1890-490: Was also an important chemical industry feedstock via Bergius process or Fischer-Tropsch synthesis in lieu of petroleum, which had to be imported for hard currency following a change in policy by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, which had previously delivered petroleum at below market rates. East German scientists even converted lignite into coke suitable for metallurgical uses ( high temperature lignite coke ) and much of

1935-493: Was built at Tumwater, Washington , in 1867 by H.H. Hyde. The engines for Chehalis came from the Fraser River sternwheeler Henrietta , which had been built at Victoria in 1859. For nearly three years following construction, the owners of Chehalis tried to compete on Grays Harbor and the Chehalis River . This proved unsuccessful, and so the vessel was returned to Puget Sound where it proved more profitable. Chehalis

1980-739: Was first put on the route between Snohomish , Port Gamble , and Port Ludlow . Chehalis was later sold to the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company of California, which was operating mines in the Black Diamond area south of Lake Washington . Under Captain Huffner and Capt. William Bailey (1822–1882), Chehalis was used to tow barges on the lake. (Captain Bailey was later killed in a dock accident at Yesler Wharf .) Capt J.C. Brittain and Capt. Thomas Brennan then bought Chehalis and ran

2025-502: Was lost at sea in 1894. To tow barges on the lake, it purchased the steamboat Chehalis . The output of the Black Diamond mines in Washington when they were sold in 1904 was between 700 and 800 tons a day. Miners used drills and picks to knock loose the coal, working 12 hours a day, six days a week. Trapper boys began working around age 13. Although many of the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company miners were from Wales and Italy , immigrants from many other countries also came to work at

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