Boryung Coal Museum(보령석탄박물관) EarthCache

보령석탄박물관은 과거 7,80년대 우리 국민의 주된 연료이자 근대산업발전의 원동력이었던 석탄산업의 역사성을 보존하고 그 가치를 일깨우고자 석탄의 생성과정에서부터 탄광발달과정, 작업환경, 장비 등 다양한 석탄관련 자료들을 보존하고 전시하고 있습니다.

The coal was the main fuel in each family and also a driving force in development of modern industries of Korea in 70's and 80's. Boryung Coal museum was established to preserve the historicity of the coal industry and waken the related value. Various materials about the coal including the coal formation process, coal-mining industry development process, working environment, equipments and gears used is exhibited in the Museum

석탄의 생성과정

태고 때의 지각변동으로 식물이 흙과 모래더미와 함께 물밑에 가라앉아 그 위에 다시 퇴적층이 이루어지 면서 오랫동안 열과 압력을 받아 퇴적물이 변하면서 수소(H)와 산소(O)는 날아가 버리고 탄소(C)만 남아서 석탄이 되었다. 이 석탄층은 계속되는 지층의 압력과 열에 의하여 탄화작용이 진행(Carbonization) 되며 탄소의 량을 포함한 화학적 물리적 변화의 정도에 따라 석탄의 종류도 나뉘게 된다. 이론적으로 식물의 층은 석탄으로 변화되면서 원래의 두께에서 1/10 로 줄어들게 되는데 발견된 탄층의 두께가 5m라 면 그 당시 식물의 층 두께는 50m 이었다는 것이다.

How is Coal Formed?

A diagram about how coal formed.

Coal is formed when peat is altered physically and chemically. This process is called "coalification." During coalification, peat undergoes several changes as a result of bacterial decay, compaction, heat, and time. Peat deposits are quite varied and contain everything from pristine plant parts (roots, bark, spores, etc.) to decayed plants, decay products, and even charcoal if the peat caught fire during accumulation. Peat deposits typically form in a waterlogged environment where plant debris accumulated; peat bogs and peat swamps are examples. In such an environment, the accumulation of plant debris exceeds the rate of bacterial decay of the debris. The bacterial decay rate is reduced because the available oxygen in organic-rich water is completely used up by the decaying process. Anaerobic (without oxygen) decay is much slower than aerobic decay.

For the peat to become coal, it must be buried by sediment. Burial compacts the peat and, consequently, much water is squeezed out during the first stages of burial. Continued burial and the addition of heat and time cause the complex hydrocarbon compounds in the peat to break down and alter in a variety of ways. The gaseous alteration products (methane is one) are typically expelled from the deposit, and the deposit becomes more and more carbon-rich as the other elements disperse. The stages of this trend proceed from plant debris through peat, lignite, sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, anthracite coal, to graphite (a pure carbon mineral).

Because of the amount of squeezing and water loss that accompanies the compaction of peat after burial, it is estimated that it took 10 vertical feet of original peat material to produce 1 vertical foot of bituminous coal. The peat to coal ratio is variable and dependent on the original type of peat the coal came from and the rank of the coal.

석탄의 종류