Which is the most abundantly available fossil in India? Assess the importance of its different forms

CBSE Class 10 CBSE Class 10 Social Science
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1

Which is the most abundantly available fossil in India? Assess the importance of its different forms.

2

In India, coal is the most abundantly available fossil fuel. Coal is found in a variety of forms:

  1. Peat decaying plants in swamps produce peat.
    • It has low carbon and high moisture contents.
    • It has low heating capacity.
  2. Lignite is a low grade brown coal.
    • It is soft with high moisture contents.
    • The principal lignite reserves are in Neyveli and they are used for generation of electricity.
  3. Bituminous is the most popular coal in commercial use.
    • Metallurgical coal is high grade bituminous coal.
    • It has special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.
  4. Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal.
    • It contains more than 80% carbon content.
    • It gives less smoke.