Almost half of the world’s additional energy demand over the past ten years was provided by coal. All other fuels combined, including oil, natural gas, renewables and nuclear energy, accounted for the other half.  In fact, every year over the last decade coal has been the world’s fastest growing energy source, driven by Asian demand and regional abundance of the fuel.

Coal is arguably the most important fuel in the global energy mix and certainly the second largest fuel in terms of energy consumption. It accounts for almost a third of the world’s primary energy consumption. Power generation is the key driver of growing coal demand,
followed by industry and transformation processes such as blast furnaces and coke ovens.

Coal provides around 30% of global primary energy needs, generates 41% of the world’s electricity and is used in the production of 70% of the world’s steel.

Total Global Coal Production

• 7831Mt (2012e)
• 7608Mt (2011)
• 4677 (1990)

Top Ten Coal Producers

An efficient burner provides the proper air-to-fuel mixture throughout the full range of firing rates, without constant adjustment. Many burners with complex linkage designs do not hold their air-to-fuel settings over time. Often, they are adjusted to provide high excess air levels to compensate for inconsistencies in the burner performance.

An alternative to complex linkage designs, modern burners are increasingly using servomotors with parallel positioning to independently control the quantities of fuel and air delivered to the burner head. Controls without linkage allow for easy tune-ups and minor adjustments, while eliminating hysteresis, or lack of retraceability, and provide accurate point-to-point control. These controls provide consistent performance and repeatability as
the burner adjusts to different firing rates.

Alternatives to electronic controls are burners with a single drive or jackshaft. Avoid purchasing standard burners that make use of linkages to provide single-point or proportional control. Linkage joints wear and rod-set screws can loosen, allowing slippage, the provision of sub-optimal air-to-fuel ratios, and efficiency declines.

Coal mines in South Africa play an important role in the country’s economy, with 77% of all primary energy needs being provided for by coal.  South Africa also exports nearly one quarter of all coal, while coal mines in South Africa, and their direct supporting industries, employ roughly 55000 people.

According to Eskom, coal mines in South Africa produce 224 million tonnes per year. South Africa is the world’s seventh largest coal producer after China, USA, India, Australia, Indonesia and Russia. 31% of all coal mines in South Africa can be found in the central Highveld while Witbank and Ermelo feature 30% and 13, 8% respectively.