Coal reserves in the Czech Republic are estimated to be 10 billion tons – hard coal about 37%, brown coal about 60% and lignite 3%. Hard coal is produced in Northern Moravia. In 2017 the production of hard coal was 5.5 million tons. Brown coal is mined in North-Western Bohemia − the production of brown coal in 2017 was 38.1 million tons. Significant quantities of hard coal are exported to: Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Hungary. In accordance with the National Energy Policy, coal will remain the main source of energy in the country in the future, despite the increased use of nuclear energy and natural gas. The government expects that in 2030 energy from coal will account for 30.5% of energy produced. There are five coal companies in the Czech Republic: OKD, a.s., the only hard coal producer and four brown coal mining companies: Severočeské Doly a.s., owned by ČEZ, the largest producer of brown coal, Vršanská uhelná a.s., with coal resources until 2055, Severní energetická a.s. with the largest brown coal reserves in the Czech Republic and Sokolovska uhelná a.s., the smallest mining company extracting lignite. OKD operates coal in two mines Kopalnia Důlní závod 1 – (consists of three mines: ČSA Mine, Lazy Mine, Darkov Mine) and Mine Důlní závod 2 (ttwo mines Sever, Jih). The article also presents a pro-ecological solution for the management of waste heaps after coal enrichment – a plant for the enrichment of coal waste from the Hermanice heap.

Applying new technologies basing on coal utilization demands precise identification of coal-bed composition. It is suggested, that such possibility is enabled by coal-bed logging with use of - adjusted to this aim - microlithotype analysis. Modification of this research method relies on ten-fold augmentation of 20 point grid size dimensions - up to 500 x 500 [...]. Maceral associations - as identified duringmicroscope observations - are placed in computer database according to their localization in logging. This allows for later graphic interpretation - microlithotype profile drawing. 13 associations has been educed in description, in majority being consistent with commonly used microlithotypes. However, a few changes has been introduced: in description of vitrite, telovitrite, macroscopically recognized in logging as vitrine layers, has been distinguished, as well as detro-gelo-vitrite, macroscopically recognized in logging as durain, while within bimaceralic microlithotypes there has been distinguished: vitrinertite (W), vitrinertite (I), clarite (W), clarite (I), durite (L), durite (I), all on the basis of dominant ingredient named in parenthesis. Accepted research methodology enables precise characteristics of petrographic variation within coal-bed logging. This allows especially to describe variation within dull coal (durain). Basing on research results, it is suggested that the biggest share in seam composition belongs to duroclarite - 23.8%, then vitrite - 18.7% and clarodurite - 17.6%, lower share of few percent belongs to: vitrinertite (I), vitrinertite (W), inertite, clarite (W), vitrinertoliptite, durite (I), durite (L), while both liptite and clarite (L) are less than one percent . Sequence of following microlithotypes also illustrate facies variation, what allows interpretation of environments of peat deposition in paleo-peat bog 116/2. Dominating percentage in log belongs to Forest Moor facies - 33.5%, while the lowest is Forest Terrestial Moor - 12.5%.

The subject of the study was the No. 116/2 coal seam belonging to the Cracow Sandstone Series of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Reflectograms of the samples taking into account all the vitrinite group macerals present in the coal were recorded for Δ R^o close to the standard deviation and in the standard range. A careful analysis of vitrinite reflectograms reveals the presence of three or four clearly distinguished peaks. When assessing the rank of coal, only the main maximum, peak No. 4, was considered to be significant. Measurements of the average reflectance of collotelinite were made only on the vitrinite surfaces with a thickness of more than 1 mm. Only two maxima were revealed on detailed reflectograms. These maxima correlate with the peaks marked as No. 3 and 4 in the sample reflectograms taking into account all the vitrinite group macerals. The C ^daf content in the tested coal from the Janina coal mine is between 75.9 and 77.5 wt%, while for vitrain, it ranges from 71.1 to 75.5 wt%. This relationship is an exponential regression with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.95h and can be approximated by a linear correlation of r = 0.94. The correlation strength between the volatile matter content and the coefficient of average reflectance in the vitrinite of the tested coal was also examined. The statistically significant correlation is strong, which is expressed by the exponential correlation coefficient “r” being close to 0.99 and its linear approximation with the correlation coefficient r = 0.98. However, no correlation was found between the measured reflectance values and the GI coefficient calculated for the examined samples.

The article presents current state of the structure of hard coal enrichment plants in Poland, taking the capacity, the range of grain enrichment and the type of equipment used into account. This data were presented in a tabular format for each Polish Coal Company operating on the Polish market. The article was also present simplified: flow sheet of the steam and coking coal enrichment system. Based on the presented data, the planned needs and trends were described in terms of increasing production efficiency, minimizing water consumption and safety of work. A list of research and development works which must be undertaken were also presented as well as factors determining the technological development of the processing plants.

According to International Energy Agency (IEA) energy security is the continuous supply of energy at acceptable prices. National energy is based primarily on its own energy resources such as hard coal and brown coal. The 88% of electric energy production from these minerals gives us full energy independence. Additionally, the energy production costs from these raw materials are the lowest compared to other technologies. Of these two, the energy produced from brown coal is characterized by the lowest unit technical generating cost. Poland has the resources of these minerals for decades to come, the experience related to mining and processing them, scientific and design facilities and technical facilities and factories producing machines and equipment for their own needs, as well as for export. Coal is and should remain an important source of electricity and heat supply in Poland for the next 25–50 years. It is one of the most reliable and profitable energy sources. This policy may be difficult in the next decades due to the exhaustion of the available resources of hard and brown coal. The conditions for the construction of new mines, and thus for the development of coal mining in Poland, are very interdisciplinary in legal, environmental, economic and reputational terms. Germany has similar problems. Despite the fact that it is an image of a country investing in renewable energy sources, which are pioneers of energy production from RES, in reality hard and brown coal are still the primary sources utilized to produce electric energy.

One of the parameters which enables the evaluation of carbonaceous material is the thermal effect of wetting. The value of the heat of wetting provides information about the surface energy and the texture of the materials immersed in the wetting liquid. Knowledge of the heat of wetting of the carbonaceous materials is used to research their sorption properties, to characterize the structure and to determine the surface area. A method of me asuring the wetting of the carbonaceous materials as one of the methods to evaluate the carbonaceous materials was proposed. On the basis of research which was conducted, one determined the heat of wetting black coal from the Brzeszcze mine by methyl alcohol and lignites from the Turów and Bełchatów mine. One of activated carbons furnished by the Gryfskand company (WD-extra) was selected for the purpose of the comparison. The enthalpy of immersion was calculated on the basis of the results, the surface of the carbonaceous materials that were studied. It was revealed that the energetic effects of wetting depend both upon the microporous structure and the chemical nature of the adsorbent. The greatest heat of wetting calculated per 1g of the carbonaceous material, which has the most developed surface area and micropore volume, was obtained for the activated carbon. However, the heat of wetting does not increase proportionally to the surface area. The study revealed that the thermal effects of wetting for fossil coal decreases with the increasing of the surface area. The linear relationship was obtained for the three samples which were studied. The highest thermal effects (ΔT) and heat of wetting (Q) among the fossil coals was determined for the lignite from the Bełchatów mine, even though this coal had the least-developed porous structure. One may discern a clear influence of the swelling process upon the measured thermal effects on the basis of this sample.

The purpose of the article was to characterize the international steam coal market based on the latest available data. The information goes back to the first half of 2018. The article focuses on the description of the three largest exporters and importers of steam coal. Representatives in these categories were selected using the latest global statistics on 2017. In 2017, global production of steam coal amounted to 5.68 billion tons and exceeded production in 2016 by 4%. For several years, invariably the world’s leading exporters of steam coal are: Indonesia, Australia and Russia. In total, these three countries in 2017 supplied 73% of steam coal to the international market. However, for the 46% of global steam coal imports (data for 2017), three Asian countries are responsible: China, India and Japan. For each of the six listed countries (i.e. for: three major global exporters and three major global importers), the paper presents volumes related to coal production, export or import. The directions of deliveries or major coal exporters to a given country were also included. At the end of the article, the price situation was presented, as it appeared in the first half of 2018 on the European and Asian markets.

The possibility of the application of nontraditional method of greenhouse gas utilization by the injection of CO2 (sequestration) into porous geological deposits, treated as unconventional gas collectors, requires the fulfillment of basic criteria such as the impact on the environment and long term storage. The important issue is the physical behavior of the deposit during the porous structure saturation phase by carbon dioxide. What should be mentioned first and foremost is: the availability of CO2 transport along the porous structure and adsorption capacity. The work presents the results of water vapor sorption on coal samples from selected Hard Coal Mines of a differentiated carbon content. The received results were presented in the form of sorption and desorption isotherms performed in a temperature of 303 K. It was additionally described with a BET adsorption isotherm. Based on sorption data, a specific surface area was calculated, in accordance with BET theory. The amount of the adsorbed water vapor molecules for the analyzed coal samples was dependent on the degree of metamorphism. The obtained isotherms can be described as type II according to the BET classification. Volumetric type apparatus -adsorption- microburette liquid was used for the sorption experiments. Water vapor sorption in relation to coals allows for the quantitative determination of primary adsorption centers as a measure of adsorbed molecule interconnections with the adsorbent surface. Based on the BET adsorption equation, out of water vapor isotherms, the amount of adsorption active centers, which potentially may take part in CO2 adsorption in coal seams during injection of this gas, was determined. The sorption capacity of coals is determined by the degree of metamorphism, which also has very large impact on the sorption capacity of the deposit.

Observing the situation in the power industry it is easy to see that there are very deep changes in it. They rely primarily on moving away from conventional energy to renewable energy. This is particularly the case for energy in the European Union. Europe strives to be a forerunner in renewable technologies and a leader in the fight against global warming. The mining industry is being abolished and coal-fired power stations are being displaced by renewable energy sources. This situation is not only a result of EU directives but also of grassroots social initiatives inspired by environmental groups. The new lignite openings are being blocked, due to the lack of public acceptance, and the construction of conventional power plants. They do not help economic arguments for the development of energy based on coal, lignite, fuel that is significantly cheaper than the other, or to provide potential investors with the creation of new jobs. Also, coal investments are suspended in other regions of the world. CoalSwarm coal research shows that 2016 saw a dramatic fall in the amount of coal investment in the world. Even in China and India, where most of the coal industry has developed in recent years, about 100 investments have been suspended. The situation in the US is unclear. Although Barack Obama signed the Paris Agreement, current United States President Donal Trump has spoken out about this agreement and in numerous speeches and is eager to return to the dominant role of coal in the American economy. Poland still maintains the carbon structure of the power industry, but the Minister of Energy has announced that the new block at the Ostrołęka power plant will be the last coal-fired power plant to be built in Poland. This statement allows us to believe that there may be a return to Poland’s energy policy in the nearest future, and the long-awaited document, Poland’s energy policy until 2050, will determine the direction of change for the coming years.

The paper presents selected issues related to the development of international coal markets. World consumption of coal dropped for the second year in a row in 2016, primarily due to lower demand from China and the U S. The share of coal in global primary energy consumption decreased to 28%. World coal production accounted to 3.66 billion toe and it was lower by 6.2% when compared to the previous year. More than 60% of this decline took place in China. The decline in global production was more than four times higher than the decrease in consumption. The sufficiency of world resources of coal are estimated at 153 years – that is three times more than the sufficiency of oil and gas resources. After several years of decline, coal prices increased by 77% in 2016. The current spot prices are at the level of $80/t and are close to the 2014 prices. In the European market, after the first half of the year, coal prices reached the level of around 66% higher than in the same period of the last year. The average price in the first half amounted to PLN 12.6/GJ, which is close to the 2012 prices. The share of spot trade in the total purchase amount accounted to approx. 20%. Prices in futures contracts can be estimated on the basis of the Japan-Australia contracts prices and prices in supplies to power plants located in Germany. On average, the prices in supplies to these power plants were higher by approximately 9% in the years 2010–2016 and prices in Australia – Japan contracts were 12% higher than CIF ARA prices in 2017. Global energy coal trade reached about 1.012 billion tonnes in 2016. In 2019, a decline by 4.8% is expected primarily due to the expected reduction in the demand in major importing countries in Asia.

The paper presents selected issues related to the development of international coal markets. World consumption of coal dropped for the second year in a row in 2016, primarily due to the lower demand from China and the US. The share of coal in global primary energy consumption decreased to 28%. World coal production accounted to 3.66 billion toe and it was lower by 6.2% when compared to the previous year. More than 60% of this decline took place in China. The decline in global production was more than four times higher than the decrease in consumption. The sufficiency of the world resources of coal are estimated at 153 years – that is three times more than the sufficiency of oil and gas resources. After several years of decline, coal prices increased by 77% in 2016. The current spot prices are at the level of $80/ton and are close to the 2014 prices. In the European market, after the first half of the year, coal prices reached the level of around 66% higher than in the same period of the last year. The average price in the first half amounted to PLN 12.6/GJ, which is close to the 2012 prices. The share of spot trade in the total purchase amount accounted to approx. 20%. Prices in futures contracts can be estimated on the basis of the Japan-Australia contracts prices and prices in supplies to power plants located in Germany. On average, the prices in supplies to these power plants were higher by approximately 9% in the years 2010 – 2016 and prices in Australia – Japan contracts were 12% higher than CIF ARA prices in 2017. Global energy coal trade reached about 1.012 billion tons in 2016. A decline by 4.8% is expected in 2019 primarily due to the expected reduction in demand in major importing countries in Asia.

Krajowa energetyka od lat oparta jest na węglu kamiennym i brunatnym. Kilkudziesięcioprocentowy udział elektrowni opalanych węglem kamiennym i brunatnym w strukturze wytwórczej wymusza konieczność zakupu tych paliw do produkcji energii elektrycznej w otoczeniu zmiennych cen surowców, kształtowanych na międzynarodowym rynku. Ceny węgla kamiennego są wypadkową wielu zmiennych i zależą nie tylko od światowej sytuacji geopolitycznej czy ekonomicznej, ale mogą być również skutkiem klęsk żywiołowych. Ceny na rynkach międzynarodowych są ze sobą ściśle powiązane. Szczególnie wysokość cen kształtowanych przez największych producentów i eksporterów (między innymi przez Indonezję, Australię czy Chiny) mają wpływ na ceny surowca na rynku europejskim. Są one także punktem odniesienia dla cen węgla brunatnego na lokalnych rynkach. W niniejszym artykule przeanalizowano wpływ zmienności cen węgla kamiennego na rynkach światowych na zmienność krajowych cen paliw (kosztów zakupu) wykorzystywanych do produkcji energii elektrycznej, cen sprzedaży energii przez jednostki wytwórcze oraz cen energii elektrycznej dla odbiorców końcowych. Sprawdzono także czy zmienność cen węgla kamiennego ma wpływ na zmienność cen energii dla przedsiębiorstw przyłączonych do sieci na parametrach wysokiego napięcia i dla gospodarstw domowych. Dodatkowo zbadano także korelację pomiędzy analizowanymi parami zmiennych. Niniejszą analizę wpływu wybranych zmiennych przeprowadzono przy użyciu podstawowych miar statystycznych. W drugiej części badań przeprowadzona zostanie poszerzona analiza wzajemnego wpływu (przyczynowości) zmiany analizowanych parametrów z wykorzystaniem zaawansowanych narzędzi statystycznych.

Australia to kraj bardzo bogaty w zasoby naturalne. Jest znaczącym eksporterem rud żelaza, boksytów, miedzi, złota, niklu oraz cynku. Kraj ten eksportuje także rudy uranu czy też węgiel kamienny i gaz ziemny. We własnym zakresie wykorzystuje również surowiec energetyczny, jakim jest węgiel brunatny. Podobnie jak w Polsce, służy on do produkcji energii elektrycznej zapewniając przy tym bezpieczeństwo energetyczne państwa. Pomimo znacznej odległości dzielącej te dwa kraje, mają one ze sobą wiele wspólnego. Zarówno Australia, jak i Polska opiera swoją elektroenergetykę w większości na rodzimych zasobach węgla kamiennego i brunatnego. Obydwa kraje osiągnęły także zbliżony poziom udziału OZE w miksie energetycznym. Podobny jest również poziom rocznego wydobycia węgla brunatnego. W artykule dokonano porównania górnictwa i energetyki opartej na węglu brunatnym w Australii i w Polsce. Analiza dotyczy ostatnich 20 lat, przy czym szczególną uwagę zwrócono na zmiany, jakie zaszły w tej branży po 2010 roku. Wskazano podobieństwa i różnice występujące w obydwu krajach w zakresie warunków geologiczno-górniczych wydobycia węgla brunatnego oraz jednostkowej efektywności i emisji dwutlenku węgla podczas produkcji energii elektrycznej. Opisano także stan i perspektywy rozwoju trzech kompleksów górniczo-energetycznych węgla brunatnego zlokalizowanych w Latrobe Valley w stanie Wiktoria w południowo-wschodniej Australii.

The volatility of raw material prices and the rising prices of CO2 emission allowances when using fossil fuels to produce electricity and heat are still relevant problems for owners of generating units. The decision-making tools are used in the fuel purchase process. However, these tools should also consider environmental issues.
The article’s main objective is a quantitative analysis of the potential for reducing costs associated with supplying and using hard coal in public power plants as a result of considering the costs of environmental protection and CO2 emission allowances in the process of planning this fuel supply. A mathematical model was developed to optimize the supply of hard coal for the power industry. The tool and elaborated research scenarios made it possible to calculate and analyze the impact of considering the costs of emissions of harmful substances into the environment and CO2 emission allowances on the planning of coal supplies and the reduction of costs related to acquiring and using coal by public power plants. The calculation results were presented on the example of the Polish power sector.
The model’s results confirm that the appropriate selection of coals, taking into account the quality parameters determining the amount of emissions of harmful substances, reduces the amount of these emissions and the total costs of acquiring and using coal in electricity production. However, depending on the considered scenario, the scale of this impact varies. The results of the optimization of coal supplies to power plants and their proper interpretation may constitute an important contribution to making management decisions in energy companies.

The progressive processes of globalization and changes in the global, European and local economy require integrated efforts aimed at solving problems related to development at the national regional and the local level involving the environment, energy sources, climate and technological transformation issues. European Union Member States are given right to create an individual Energy mix. Coal will continue to play a major role in Poland’s energy mix during the next decades. Polish coal reserves can provide energy security for decades.

Despite crude oil and natural gas growth in fuel consumption, coal will continue to be the stabilizer of energy security for the country and play an important role in Poland’s energy mix in the years to come. However, further coal consumption requires investments in low carbon technologies which are of high efficiency and in high-efficiency cogeneration.

The validity of the full utilization of cogeneration potential should be highlighted. Operating cogeneration plants are more expensive than power plants but they are more efficient and generate less carbon emissions. In accordance with the assumptions of the Energy policy of Poland, a low-carbon economy with renewable Energy sources and nuclear Energy should be supported and developed, however the obsolete coal generators should be replaced with low-carbon high-efficient ones.

The determination of the content of ecotoxic elements directly in flue gas is important for determining its actual emission from coal combustion. Moreover, in the BAT for large combustion plants conclusions adopted in 2017, apart from tightening of pollutants emission standards, i.e. SO 2, NO x and dusts, and setting emission limits, among others, for mercury, the monitoring of the actual emission of toxic elements has been established with the use of specific analytical methods. The review and comparison of available methods of analyzing the content of elements in flue gases in accordance with American and European standards has been presented in the article. Moreover, the factors influencing the quality of the obtained measurement results were identified.

The paper presents brown coal as one of the two basic domestic energy raw materials apart from hard coal. Historically, the use of brown coal in Poland is primarily fuel for the power plants. It was used for the production of lignite briquettes in small quantities and as fuel for local boiler houses and as an addition to the production of fertilizers (Konin and Sieniawa). At present, after changes in the case of the quality of fuels used in local boiler plants, brown coal remains as a fuel for the power plants in almost 100%. Currently, the brown coal industry produces about 35% of the cheapest electricity. The cost of electricity production is more than 30% lower than the second basic fuel – hard coal. The existing fuel and energy complexes using brown coal, with the Bełchatów complex at the forefront, are now an important guarantor of Poland’s energy security. In contrast to the other fuels such as: oil, natural gas or hard coal, the cost of electricity production from brown coal is predictable in the long term and almost insensitive to fluctuations in global commodity and currency markets. Its exploitation is carried out using the high technological solutions and respecting all environmental protection requirements, both in the area of coal extraction and electricity generation. Importantly, the fuel and energy complexes using brown coal showed a positive profitability so far and generated surpluses enabling the financing of maintenance and development investments, also in other energy segments. In particular, the sector did not require and has yet not benefited from public aid in the form of, for example, subsidies or tax concessions. Polish brown coal mining has all the attributes necessary for long-term development to ensure the country’s energy security. The document which is a road map for the brown coal industry is the Program for the Brown Coal Mining Sector in Poland adopted by the Council of Ministers on May 30, 2018. The Program covers the years 2018–2030 with a perspective up to 2050 and presents the development directions of the brown coal mining sector in Poland together with the objectives and actions necessary to achieve them. The Program presents a strategy for the development of brown coal mining in Poland in the first half of the 21st century. Possible scenarios have developed in active mining and energy basins as well as in new regions with significant resources of this mineral. This is to enable the most efficient use of deposits in the Złoczew and Konin regions as well as the Gubin and Legnica brown coal basins, and then deposits located in the Rawicz region (Oczkowice) as well as other prospective areas that may eventually replace the existing active mining and energy areas. This will allow power plants to continue to produce inexpensive and clean electricity, using the latest global solutions in the field of clean coal technologies.

In the process of determining the content of impurities, including fossil fuels, crude oil, coke, pitch, plastics, glass, slag, rust, metals, and rock dust, in charcoal and wood briquettes via microscopic examination, the question of the use of ashes from the combustion of grill fuels (taking the scale of the new national sport into account, commonly referred to as „weekend grilling”) was raised. Another reason for addressing this issue was the question regarding the use of organic additives to acidified soil (mineral) fertilizers submitted by one of the clients of the bituminous coal and reservoir rocks analysis laboratory. In addition, the manufacturer of gardening soil has also expressed an interest in an unconventional deacidifying agent; the introduction of a new product with a unique ingredient is considered as a chance to stand out from the competition. A review of the literature shows that attempts to use ashes obtained from the biomass combustion in power boilers have been made. However, due to the biomass composition and additives and pollutants used in biomass for energy purposes, the production of such mixtures has been dropped. Based on the data from numerous samples of grill fuel, which meet the requirements regarding the content of impurities set out in the PN-EN 1860-2 standard, the question of the possible use of ash obtained from charcoal and wood briquette grilling as a component for use in the production of acidified soil (mineral) fertilizers was discussed. The article will present the amount of material obtained based on the statistical sales of barbecue fuels based on the experimentally calculated ash mass resulting from the combustion of 1 kg of starting material. In addition, a logistic proposal for obtaining ash from individual grill users will be developed. On the day of the submission of the present work, the results of the chemical analysis of charcoal and wood briquettes subjected to the gasification process have not yet been obtained. However, based on the microscopic analysis, it can be concluded that the content of impurities in the examined samples is highly unlikely to prevent the use of the mentioned ashes in agriculture.

Coal in Poland is an available conventional fuel providing energy security and independence of the country. Therefore, conventional energy generation should be based on coal with the optimal development of renewable energy sources. Such a solution secures the energy supply based on coal and the independence of political and economic turmoil of global markets. Polish coal reserves can secure the energy supply for decades. Coal will surely be important for energy security in the future despite the growing share of oil and gas in energy mix. The development of renewable power generation will be possible with the conventional energy generation offsetting volatile renewable power generation as Poland’s climate doesn’t allow for the stable and effective use of renewable energy sources. Considering the policy of the European Union with respect to emission reductions of greenhouse gasses and general trends as reflected in the Paris agreement in 2016, as a country we will be forced to increase renewable energy production in our energy mix. However, this process cannot impact the energy security of the country and stability and the uninterrupted supply of energy to consumers. Therefore seeking the compromise with the current energy mix in Poland is the best way to its gradual change with the simultaneous conservation of each of the sources of energy. It’s obvious that Poland can not be lonely energy island in Europe and in the world, which increasingly develops distributed energy and/ renewable technologies as well as energy storage ones. One can notice that without renewable generation and the reduction of coal’s share in country’s energy mix we will become the importer of electricity with raising energy dependence.

Coal combustion processes are the main source of mercury emission to the environment in Poland. Mercury is emitted by both power and heating plants using hard and brown coals as well as in households. With an annual mercury emission in Poland at the level of 10 Mg, the households emit 0.6 Mg. In the paper, studies on the mercury release in the coal and biomass combustion process in household boilers were conducted. The mercury release factors were determined for that purpose. For the analyzed samples the mercury release factors ranged from 98.3 to 99.1% for hard coal and from 99.5% to 99.9% for biomass, respectively. Due to the high values of the determined factors, the amount of mercury released into the environment mainly depends on the mercury content in the combusted fuel. In light of the obtained results, the mercury content in the examined hard coals was 6 times higher than in the biomass (dry basis). Taking the calorific value of fuels into account, the difference in mercury content between coal and biomass decreased, but its content in coal was still 4 times higher. The mercury content determined in that way ranged from 0.7 to 1.7 μg/MJ for hard coal and from 0.1 to 0.5 μg/MJ for biomass, respectively. The main opportunity to decrease the mercury emissions from households is offered by the use of fuels with a mercury content that is as low as possible, as well as by a reduction of fuel consumption. The latter could be obtained by the use of modern boilers as well as by the thermo-modernization of buildings. It is also possible to partially reduce mercury emissions by using dust removal devices.

Po energetyce zawodowej sektor drobnych odbiorców jest drugim ważnym konsumentem węgla energetycznego w Polsce, w latach 2005–2015 zużywającym 10,3–14,3 mln ton węgla (15– –22% w skali kraju). Statystycznie wyróżniane są w nim trzy grupy konsumentów: gospodarstwa domowe, rolnictwo oraz tzw. pozostali odbiorcy, z których najbardziej znaczącą rolę odgrywają gospodarstwa domowe (77–81% rocznego zużycia węgla przez cały sektor). Udział rolnictwa wynosił 12–14% (1,4–1,8 mln ton węgla na rok), a pozostałe kilka procent – grupa pozostałych odbiorców (0,9–1,1 mln ton). Zużycie węgla w całym sektorze, jak również w każdej z grup statystycznych zróżnicowane jest zarówno pod względem regionalnym, jak również wojewódzkim. Pod względem wolumenu największe zużycie węgla przypada na gospodarstwa domowe z regionu N-E (1,9– –2,9 mln ton). W przypadku rolnictwa są to regiony północne (57–62%; łącznie: 0,8–1,1 mln ton węgla/rok). W artykule przeprowadzono także szacunkowy podział mieszkań wg trzech nośników głównych nośników energii zużytych w celach grzewczych: paliwa stałe (dominuje węgiel kamienny), ciepło sieciowe i gaz ziemny. Stwierdzono, że pod względem regionalnym największym udziałem mieszkań opalanych węglem kamiennym dysponują dwa regiony (reg. S-W i N-E; po 26%). Obliczono także koszty ogrzewania przykładowego domu jednorodzinnego położonego na wsi. Wzięto pod uwagę te nośniki energii, które są najbardziej dostępne dla obszarów wiejskich. W wyniku analizy stwierdzono, że węgiel kamienny byłby jednym z najtańszych paliw. Koszty rocznego ogrzewania domu węglem grubym, czy ekogroszkiem nie przekroczyłyby 3 tys. złotych/rok (wg cen z 2016 r.).

Coal production in 2018 increased by 3.3% and amounted to 7.81 million tons. Compared to 2010, it increased by 620 million tons. The structure of coal production in the world is very stable in the analyzed period of 2010–2018. Steam coal dominates in production with a share of 77%. Since 1990, the share of coal in the consumption of primary energy carriers has fallen by 3% in the global economy. In the EU, the share of coal in the consumption of primary energy carriers is more than twice lower than in the world, and in 2018 amounted to 13%. BP estimates the sufficiency of coal proven reserves based on 2018 data for the next 132 years. For oil and gas, they are estimated at 51 years. The decline in hard coal production in the European U nion can be dated almost continuously since 1990, which has decreased by 74%. In 2018, 74 million tons of coal were produced in the EU. In 2018, hard coal consumption in EU countries dropped to 226 million tons, i.e. by 20.6%.

In 2018, global trade in steam coal amounted to 1.14 billion tons. The situation in China is crucial for the international coal market. The slight change in the import policy of this country significantly affects the situation in international trade in steam coal. In 2019, coal prices (at Newcastle, Richards Bay, ARA ports) dropped by an average of 23 U SD/ton. The average decreases for these three indices were 33%. The prices of steam coal in the forecasts presented in the paper are under pressure of the falling demand.

Węgiel kamienny wydobywany w kopalni (węgiel surowy) tworzy substancja organiczna i mineralna. Przed bezpośrednim wykorzystaniem urobek musi być poddany procesom wzbogacania. Stosowane procesy wzbogacania mają na celu usunięcie skały płonnej, pirytu, a także przerostów. Do wzbogacania węgla kamiennego stosowane mogą być zarówno metody wzbogacania na mokro, jak i na sucho. W pracy przedstawiono wybrane ekologiczne i ekonomiczne aspekty procesu suchego odkamieniania węgla kamiennego przy wykorzystaniu separatora powietrzno-wibracyjnego i separatora optyczno-rentgenowskiego. Zastosowanie nowoczesnych urządzeń do suchego odkamieniania, tj. separatory powietrzno-wibracyjne i separatory optyczno-rentgenowskie, umożliwią obniżenie emisji pierwiastków ekotoksycznych ze spalania węgla kamiennego. Wydzielenie pirytu pozwala na obniżenie zawartości siarki, a także innych pierwiastków ekotoksycznych, m.in. rtęci, arsenu, talu, czy ołowiu. Generalnie pod względem ekonomicznym technologia suchego odkamieniania cechuje się niższymi nakładami inwestycyjnymi i kosztami eksploatacyjnymi w porównaniu do metod wzbogacania na mokro. Instalacje suchego odkamieniania są dobrym rozwiązaniem dla inwestycji o krótkim okresie planowanej eksploatacji i/lub dla instalacji o małej wydajności, a także w przypadku ograniczonej dostępności do wody. Dla instalacji o dłuższym okresie eksploatacji i o wyższych wydajnościach, efektywność inwestycji jest wyższa dla metod wzbogacania na mokro. Istnieje również możliwość suchego odkamieniania węgla na dole w kopalni przy użyciu tzw. kruszarek Bradforda. Wydzielony produkt w postaci grubych kamieni może znaleźć zagospodarowanie na dole kopalni, np. do podsadzania wyrobisk.

The article characterizes geological formations occurring in the Polish lignite deposits having the characteristics of raw materials, i.e. accompanying minerals, giving their location, quality characteristics, estimated resources and potential applications. Attention has also been paid to the economic suitability, e.g. in infrastructure works and for the reclamation of many geological formations found in the overburden, classified as so-called earth or rock mass. There are also raw materials of sorption properties representing a huge potential source of minerals valuable for the economy and environmental protection. This refers to e.g.: beidellite clays from Bełchatów, Poznań clays from the region of Konin and Adamów, lacustrine chalk from Bełchatów, as well as Mesozoic limestone from the lignite bedding in Bełchatów. The reasons for the unsatisfactory use of accompanying minerals have been given. The authors described the methods used in the mining operation and processing of associated minerals, also applicable in Poland, as the legal basis for the extraction of these minerals and the economic and financial conditions. They stressed the need to protect mined not associated minerals used by the construction of anthropogenic deposits. This activity primarily requires regulating the legal status of these deposits and the development and application of an economic and financial system that stimulates the economy of these minerals. In summary, the necessary actions were taken to increase the use of the accompanying minerals and their contribution to the balance of mineral resources in the country.