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Onwards and Upwards to Greater Things - King Coal (Energy Essay #2)
As I discussed previously, by the 13th century Europe was in an energy crisis. The population had grown to the point that the forests that they were dependent upon for fuel were dwindling fast, going up in smoke. Industry required voracious amounts, in addition to the requirements of the burgeoning population.
England suffered more than the mainland countries, as it had limited forests but comparatively advanced industries. Wood shortages became so severe that officials forbid the cutting of any of the Crown’s forests. They even went so far as hire sheriffs to protect these forests, though luckily, not all of them had to contend with pesky men in green tights. At times, officials even shut down metal forges around the nation in an attempt to curtail demand on wood.
The 14th century brought a brief respite, though I am sure that society would have preferred an alternative to the plague. Monty Python skits not withstanding, most would have preferred NOT to have endured the cries of “Bring out your dead!” The plague killed off one third of the population, and the reduced demands on the forests allowed them a chance to grow back.
By the 15th century however, the population had rebounded, and the pressures upon the forests resumed, driving prices for wood up at times such that firewood became available only to the wealthiest. The poor were forced to look elsewhere for their daily fuel, turning to dried dung, peat, and a rock that burned.
Yes, the poor turned to coal. Comprised of dead trees, plants and other organic material which has been buried for millennia compressed and cooked into a carbon bearing, soft mineral. The softer varieties were easy to find, lying near the surface, and in some places, even emerging from the earth. But, these softer varieties were of lesser quality. The quality of coal is dependent upon the amount of carbon contained within. It is generally dependent upon how long the coal was buried in the earth, with the older varieties being of better quality. Hard, high-carbon coal burns hot and relatively cleanly, whereas soft, low-carbon coal is dirty, producing a less intense heat. Unfortunately, the longer the coal is buried, generally translates into it being found at greater depths.
At first, few Englishmen considered coal a viable alternative. The soft, brown lignite the poor turned to for fuel produces an acrid, choking smoke when burned, irritating the eyes and blackening walls and clothes. But, as they were the ones hired to dig the stuff, it was what they knew and could afford.
It was not suited to many industries, as it was full of sulfur and other impurities, which fouled the taste of the brewery and bakery products, and interfered with the chemistry of iron, precluding its use in smelting furnaces. Wood was by far the preferred fuel, yet it was nigh unto unavailable.
But, as the miners dug deeper, they discovered other, more suitable forms of coal. The bitumen and anthracite varieties they brought up from the depths were purer and cleaner burning, more suitable to industry. Eventually, even the most pessimistic of Englishmen had to admit the economics of coal was superior.
England had a great abundance of coal, which was found within relatively compact coalfields. Wood was scarce, spread across wide areas, and required an inefficient gathering process. A pound of coal took less energy to dig out from the earth than it took to gather a pound of wood. But most importantly, that pound of coal contained up to five times the energy of wood, when burned. This higher energy density made it much more efficient a fuel.
Coal was found in concentrated fields, allowing the mining and processing facilities to be centralized, lessening costs. The mined coal was easily transported, and its higher energy density made transportation across longer distances cost effective. In short, the efficiency and therefore higher profits made coal highly desirable as a fuel for industry.
Within a few decades, England had converted from a wood fueled industrial base to a coal fueled one. Industry thrived, and society advanced. By the early 1700’s, thousands of coal fired factories had popped up around the countryside, yet tended to concentrate where there was either ready access to coal, workers or both. Thousands upon thousands of English lived in the cities, working in the coal fueled factories, and burning coal for their heat and cooking needs at home. London had turned into the world’s commercial center and its largest metropolis, with a population of more than six hundred thousand people. It alone required more than a thousand tons of coal a day, and required more each year. The infamous London Fog by this point was more smog than fog, thanks to the black smoke belching from the smokestacks of industry.
But this period of cheap energy was short lived. The easy to mine surface deposits were gone, and miners had dug deeper and deeper into the earth following the black veins of coal. As they went deeper, problems arose. The mine shafts delved below the water table, causing the mines to flood and fill with water. The coal was there, but with the mines flooded, there was no way to get it. Around the country, mines lost productivity, even shutting down as the mineshafts filled up.
Pumps were devised, driven by horses. But these were crude, inefficient and slow, not to mention expensive to build, and even more expensive to operate, considering the horses needed to be tended and fed. These horse driven pumps could not empty the deeper mines faster than they filled with water, and even those that could be emptied, often could not afford to feed the teams of horses required. A better solution was needed.
Enter a metal smith and Baptist preacher turned tinkerer by the name of Thomas Newcomen. He had devised a “heat engine”, a building-sized contraption of brick, iron pipes, and brass rising 30 feet above the floor. It was built in a two-story brick building 160 feet above a flooded mineshaft beneath the Coneygree Coal Works in Staffordshire, England. It was the latest of his contraptions, but his track record had not been inspiring, as none of his previous efforts had worked. This latest engine of his was the result of ten years of experimentation and failure. Newcomen was deep in debt; only steps away from debtors’ prison. Yet his financial backers had faith in him and his skills, though perhaps, it was more desperation to find a solution than faith in the solution itself.
So, early in the spring of 1712, his contraption was complete. A group of mine officials, investors, and creditors’ agents had gathered to witness his first test, expecting failure, but hopeful for success. At Newcomen’s command, an assistant fed coal into a firebox beneath the boiler. A valve is turned, releasing steam into a brass cylinder which slowly moved a piston up and down, propelling a massive pump run down to the mineshaft beneath. With bated breath, the crowd of onlookers watched and waited, until with a gurgle, an open pipe outside the building spews forth a black miasma of water, and began to drain the mine with every 12 second cycle. Newcomen’s engine was a success, and made him and many others rich men.
The jubilant celebration over the engine’s success was, if anything, shortsighted. The engine was comically inefficient, wasting 99 percent of the coal’s heat energy. It was expensive, noisy and a maintenance nightmare. It burned through more than a ton and half of coal a day. Yet it heralded a great success.
The new device was capable of replacing a pumping operation consisting of fifty horses, cutting operating expenses by 85 percent. Within the next twenty years, Newcomen engines were installed at mines across England and Europe, restoring mine after flooded mine to operation. Coal production doubled in 45 years to nearly 6 tons by 1750. By 1800, England alone was producing 10 million tons, becoming the undisputed king of coal.
Yet this was not the most important element of Newcomen’s success. His biggest achievement was that he had successfully created an Engine. A device which transforms the chemical energy embodied in coal into physical energy, and harnessed this energy to perform work. Up until this point, wood, coal and other fuels were simply sources of heat. Their chemical energy was converted through burning into heat energy, typically for the purposes of heating or cooking. Newcomen’s engine did what humans, oxen and other animals did naturally when they broke food down into caloric energy. Yet animals have a limit to their work capacity. No matter how much you feed them, their muscles can only perform a limited amount of work in a given time. Engines on the other hand, could simply be built larger and fed more fuel, to meet higher work loads. Plus, they never complained of being overworked and underpaid, or griped about the monotony of what they did.
This Steam driven engine gave humans their first real mastery over energy, and in doing so, changed the world. Yes, we had previously captured the energy of the wind via windmills, and the energy of water via waterwheels. Yet these were limited by being fixed in location, and subject to the whims of nature. If the wind died down, the windmills stood still. If there was a drought, the rivers and streams slowed or dried up, reducing the effectiveness of the water mills. The steam engine was able to be installed at any location, and could be run continuously, so long as fuel was fed to it. Humans controlled when and where it worked, instead of nature.
It revolutionized the world, which hissed, steamed and whistled into the Industrial Age.
England suffered more than the mainland countries, as it had limited forests but comparatively advanced industries. Wood shortages became so severe that officials forbid the cutting of any of the Crown’s forests. They even went so far as hire sheriffs to protect these forests, though luckily, not all of them had to contend with pesky men in green tights. At times, officials even shut down metal forges around the nation in an attempt to curtail demand on wood.
The 14th century brought a brief respite, though I am sure that society would have preferred an alternative to the plague. Monty Python skits not withstanding, most would have preferred NOT to have endured the cries of “Bring out your dead!” The plague killed off one third of the population, and the reduced demands on the forests allowed them a chance to grow back.
By the 15th century however, the population had rebounded, and the pressures upon the forests resumed, driving prices for wood up at times such that firewood became available only to the wealthiest. The poor were forced to look elsewhere for their daily fuel, turning to dried dung, peat, and a rock that burned.
Yes, the poor turned to coal. Comprised of dead trees, plants and other organic material which has been buried for millennia compressed and cooked into a carbon bearing, soft mineral. The softer varieties were easy to find, lying near the surface, and in some places, even emerging from the earth. But, these softer varieties were of lesser quality. The quality of coal is dependent upon the amount of carbon contained within. It is generally dependent upon how long the coal was buried in the earth, with the older varieties being of better quality. Hard, high-carbon coal burns hot and relatively cleanly, whereas soft, low-carbon coal is dirty, producing a less intense heat. Unfortunately, the longer the coal is buried, generally translates into it being found at greater depths.
At first, few Englishmen considered coal a viable alternative. The soft, brown lignite the poor turned to for fuel produces an acrid, choking smoke when burned, irritating the eyes and blackening walls and clothes. But, as they were the ones hired to dig the stuff, it was what they knew and could afford.
It was not suited to many industries, as it was full of sulfur and other impurities, which fouled the taste of the brewery and bakery products, and interfered with the chemistry of iron, precluding its use in smelting furnaces. Wood was by far the preferred fuel, yet it was nigh unto unavailable.
But, as the miners dug deeper, they discovered other, more suitable forms of coal. The bitumen and anthracite varieties they brought up from the depths were purer and cleaner burning, more suitable to industry. Eventually, even the most pessimistic of Englishmen had to admit the economics of coal was superior.
England had a great abundance of coal, which was found within relatively compact coalfields. Wood was scarce, spread across wide areas, and required an inefficient gathering process. A pound of coal took less energy to dig out from the earth than it took to gather a pound of wood. But most importantly, that pound of coal contained up to five times the energy of wood, when burned. This higher energy density made it much more efficient a fuel.
Coal was found in concentrated fields, allowing the mining and processing facilities to be centralized, lessening costs. The mined coal was easily transported, and its higher energy density made transportation across longer distances cost effective. In short, the efficiency and therefore higher profits made coal highly desirable as a fuel for industry.
Within a few decades, England had converted from a wood fueled industrial base to a coal fueled one. Industry thrived, and society advanced. By the early 1700’s, thousands of coal fired factories had popped up around the countryside, yet tended to concentrate where there was either ready access to coal, workers or both. Thousands upon thousands of English lived in the cities, working in the coal fueled factories, and burning coal for their heat and cooking needs at home. London had turned into the world’s commercial center and its largest metropolis, with a population of more than six hundred thousand people. It alone required more than a thousand tons of coal a day, and required more each year. The infamous London Fog by this point was more smog than fog, thanks to the black smoke belching from the smokestacks of industry.
But this period of cheap energy was short lived. The easy to mine surface deposits were gone, and miners had dug deeper and deeper into the earth following the black veins of coal. As they went deeper, problems arose. The mine shafts delved below the water table, causing the mines to flood and fill with water. The coal was there, but with the mines flooded, there was no way to get it. Around the country, mines lost productivity, even shutting down as the mineshafts filled up.
Pumps were devised, driven by horses. But these were crude, inefficient and slow, not to mention expensive to build, and even more expensive to operate, considering the horses needed to be tended and fed. These horse driven pumps could not empty the deeper mines faster than they filled with water, and even those that could be emptied, often could not afford to feed the teams of horses required. A better solution was needed.
Enter a metal smith and Baptist preacher turned tinkerer by the name of Thomas Newcomen. He had devised a “heat engine”, a building-sized contraption of brick, iron pipes, and brass rising 30 feet above the floor. It was built in a two-story brick building 160 feet above a flooded mineshaft beneath the Coneygree Coal Works in Staffordshire, England. It was the latest of his contraptions, but his track record had not been inspiring, as none of his previous efforts had worked. This latest engine of his was the result of ten years of experimentation and failure. Newcomen was deep in debt; only steps away from debtors’ prison. Yet his financial backers had faith in him and his skills, though perhaps, it was more desperation to find a solution than faith in the solution itself.
So, early in the spring of 1712, his contraption was complete. A group of mine officials, investors, and creditors’ agents had gathered to witness his first test, expecting failure, but hopeful for success. At Newcomen’s command, an assistant fed coal into a firebox beneath the boiler. A valve is turned, releasing steam into a brass cylinder which slowly moved a piston up and down, propelling a massive pump run down to the mineshaft beneath. With bated breath, the crowd of onlookers watched and waited, until with a gurgle, an open pipe outside the building spews forth a black miasma of water, and began to drain the mine with every 12 second cycle. Newcomen’s engine was a success, and made him and many others rich men.
The jubilant celebration over the engine’s success was, if anything, shortsighted. The engine was comically inefficient, wasting 99 percent of the coal’s heat energy. It was expensive, noisy and a maintenance nightmare. It burned through more than a ton and half of coal a day. Yet it heralded a great success.
The new device was capable of replacing a pumping operation consisting of fifty horses, cutting operating expenses by 85 percent. Within the next twenty years, Newcomen engines were installed at mines across England and Europe, restoring mine after flooded mine to operation. Coal production doubled in 45 years to nearly 6 tons by 1750. By 1800, England alone was producing 10 million tons, becoming the undisputed king of coal.
Yet this was not the most important element of Newcomen’s success. His biggest achievement was that he had successfully created an Engine. A device which transforms the chemical energy embodied in coal into physical energy, and harnessed this energy to perform work. Up until this point, wood, coal and other fuels were simply sources of heat. Their chemical energy was converted through burning into heat energy, typically for the purposes of heating or cooking. Newcomen’s engine did what humans, oxen and other animals did naturally when they broke food down into caloric energy. Yet animals have a limit to their work capacity. No matter how much you feed them, their muscles can only perform a limited amount of work in a given time. Engines on the other hand, could simply be built larger and fed more fuel, to meet higher work loads. Plus, they never complained of being overworked and underpaid, or griped about the monotony of what they did.
This Steam driven engine gave humans their first real mastery over energy, and in doing so, changed the world. Yes, we had previously captured the energy of the wind via windmills, and the energy of water via waterwheels. Yet these were limited by being fixed in location, and subject to the whims of nature. If the wind died down, the windmills stood still. If there was a drought, the rivers and streams slowed or dried up, reducing the effectiveness of the water mills. The steam engine was able to be installed at any location, and could be run continuously, so long as fuel was fed to it. Humans controlled when and where it worked, instead of nature.
It revolutionized the world, which hissed, steamed and whistled into the Industrial Age.