What is Brown Coal?
Coal is formed when plant material is subjected to high temperatures and pressures lasting millions of years. Several stages are involved in the formation of coal. These are:
Plant material, wood
Peat
Brown coal (lignite)
Black coal (sub-bituminous, bituminous and anthracite)
Each successive stage has a lower water content and a higher energy content. This means that when the same quantity of each material is burnt, a greater amount of heat is released for each successive stage.
Victorian brown coal is brown in color and its texture is like woody soil. It contains more moisture than coal.
Victorian brown coal has a high moisture content. It can contain up to 70 per cent water. This high moisture content makes long distance transportation uneconomic. Brown coals have no export value in the raw state.
Read on at
http://www.envict.org.au/inform.php?men ... 6&item=278
This got me thinking, rather than burning brown coal and releasing the greenhousegases that had been sequested by plant materials over millions of years, could brown coal be used in agriculture especially regions where the land is so degregated?
So I googled again and found that trials have been conducted in a vineyard in the Yarra Valley, Vic.
Effects of brown coal derived materials on pH and electrical conductivity of an acidic vineyard soil
Report -
http://www.regional.org.au/au/asssi/sup ... mbufea.htm
Their Conclusion
Results from this field trial showed that commercial coal derived K-humate (18% K-humate and 26% K-humate) and Casulmag products are effective for use in ameliorating soil acidity, and for increasing the level of beneficial cations such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium in the soil.
Does it need to be derived materials? Why not by the base load?
