Yet another ash related question

lsayre wrote:Not having grown up around coal, what is bank coal?

Rob R. wrote:"Bank coal" usually refers to coal that was previously mined and discarded (often left in huge piles, or 'banks') because the size was not in demand, or because the quality was not what they were looking for. For a long time, hand-fired equipment was the only game in town...so rice & buckwheat had no market. I am surprised that there is even much of it still around, considering the co-gen plants that burn it and the market for the smaller sizes.

mattcoalburner wrote:Bank coal is just what it says, It is coal that was considered scrap years ago and dumped on the side of a bank or hill. Years ago the smaller coal (rice and barley) and some of the larger junk coal were placed on the bank beacause they were not premium coal. Rice was not used in the railroad or steel industy, it wasnt even used in home heatng until many years later when boiler manufacturers decided to develop a use for it. So it sat on the banks sometimes at deserted mine pits, and old wash yards. It is now being blended with fresly mined coal. Same hold true with silt, no use for it until congeneration was developed. I hope this helps.