Is Anthracite Coal Less Toxic to Burn Than Wood??

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Thu. Jan. 22, 2009 7:20 pm

I have asthma, and have real problems when I'm around a wood fire, burning leaves in the fall etc.. But fly ash, coal dust, coal exhaust etc don't bother me at all. Burning anthracite coal is a nearly complete burning process, wood is not burned completely in most boilers, only in some wood-gassification boilers is the burn process nearly complete. So you won't have much of anything coming out of the door when you open your boiler.

My suggestion is to buy some bagged coal, and try it for a few weeks.. see if you don't like the process of burning coal better than the wood.. You certainly won't have the creosote stink in your house all the time,, it may take a while for the creosote smell to completely go away.

Let us know how it works out for you..

Greg L

ray in ma · Post by **ray in ma** » Thu. Jan. 22, 2009 7:41 pm

slu wrote:
I saw an article earlier this winter (sorry, I don't have a link) that quoted a study stating that children born in the fall and winter were more likely to have respiratory difficulties, ie. asthma, bronchitis, etc. than those born other times of the year.

We have two children, both exposed to wood heat (almost exclusively from birth). One born in the fall, the other in the spring. The one born in the fall has suffered with some asthma since childhood, the other, no respiratory problems.

Interesting observation, my 5yo son was born the end of September and had croup up to about 3yo very bad in winter.
This past heating season he got a constant cough which the doctor said was caused by nasal drainage in the back of his throat. Once we switched over to coal he hasn't even had a runny nose. We have oil fired steam.

I was born the end of September and we heated most of the house with wood but I don't remember any respiratory problems as a kid.
Of course there weren't computers and we were outside almost all the time.

Jack Magnum · Post by **Jack Magnum** » Thu. Jan. 22, 2009 11:26 pm

avarose wrote:Hmmm...we'll give the coal a try but I am concerned that I read somewhere about mercury and radiation being released when burning coal. Anyone know if that is indeed true? My hubby is dead set on this boiler and I am dead set on having a house that is not a toxic wasteland! I do realize burning anything will create toxins but just looking for a healthier alternative to wood. I keep getting such different opinions on coal. Some say the toxins are much worse than wood even though you don't smell or see the smoke. Other's say it's much cleaner than wood, I know there must be an answer somewhere and I am looking for the facts.

Debbie

My wife and I have burned wood for years and enjoyed the smell BUT my wifes ashma is bothered by the wood burning. We installed the coal stove this season and she loves the stove for 2 reasons. First off,The coal doesn't bother her respiratory system and two,The coal is an nice even heat.

Jack Magnum · Post by **Jack Magnum** » Thu. Jan. 22, 2009 11:26 pm

*duplicate post*

Steve.N · Post by **Steve.N** » Fri. Jan. 23, 2009 8:12 am

Something that I would add being a long time wood burner is that some species of wood appear to be more toxic than other species. My neighbor's wife is alerigic to Ash, she is fine with other wood smoke but if her husband burns a few sticks of Ash she has an alergic reaction. I can't imagine that happening with coal.

lesterbh · Post by **lesterbh** » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 1:59 pm

I found an EPA document AP42 titled "A National Methodology and Emission Inventory for Residential Fuel Combustion". Units presented were in lbs/tonne, so for comparison purposes I converted to lbs/MMBTU's (million BTU's) so as to compare to some figures for Fuel Oil #2.

I assumed 25 MBTU's/tonne for Anthracite, 15 MBTU's/tonne hard wood, 18 MBTU's/tonne wood pellets, actual values will vary in real usage of course.

Table of results

CO NOx SOx PM10
Oil 0.04 0.13 0.3 0.01 (Fuel Oil #2)
Pellet 2.2 0.77 0.02 0.23
Wood 15.3 0.19 0.03 2.04 (Hard Wood)
Coal 11.0 0.12 0.78 0.40 (Anthracite)

CO = Carbon Monoxide (poisonous if accumulates inside of home)
NOx = Nitrous Oxide (forms smog in atmosphere)
SOx = Sulfur Dioxide (acid rain)
PM10 = Particulates 10um size (deep lung penetration, athsma issues)

Conclusions: I am surprised how high the numbers are for CO for anthracite. I did set off my CO alarm burning bagged charcoal once starting the stove, and another site listed the CO production for Bituminous coal and Anthracite the same, but I just don't believe it because I have yet to set off my CO alarm once while burning Anthracite. The PM10 numbers seem believable, Oil stoves give the best result by a long shot. Oil is not great to burn if you are concerned about acid rain, and Anthracite even less so, so Pellets would give the best results if you want to heat without causing acid rain. But Pellets contribute the most to visible smog, which is surprising. But going from Wood to Anthracite Coal will reduce PM10 pollution almost 5X. Important if you are worried about childhood asthma.

Yanche · Post by **Yanche** » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 4:57 pm

Here's a link to the referenced EPA report:

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei12/area/haneke.pdf

lesterbh · Post by **lesterbh** » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 6:22 pm

Thanks for the link, I did reference that document, but I also used numbers from this link
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch01/final/c01s10.pdf

This document had the data for wood stoves that the other link did not. I also used the link above for the anthracite numbers. (OK I'll admit it, I was so focused on doing the numbers right, I flubbed the reference).

Also I found a quotation from the Haneke document why the CO numbers seem so high. Are you ready?

A conservative emission factor for CO was selected...

We assumed that many residential coal-burning units would be
improperly operated or maintained.

I think these guys used a lot of fancy words to say we are all using our coal stoves improperly. I've been burning coal for less than one season and might be guilty of that, but that is why I read this forum.

Berlin · Post by **Berlin** » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 7:19 pm

coal produces much CO, it's a very high carbon fuel, thus when you have incomplete combustion you get CO. the only way it's going to set off a CO alarm is if your chimney is not venting properly.

lesterbh · Post by **lesterbh** » Mon. Jan. 26, 2009 10:42 pm

Well now I believe the CO numbers, thanks for the Info.

longislandsteve · Post by **longislandsteve** » Mon. Dec. 15, 2014 8:58 am

Can anyone help me out. I installed a new coal stove this year and I am very satisfied with the heat produced. The chimney was installed by a licensed installer and was tested a 5-6 on the water column. I have several carbon monoxide detectors in my house. My question is of eye irritation. Is this common? I seem to be the only one in the house experiencing it.

Post by **coaledsweat** » Mon. Dec. 15, 2014 11:12 am

Dry eyes. I would check the humidity and add a humidifier, very common when heating with stoves.

Snotzalot · Post by **Snotzalot** » Mon. Dec. 15, 2014 11:21 am

coaledsweat wrote:Dry eyes. I would check the humidity and add a humidifier, very common when heating with stoves.

Agree!

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Mon. Dec. 15, 2014 12:29 pm

More than likely that eye condition is from your wood pellets.

longislandsteve · Post by **longislandsteve** » Mon. Dec. 15, 2014 12:58 pm

I am not burning wood pellets. Coal only. Its more of a stinging. And when I really crank it up I feel it even more.