bituminous coal
1
6.6
- noun
- /bɪˈtjuːmɪnəs koʊl/
- Specialized
:
carbón bituminoso
- Activated carbon can be made from just about any type of carbonaceous material; however, bituminous coal and coconut shell are the two most often used.
Examples
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In many regions, bituminous coal is mined for its high energy content and smoky flame.
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Mr. George L. Carter, the founder of Coalwood, came in on the back of a mule in 1887, finding nothing but wilderness and, after he dug a little, one of the richest seams of bituminous coal in the world.
Fiction book (1999) -
That's where I got my start- from bituminous coal.
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He's developing a technology that'll burn low-grade bituminous coal more efficiently.
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Jeannette's dad is developing a technology to burn low-grade bituminous coal more efficiently. - Well, isn't that nice? - Hmm.
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Coalwood, West Virginia, where I grew up, was built for the purpose of extracting the millions of tons of rich, bituminous coal that lay beneath it.
Fiction book (1999) -
Lignites will tend to be more reactive than bituminous coal, and anthracite will tend to be the least reactive.
Blog text (32) -
About 40 percent of all U.S. coal for utility boilers and about 70 percent of the bituminous coal mined in the eastern and midwestern United States receives some cleaning or beneficiation before combustion.
Academic text (1990) -
The steel industry relies heavily on bituminous coal to produce coke.
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Bituminous coal burns readily and is often used for generating electricity.
Synonyms
49
1.0
A small glowing piece left from a fire
A dark fuel that burns easily and makes a lot of smoke
How Hard
1
9.8
- Specialized
1
6.6
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
8.7
14
5.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'bituminous' (tar-like, sticky) directly modifies 'coal' (fossil fuel), so the phrase denotes a coal that has tarry/hydrocarbon qualities. This is literal and compositional (common cross-linguistically for adjective + substance nouns), so a learner who knows both constituents would be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Bituminous coal comes from bitumen, an old word for thick 'tar', so it literally means bitumen-like coal. Because this coal has tarry material, it burns easily and often with a smoky, yellow flame, so today bituminous coal means coal that is tarry and burns that way.