brown coal
1
5.8
- noun
- /braʊn koʊl/
- UK
:
carbón marrón
- The government is investing in cleaner technologies to reduce the environmental impact of brown coal mining.
Examples
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Throughout the 1980s, many East European countries increased their mining and utilization of brown coal as their primary energy source.
Academic text (1990) -
Various tests were conducted in a demonstration plant that operates on 30 metric tons per hour of dried brown coal.
Academic text (2000) -
Second, an abundance of dirty brown coal, utilized as the primary energy source, has contributed to the area's already severe environmental problems.
Academic text (1990) -
Currently, there are some guys trying to protect a small area of forest from being cut down to make way for a brown coal mining site near Cologne.
Blog text (24) -
Given its limited energy resources, Bulgaria produced more than half of its electricity by burning high-sulfur brown coal and lignite.
Academic text (1995) -
Together, the two deals represent the biggest foreign investment in Bulgaria since the beginning of the transition period, and they increase the reliance on indigenous brown coal for electricity production.
Academic text (2002) -
Decin, a heavily industrialized city in the Czech Republic with a population of 55,000, has a district heating system composed of plants that burn brown coal.
Academic text (1997) -
Rheinbraun AG studied the use of sewage sludge and loaded coke as co-feedstocks with dried brown coal in the high-temperature Winkler gasification process.
Academic text (2000) -
The power plant generates electricity by burning brown coal, which produces steam and emissions.
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Many towns in Eastern Europe rely on brown coal as a primary energy source due to its abundance.
Synonyms
451
1.0
A hard black or brown rock that burns for fuel
1
8.7
A soft brown coal used for fuel that gives less heat than harder coal
A soft brown coal that gives less energy when burned
How Carbonized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a soft, brownish coal...' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'brown' (a color/description) with 'coal' (a fossil fuel); it names a subtype of coal characterized by its brown color and properties. This descriptive compounding is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English composition patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
The name brown coal comes from a simple picture: it is coal that looks brown and is softer than hard black coal. That's why people call this type of coal brown coal to mean a middle-quality 'fuel' that gives 'less energy' than black coal.