Free Energy
August 3rd, 2007
While doing some work around my house, I found our old coal chute, which had been boarded over and backfilled with coal.
I now have a barrow full of coal.
How does one dispose of a barrow full of coal? Google only leads me to methods and facilities for recycling coal ash. Converting coal into coal ash does not sound like a lot of fun or very environmentally responsible.
I even wrote to the Coal Education Development and Resource folks, thinking they’d know what to do with coal. They have pictures of trees on their website, so surely they can tell me how to legally and environmentally-responsibly dispose of my fossil fuel.
They have thus far not responded. Thanks guys.
My friend Lance did pick up a chunk and marvel how 100 years ago, everyone knew what coal looked like. He took a nugget home to show his kids.
Checking eBay, the closest thing I can find is a guy selling miniature imitation coal for people building scale model railroads.
Suggestions given so far have indeed included “Christmas presents for the next 40 years” so I don’t need that one again. Plus, there’s the issue of storage. I’d like to use my barrow for other things.
Free bag of coal to whoever gives me the best suggestion for removing the coal from my life.
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Why not just bury it? That’s where it came from. :)
August 3rd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Can you donate or sell the coal to the tweetsie railroad?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweetsie_Railroad
You are in Ashville right? So that’s not horribly far.
-jef”really want’s to go to the whitewater training center out in the Asheville area”spaleta
August 5th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Yeah, just go with the ‘bury it’ idea or crush it first and compost. Can’t be any more environmentally friendly than that.
August 6th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I would contact a power company that uses it and sell it to them… If you are in the Boston area.. I think the MIT power plant uses coal.. because they are using it in an experiment that burns the coal (heating water and turning into electricity). The vapours are captured and fed to algae which is turned into diesel which can then be burned again… etc etc etc. It is a efficient solar powered plant using cheaper technology than solar cells.
August 28th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Can’t you just burn it in your charcoal grill?
May 16th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I think Stephen Smoogen’s idea is the best!