Lignite

Oil shale

Lignite vs Oil shale

Lignite

Oil shale

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Definition

Lignite is a soft brownish coal which shows traces of plants and is intermediate between bituminous coal and peat

Oil Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil is extracted

History

Origin

France

Discoverer

Unknown

Etymology

From French, Latin lignum wood + -ite1

From Old English scealu in its base sense of thing that divides or separate

Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Family

Group

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Amorphous, Glassy

Splintery

Color

Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey

Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Red, Yellow

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Veined or Pebbled

Muddy

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Exterior Uses

Other Architectural Uses

Industry

Construction Industry

for Road Aggregate, Steel Production

Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Serves as an Oil and Gas Reservoir rock

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Electricity Generation

An Oil and Gas Reservoir

Types

Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite

Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale

Features

Generally rough to touch, Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel

Easily splits into thin plates, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Very fine grained rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Present

Formation

Coal formation takes place due to accumulation of plant debris in a swamp environment. The Coal formation process continues, as peat turns into lignite brown or black coal at increasing heat and pressure.

Oil Shale forms on the beds of seas and lakes and its formation starts with the organic debris settling and accumulating at the bottom of a lake or sea which are then transformed into rock with the help of high temperature and pressure.

Composition

Mineral Content

Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides

Compound Content

Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur

Ca, Fe, Mg, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

12-3

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Very fine-grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Streak

Black

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Dull

Compressive Strength

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Slaty

Toughness

2.6

Specific Gravity

1.1-1.42.2-2.8

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

800-801 g/cm³2.4-2.8 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

1.26 kJ/Kg K0.39 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam

Bangladesh, China, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, Syria, Thailand, Turkey

Africa

Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania

Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

Europe

Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

Canada, USA

South America

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela

Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia

Lignite vs Oil shale Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Lignite and Oil shale Reserves. Lignite is a soft brownish coal which shows traces of plants and is intermediate between bituminous coal and peat. Oil Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil is extracted. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Lignite vs Oil shale information and Lignite vs Oil shale characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Lignite vs Oil shale Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Lignite vs Oil shale characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Lignite and Properties of Oil shale. Learn more about Lignite vs Oil shale in the next section. The interior uses of Lignite include whereas the interior uses of Oil shale include . Due to some exceptional properties of Lignite and Oil shale, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Lignite in construction industry include For road aggregate, Steel production and that of Oil shale include Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Serves as an oil and gas reservoir rock.

More about Lignite and Oil shale

Here you can know more about Lignite and Oil shale. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Lignite and Oil shale consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Lignite includes and mineral content of Oil shale includes Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Lignite vs Oil shale, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Lignite is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors whereas, Oil shale is available in black, brown, buff, green, grey, red, yellow colors. Appearance of Lignite is Veined or Pebbled and that of Oil shale is Muddy. Properties of rock is another aspect for Lignite vs Oil shale. The hardness of Lignite is 1 and that of Oil shale is 2-3. The types of Lignite are Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite whereas types of Oil shale are Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Lignite is black while that of Oil shale is white. The specific heat capacity of Lignite is 1.26 kJ/Kg K and that of Oil shale is 0.39 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Lignite is heat resistant whereas Oil shale is heat resistant, impact resistant.