Lignite

Porphyry

Lignite vs Porphyry

Lignite

Porphyry

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Definition

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

Porphyry is a reddish-brown to purple igneous rock containing large phenocrysts of various minerals embedded in a fine-grained matrix

History

Origin

France

Egypt

Discoverer

Unknown

Etymology

From French, Latin lignum wood + -ite1

From Old French porfire, from Italian porfiro and in some cases directly from Latin porphyrites

Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Other Categories

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

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Amorphous, Glassy

Porphyritic

Color

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

Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, Rust, White

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Veined or Pebbled

Dull

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

for Road Aggregate, Steel Production

Construction Aggregate

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Electricity Generation

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Types

Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite

Rhomb Porphyry

Features

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

Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Present

Absent

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.

Porphyry is formed in two stages: the magma cools slowly deep within the crust or the magma is cools rapidly as it erupts from a volcano, creating small grains that are usually invisible to naked eye.

Composition

Mineral Content

Biotite, Chert, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Quartz, Silica

Compound Content

Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

16-7

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Irregular

Streak

Black

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Dull

Compressive Strength

-150.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

1.7

Specific Gravity

1.1-1.42.5-4

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent to Opaque

Density

800-801 g/cm³2.5-2.52 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

1.26 kJ/Kg K0.71 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

China, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam

Africa

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

Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa

Europe

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

Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

Canada, Cuba, Jamaica, USA

South America

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

New South Wales, New Zealand, Western Australia

Lignite vs Porphyry 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 Porphyry Reserves. Lignite is a soft brownish coal which shows traces of plants and is intermediate between bituminous coal and peat. Porphyry is a reddish-brown to purple igneous rock containing large phenocrysts of various minerals embedded in a fine-grained matrix. 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 Porphyry information and Lignite vs Porphyry characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Lignite vs Porphyry 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 Porphyry characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Lignite and Properties of Porphyry. Learn more about Lignite vs Porphyry in the next section. The interior uses of Lignite include whereas the interior uses of Porphyry include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Lignite and Porphyry, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Lignite in construction industry include For road aggregate, Steel production and that of Porphyry include Construction aggregate.

More about Lignite and Porphyry

Here you can know more about Lignite and Porphyry. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Lignite and Porphyry consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Lignite includes and mineral content of Porphyry includes Biotite, Chert, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Quartz, Silica. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Lignite vs Porphyry, 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, Porphyry is available in black, brown, green, grey, red, rust, white colors. Appearance of Lignite is Veined or Pebbled and that of Porphyry is Dull. Properties of rock is another aspect for Lignite vs Porphyry. The hardness of Lignite is 1 and that of Porphyry is 6-7. The types of Lignite are Xyloid Lignite or Fossil Wood and Compact Lignite or Perfect Lignite whereas types of Porphyry are Rhomb Porphyry. 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 Porphyry is white. The specific heat capacity of Lignite is 1.26 kJ/Kg K and that of Porphyry is 0.71 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 Porphyry is heat resistant, impact resistant.