Coal, the Black Carbon

The first thing that we could think of about black carbon is coal. Coals are complex heterogeneous solids that consist of a large polymeric matrix of aromatic structures commonly called the coal macromolecules. These macromolecules may vary widely in their chemical and physical properties [1]. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen [2]. Indeed, coal (from old English term Col, meaning mineral of fossilized carbon) contains mainly carbon, the conversion of dead vegetation called carbonization [3]. Archeological evidence in China indicates surface mining of coal and household usage after approximately 3490 BC [4].