Three Methods of Making Rapid Coal (Semi-Technical)
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, January 29, 2026 (Donate)
Introduction
Coal doesn’t require millions of years to form, yet we are
often bombarded with that idea that it takes long ages to convert. I previously
published on rapid coal formation here.[1]
The great thing about science is that more research has been done, and the
results are exciting.
Examples are becoming more readily available for methods of
coal formation that takes short periods of time—often rapid, which mimics
catastrophic conditions like those present during the global Flood of Noah’s
day.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, by Underwood
& Underwood, 1906, Public Domain
The Three Methods
I wanted to outline a few methods of rapid carbonization
which is the underlying process of coal formation. The first is
the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biomass. It takes hours to form—less
than a day.
In more technical terms, the method
utilizes wet plant material which is then heated in subcritical water (often
~180–350 °C) in a sealed reactor, causing it to generate its own pressure. In
hours, dehydration, decarboxylation, and polymerization/aromatization
concentrate carbon and form a coal-like solid (“hydrochar”) that is commonly
described as resembling low-rank coal (lignite/brown coal) regarding fuel
behavior and elemental ratios.[2]
The second method uses high-temperature,
high-pressure “artificial maturation/coalification” experiments. It can convert
in minutes but can take days or weeks depending on the pressure and
temperature.
In more technical terms, the method
takes organic matter (e.g., lignite/vitrinite-rich material) is heated at
elevated temperatures (hundreds of °C) under confining pressure in sealed
systems (piston-cylinder, autoclaves). This accelerates the same
maturation/coalification reactions used in basin models (aromatization and loss
of O- and H-bearing functional groups). In the studies, it measured coal-rank
proxies such as vitrinite reflectance after run times ranging from very short
to days (and longer in some designs), demonstrating rapid rank advancement
under controlled lab conditions.[3]
The third method takes lower grade coal and
increases its rank to a better coal rapidly.
Technically, the method uses rapid
thermal upgrading of coal kind of like igneous intrusion/contact metamorphism
(rapid heating during sill/dike emplacement). In other words, the method uses pre-existing
coal seams that when heated intensely mimics when magma intrudes nearby
(sills/dikes). The heating event can be geologically brief, yet it can drive
fast devolatilization, coking textures, and rank jumps to better and higher
quality coal concentrated near the intrusion. The “rapid” aspect here is the
short-lived, high-temperature pulse associated with emplacement and cooling.[4]
Conclusion
Coal doesn’t require millions of years to form—in fact, it
has never been observed to form over long ages—that is just speculation based
on a secular worldview. Yet, we have several examples where it doesn’t require
long ages to form the basis of coal and advance its rank.
These methods mimic conditions that would have been present during the Flood of Noah and are feasible for rapid formation on a larger scale.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist since 1998 helping out in various
churches and running an apologetics website. He spent 21 years working at Answers
in Genesis as a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding
news anchor for Answers News. He was also head of the Oversight
Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a
Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a
Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and
running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic
materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a
grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar,
Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over 25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.
[1] B.
Hodge, “Coal—A
Renewable Resource?”, Biblical Authority Ministries, April 11,
(2024).
[2] C.
Liu et al., “Efficient Low Temperature Hydrothermal Carbonization of Biomass…” Energies
(2017); M. Aliyu et al., “Improvement of the fuel properties of dairy manure by
hydrothermal carbonization…” PLOS ONE (2022).
[3] R.
Le Bayon et al., maturation experiments with run lengths up to ~25 days using
high-pressure apparatus (vitrinite reflectance focus), International Journal
of Coal Geology (2012); W.-L. Huang, “Experimental study of vitrinite
maturation…” artificial maturation of lignite over 250–450 °C (time-dependent
rank changes), Organic Geochemistry (1996).
[4] S.
M. Rimmer et al., “Contact metamorphism of coals…” (documents
petrographic/geochemical changes from heating by sills, including coking
evidence), International Journal of Coal Geology (2025); N. Wang et al.,
intrusion metamorphism converting coal to natural coke and higher-rank
products, International Journal of Coal Geology (2024).
