lignite [key] or brown coal, carbonaceous fuel intermediate between coal and peat, brown or yellowish in color and woody in texture. It contains more moisture than coal and tends to dry and crumble when exposed to the air; the flame is long and smoky and the heating power low. The burning of lignite produces more pollution and greenhouse gases than coal. It is found in the United States, Canada, Germany, and elsewhere chiefly in formations formed in the Tertiary period.
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