For example, cement manufacturers can use either
blast furnace slag from steel
mills or pozzolans — natural or manufactured reactive materials that increase the long - term strength of concrete — as substitutes for other, more traditional materials.
Besides strong demand for thermal coal, which is burned in power plants, use of metallurgical coal or coking coal, used in
blast furnaces, is also expected to more than double in China, to about 1.7 billion metric tons by 2016, as the country's steel
mills churn out more steel for automobiles, skyscrapers and export goods, the Peabody study says.