Sulfur in Illinois Coal

Illinois coal tends to have a bit of sulfur in it.  Unfortunately, that makes it difficult to use as fuel for power plants, because it produces sulfur oxides, which in turn combines with water to produce acid rain.  A story of how sulfur in coal damaged cars and clothes in Peoria, IL, is described in

D. J. Campbell, E. A. Wright, M. O. Dayisi, M. R. Hoehn, B. F. Kennedy, B. M. Maxfield, “Classroom Illustrations of Acidic Air Pollution Using Nylon Fabric”, J. Chem. Educ., 2011, 88, 387-391.  The pictures show yellowish elemental sulfur and white crystalline sulfate salts on bituminous coal exposures near Bartonville, IL.