What are Some Uses of Sedimentary Rocks in Engineering?
Iron ore isn’t a sedimentary rock. It’s iron ore. Coal is obviously burned in power plants to generate electricity. That’s about it. Well, I guess you could go really old-school and have a coal-fired furnace in your house. The biggest use of sedimentary rock has nothing to do with digging it out of the ground — sedimentary rock is where oil and gas occur. We need oil and gas, we pump it out of sedimentary rock. We used to use chalk on blackboards, but I suppose they don’t do that now. However, chalk is still used by gymnasts to give themselves better grip — you may see that in the Olympics, if anyone gives a damn about the Olympics. I don’t. Limestone is used in concrete, as building stones, in antacids, as a soil conditioner, and part of the process of making steel making. Shale is used to make brick. Sandstone is used in construction and glass production. Many sedimentary rocks are simply dug up as is, in small pieces, or crushed into construction sand and gravel with various engin
