Brown coal having been squeezed and heated less has much higher moisture content than black coal. The brown coal of LaTrobe Valley has between 60% - 70% moisture, where as black coal has between 10%- 20% moisture, while the driest black coal, Anthracite has no water in it.

Moisture content is important when considering its energy content. When black coal is burnt in a power station boiler, it releases 23 - 30 megajoules of energy per kilogram of coal. When brown coal is burnt, it releases only 6 - 9 megajoules of energy per kilogram of coal because it is 60% - 70% water.

In the Northern Hemisphere, some black coal has 3% of sulphur in it. Burning of high sulphur coals in Germany is thought to have contributed to acid rainfall, which is a severe environment problem. LaTrobe Valley brown coal typically has 0.3% sulphur, so burning of the coal does not cause acid rain.

Ash is the material left behind after coal is burnt. Black coal generally has a higher ash content than brown coal, usually around 10%. However black coal can be processed in a wash plant before being burnt to control the ash content of the product. In the LaTrobe Valley the coal is taken directly into the power station with no processing, due to its low ash content, between 1% - 3%, which is one of the lowest in the world.