Drilling deep for knowledge about fossil fuels
Formation & Characteristics
Formation
Characteristics
Formed from the buried remains of organisms
It took millions of years
Heat and pressure from layers of sediment changed the decayed oranic remains into materials
The energy from sunlight stored in the tissues of the buried organisms
Fossil fuel usage has steadily increased since the Industrial Revolution
To generate electricity on a large scale to light homes, offices and city streets
Transportation: steam boats, locomotives, automobiles and jet planes.
21st century, fossil fuels made up nearly 90 percent of the world’s energy supplies
Nonrenewable
Solids, liquids or gases
Coal
Peat
Soft coal
Hard coal
Dead plant matter fell into the swamps and settled at the swamp bottom
Coal
The pressure and heat of more sediment layers changed the peat into lignite (soft coal)
Anthracite is the hardest coal and was the last to form
The best energy sources among the coals because they burn the hottest and do not release as many pollutants into the air as other types of coal.
The most widely used of the solid fossil fuels
Formed from plants that grew in or near swamps in warm, humid regions of the Earth, Carboniferous Period
Oil And Natural Gas
The most common liquid fossil fuel and natural gas is the most gaseous fossil fuel
Petroleum is often called crude oil, or oil
Made from the buried remains of tiny water organisms
A similar process, often in the same swampy location
Kerogen
Over millions of years, increasing heat and pressure from more sediment layers changed the kerogen into petroleum
The main liquid fossil fuels used today are made from oil
Kerosene: to provide light, for cooking, the main fuel for modern jet engines.
Oils for home heating
Natural gas: heating and cooking in the home, for industrial heating, to generate electricity.
Other Fossil Fuels
Coke
Peat
Used as a heating fuel
Burns slowly, produces a lot of smoke and very little heat
A residue that remains after gases and tar are extracted from some types of coal
Make iron and in other processes.
Oil shale and tar sands
Where
The United States, Russia, and China have the largest coal deposits
Australia, India and South Africa have large amounts
More than half located in the Middle East
Disadvantages of fossil fuels
Limited supply
Pollution
Burning petroleum and coal releases harmful gases into the air
Acid rain
Releases CO2 into the atmosphere => increases temperatures => greenhouse effect => climate change
Solution
Alternative energy sources
Renewable energy does not emit CO2