Fossil Fuels : Coal, Oil And Natural Gas

1 What is coal? Coal is a substance we consider today a fossil fuel, created from all the dead plants millions of years ago. Coal is formed from prehistoric plants that when they die are not able to release the energy they built up from photosynthesis Typically the plants had fallen into large swamps and bogs, and then over time the dead plants lying on the bottom of the swamps and bogs were slowly covered with other dead plants and sediment build-up. Once buried the plants were subjected to high amounts of pressure and temperatures, which over long periods of time it becomes peat then eventually creates coal. We refer to coal as a “fossil fuel” today because it is created from prehistoric plants and the coal we have today has been millions of years since it was in plant form. Today we coal is still being created we just don’t fully recognize it because how long the process actually takes.

Fossil fuels are of course produced from coal, petroleum, gas, diesel fuel, and natural gasses. Carbon dioxide is one of the many gasses that are emitted from the fossil fuel burning, and carbon dioxide is responsible for trapping heat in the earth’s atmosphere. Nevertheless, carbon dioxide is naturally

Coal is a fossil fuel, because it was formed from the remains of vegetation that grew as long as 400 million years ago. A fossil fuel is a naturally occurring fuel of organic nature, such as coal, crude oil and natural gases. It is often referred to as “buried sunshine” because the plants which formed coal captured energy from the sun through photosynthesis to create the compounds that makes up plant tissue. Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants convert light to energy by transforming carbon dioxide and water into carbon hydrates. There are about 267 billion tons or, thirteen percent, of known American reserves in the United States. The most important element in the plant material is carbon, which gives coal most of its energy. Most of the coal today was formed about 300 million years ago, when steamy swamps covered most of the earth. As plants and trees died, their remains sank to the bottom of the swampy areas, accumulating layer upon layer and eventually forming a soggy dense material called peat. Peat is a

Coal, crude oil, and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels because they were formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Currently fossil fuels are the world’s primary energy source. The fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, and natural gases. Fossil fuels are organic materials formed from decayed plants and animals that due to heat and pressure from hundreds of

There is a common misconception that fossil fuels come from dead dinosaurs, and while this is not actually true, fossil fuels do come from dead plans and animals, however they were dead long before the dinosaurs roamed the earth (U.S. Department of Energy). The type of animal and plant, as well as the varied combinations these could create, determine the type of fossil fuel that was formed (U.S. Department of Energy): oil, natural gas, or coal. The EIA defines fossil fuels as “concentrated organic compounds found in the Earth’s crust” (Fossil Fuels). This means that fossil fuels are formed when

There is a common misconception that fossil fuels come from dead dinosaurs, and while this is not actually true, fossil fuels do come from dead plans and animals, however they were dead long before the dinosaurs roamed the earth (U.S. Department of Energy). The type of animal and plant, as well as the varied combinations these could create, determine the type of fossil fuel that was formed (U.S. Department of Energy): oil, natural gas, or coal. The EIA defines fossil fuels as “concentrated organic compounds found in the Earth’s crust” (Fossil Fuels). This means that fossil fuels are formed when

Contradictory to what many people believe, fossil fuels are not dead dinosaur remains. “In fact, most of the fossil fuels we find today were formed millions of years before the first dinosaurs” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). They were formed from prehistoric plants and animals that lived many millions of years ago and are considered non-renewable because they are not sustainable and cannot be easily replaced due to their formation taking billions of years. “When these ancient living things died, they decomposed and became buried under layers and layers of mud, rock, and sand. Eventually, hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet of earth covered them” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). In some

Contradictory to what many people believe, fossil fuels are not dead dinosaur remains. “In fact, most of the fossil fuels we find today were formed millions of years before the first dinosaurs” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). They were formed from prehistoric plants and animals that lived many millions of years ago and are considered non-renewable because they are not sustainable and cannot be easily replaced due to their formation taking billions of years. “When these ancient living things died, they decomposed and became buried under layers and layers of mud, rock, and sand. Eventually, hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet of earth covered them” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). In some areas, these materials were covered by ancient seas before they dried up. “During the millions of years that passed, the dead plants and animals slowly decomposed into organic materials and formed fossil fuels. Different types of fossil fuels were formed depending on what combination of animal and plant debris was present, how long the material was buried, and what conditions of temperature and pressure existed when they were decomposing” (“Fossil Energy: How Fossil Fuels Were Formed,” n.d.). For example, oil and natural gas were created from plants and/or animals that lived in the water and were buried under bodies of water such as oceans, rivers, etc.

Firstly, and put very simply, fossil fuels are non-renewable! Once the finite deposits of brown and black coal are exhausted around the planet there will be no more energy generated by this process. Current estimates predict that all known coal deposits will be exhausted within the next 120 years.

Coal is a fossil fuel like oil and gas. Fossil fuels are all formed out of organic matter deposited, decomposed and compressed, storing all the carbon involved under the earth's surface for millions of years.

The formation of the other two fossil fuels (crude oil and natural gas) took millions of years just like coal. Oil and gas come from the remains of small animals and plants. Long ago, when the animals and plants died, they sank to the bottom of the sea. The dead matter formed a large mass, which over time was covered by layers of sand, silt, and mud. As the weight of the sediment increased, the mass became more and more compressed. Then, the heat and pressure of the Earth eventually turned the mass into oil and gas. If the heat applied during the formation was low, then more oil was produced than gas. If the temperature was

This paper will discuss the three main fossil fuels which are oil, coal, and natural gas. This research shows how the fossil fuels are formed, where they could be found, and explain how they were formed over millions of years. This paper will show the numerous advantages of fossil fuels compared to the disadvantages and how they are hurting the Earth. Fossils fuels are critical to the function of everyday life. The world would be a different if fossil fuels and their uses were not to of use.

Coal, oil, and gas were all formed from the remains of decayed and decomposing ancient animals and plants (Science Daily 2014). These fossil fuels we produced far before the dinosaurs ever roamed the earth, during the Carboniferous Period (Chapter 8 2012). This period of time, estimated around 360-286 million-years-ago, is believed to be when the earth was covered mostly in trees, plants, and swamps, and the bodies of water existing at the time were all filled with hundreds-of-millions of small plants called algae.

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas created from the decade of dead plants and animals. Fossil fuels are formed through the natural process. So they are considered as un-renewable resources because the formation of fossil fuels may take millions of years and the feasible reserves are being run-down much faster than new ones are being made. The use of fossil fuel was started in the industrial revolution with the invention of the steam engine. All fired power stations like nuclear, coal, gas and oil are still working on the same principle of the steam engine. Still, fossil fuels are controlling to change the structure of our global economy. After the invention of the steam engine by James Watt (1769) brought widely increased the energy efficiency. After this invention, the use of fossil fuels is increased rapidly. This helps to give a