Types Of 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.

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

It has come to conclusion that fossil fuels are organic materials that are buried in combustible geologic deposits of organic materials. These fossil fuels are formed from decayed organic materials, animals and rocks that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust for a very long time. Changing the use of energy can cause effects such as; economic issues and environmental issues. Although, energy is in need of production, many

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 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.

Most people have a theory that the fossil fuels we have today are from the remains of dead dinosaurs. Which is in fact not true, but what is true is that these fossil fuels were at one time alive. They formed when prehistoric animals and plants died and were covered by rock and other plant growth (energy.gov 2014). Organic matter, along with varying temperatures and pressure worked together to produce the fossil fuels. Different types of fossil fuels were developed depending on how much pressure and what the temperature was involved at the time of the forming of these fossil fuels. (energy.gov 2014). These fossil fuels, what are today known mainly as coal, oil, and natural gas, were the different types of fossil fuels that were developed and which are the ones that are still being used today. According to the U.S. department of energy, oil and natural gas were formed from living things in the ocean, which were then buried under the ocean sediments. Later, the seas and oceans evaporated and they began to compress with heat and pressure under the silt, which is how oil was formed. With that, some of the oil continued to sink underground and kept compressing and causing pressure, which in turn produced natural gas. Coal formed from the dead remains of trees, ferns and other plants that lived 300 to 400 million years ago. In some areas, such as portions of what-is-now the eastern United States, coal was formed from swamps covered by sea water.

Fossils fuels have been the main source of energy since the beginning of this industrial advancement. Due to the anthropogenic emission of CO2,

In today’s world humans are consuming massive amounts of fossil fuels. The top five oil consuming countries in the world are the usual suspects. These include the United States, China, Japan, India and Russia. Canada comes in at number 10 with a daily consumption of 2,287 thousand barrels per day. There are three major types of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas. These resources were formed during the Carboniferous Period 360-286 million years ago. During this time earth was covered in swamps with large amounts of plants and waters filled with algae. When these plants and trees began to die they would form layers of peat. Hundreds and thousands of years would pass adding sand and other materials on top of the

The fossil fuel coal is a burnable bituminous black rock that is consisting mainly of carbonized plant matter which is mainly found underground in seams and is also used as a fuel. In time, material that had been plants became coal. The main use for coal today is for generating electricity from one stop to another, cement manufacturing, steel products and as well as a liquid fuel. Coal is formed by plant decay which then turns into peat, the peat will than change to lignite which is a soft brown coal then after that a bituminous coal is formed which is black and brittle but also very polluting, after which an anthracite coal is formed, the anthracite coal contains the highest amount of carbon making it the cleanest and safest to burn. There are two ways coal can be

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

In today’s society fossil fuels are the primary source of energy for most of the industrialized world. Utilizing fossil fuels has been very important to the industrialization development throughout the world. Industrialization in many parts of the world, energy has been needed at a much higher density then before and fossil fuels have fulfilled that need. Coal, gas, and oil are the three major sources of fossil fuels in the world. Despite other means of energy such as wind power, hydroelectric power etc., fossil fuels are still the main source of energy across the continent. Fossils fuels are critical to the function of society. “Fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) are the dominant source of energy today and will be for decades to come.” (Everett, B. October).

Fossil fuels are essential to life on earth as we know it today. Our world would certainly be much different if it weren’t for such seemingly simple things such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These basic elements of life on earth may not seem like a major concern to some people until we put into perspective how they have shaped our world today. Civilizations have been built, economies have risen and crumbled, and even wars have been fought over these precious fossil fuels. However, these fossil fuels serve us in ways we may never truly appreciate, as long as we use them as recklessly as we do now. The major entity about fossil fuels is concerning their longevity and permanence in our world, and we all know, they will be around forever.

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