Fossil fuel

SHORT DESCRIPTION ABOUT FOSSIL FUEL

From the word fossil fuels, fossil fuel are the fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over millions of years. This biogenic theory was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century. Fossil fuels are non renewable sources, simply put, the remains of prehistoric plants and animals that have, over time, been reduced to simple hydrocarbons either in liquid or solid forms after millions of years. Fossil fuels are responsible for providing energy needed worldwide in household and industrial purpose in this century. The utilization of fossil fuels has fueled industrial development and largely supplanted water driven mills and wood or peat burning for heat. They are used in transportation, in electricity production, in powering homes and industries, and in the production of plastics and other derivatives. They are produced as a result of the decomposition of the remains of different organic matters, buried for several millions of years under anaerobic conditions. Fossil fuels are the carbon rich remains of ancient vegetation and other organisms that have endured intense heat and pressure inside the earth over periods of millions of years. Severe heat and pressure over time convert these organic remains into fossil fuels, which collect in reservoirs that are sought after by oil focused companies. Some fossil fuel contains pure carbon whereas some contains carbon in the form of hydrocarbon. Though the use of fossil fuel increased during the 19th century, it was discovered by mankind thousands of years ago. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years. Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon: hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to non-volatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. According to the estimation made by the Energy Information Administration in 2007 primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.0%, coal 27.4%, and natural gas 23.0%, amounting to an 86.4% share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world. Non-fossil sources in 2006 included hydroelectric 6.3%, nuclear 8.5%, and (geothermal, solar, tide, wind, wood, waste) amounting 0.9 percent. World energy consumption is growing about 2.3% per year.

TYPES OF FOSSIL FUELS:

Fossil fuels include the term petroleum, coal and natural gas and Orimulsion has been recently recognized as the fourth fossil fuel.Let study about this fossil fuels in short:

Petroleum:
Petroleum, or crude oil, is the most extensively used fossil fuel. Due to its value to mankind, it is also known as "black gold." The word petroleum comes from the Latin words "petro" (meaning rock) and "leum" (meaning oil).

Petroleum mainly is used to fuel jets and automobiles. It also is used to generate electricity, and its derivatives are utilized in the medicine and plastic industries. As demand for oil is still increasing, the average worldwide rate of oil field depletion is believed to be around 2.5 percent per year, according to Richard Heinberg, an eminent ecology writer. The widespread use of petroleum also has contributed to air and water pollution.

Coal:
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel resource. It provides about one-quarter of the total energy the world uses, and 40 percent of the electricity generated worldwide is powered by coal. The steel industry also is greatly dependent upon this fossil fuel. Like other depleting sources of global energy, coal reserves are also on a steep decline. Moreover, coal is a greenhouse gas nightmare.

Natural gas: Natural gas is made out of methane, which is a simple chemical compound made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Natural gas is a fossil fuel by-product of petroleum. Once discarded as a waste, it is now in wide demand as one of the clean fossil fuels. Natural gas burns with clean flame. Natural gas forms mainly from the remains of plankton, or a type of small water organisms including algae.

Orimulson:
Orimulsion became the "fourth fossil fuel" in the mid-1980s. It is derived from the bitumen that occurs naturally in large reserves in the Orinoco oil belt in Venezuela. It is estimated that there are more than 1.2 trillion barrels of bitumen available in reserves, an amount greater than 50 percent of the world's estimated oil reserves.

Orimulsion has achieved growing recognition as an economically viable fuel for power generation. In countries such as Canada, Denmark, Japan, Italy, Lithuania and China, it is used as a commercial boiler fuel in power plants. Orimulsion is the cost-effective choice when compared to other fossil fuels used to generate electricity.

FORMATION OF FOSSIL FUEL:

The theory of formation of fossil fuels from fossilized organic was put forward by a Russian scientist, Mikhail Lomonosov, in the year 1757. According to this theory fossil fuels were formed by the anaerobic decomposition of remains of dead and decay of plant and animal life in millions of years ago, under high pressure and temperature. The organic matter, mixed with mud and got buried under heavy layers of sediment over geological time and as a result of high heat and pressure the organic molecules associated with these organisms forms a group of chemicals known as kerogens which are then transformed into hydrocarbons by the process of catagenesis . Fuels consists of wide range of organic, or hydrocarbon, compounds. The melting point, density, viscoity,boiling point,etc of fuel is characteristics by the specific mixture of hydrocarbons. Oil and natural gas are formed within sedimentary rocks that contain organic matter originating from small marine life such as phytoplankton, algae and bacteria. Most oil and natural gas around the world is found in layers that were deposited during the Cenozoic era about 50 million years ago. Coal forms within sedimentary rocks that contain organic matter originating from plant life such as trees and bushes. Most of the world’s coal is found in layers of sediment that were deposited during the Carboniferous period, when plant life was emerging and vast swamps covered most of the Earth’s land.

BURNING OF FOSSIL FUELS:

Burning of the fossil fuels is the major cause of climatic change which has become a major issue. The burning of fossil fuel causes
Global warming: According to the research made by journal science half the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels is actually winding up the oceans, and that's threatening the health of the oceans and the diverse organisms living there. Burning of fossil fuels and global warming are interlinked with each other. The CO2 does not only affect the air quality but also oceans, too, are heavily impacted by the release of carbon dioxide. Due to cause of global warming the oceans temperature is rising. The rise in ocean temperature causes ocean to absorb less carbon dioxide and more carbon dioxide remains at the atmosphere which forms cycle of global warming.

Acid rain: Burning of fossil fuel releases nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide in the atmosphere. Acid rain is a process of deposition of acid gases (SO2, nitrogen oxide) from the atmosphere on land in the form of precipitation or rain. Acid rain causes lakes, streams acidity causing threat to aquatic life.

Health hazard: Pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide and hydrocarbons are generated from fossil fuel combustion. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, carbon monoxide exposure can cause headaches and may aggravate stress in people with heart conditions. Exposure to nitrogen oxide can result in bronchitis, pneumonia and irritation in the lungs. Hydrocarbons emitted to from vehicular exhausts reacts with nitrogen oxides the presence of heat and sunlight to form ozone. Prolonged exposure to ozone can result in permanent lung damage.

Depletion of Natural Resources: Industrial manufacturing, transportation and agriculture uses fossil fuel as main source of energy. As fossil fuel is non-renewable source of energy the burning of fossil fuels causes a decline in the world's natural reserve.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF FOSSIL FUEL:
Man’s fuel needs, since the olden times, have been met through the use of fossil fuels. Since 1900, the world’s consumption of fossil fuels has nearly doubled every 20 years. Fossil fuels are responsible for providing energy needed worldwide in household and industrial purpose in this century.
Advantages of fossil fuel:
1. All fossil fuels originally derive their energy from the sun; thus all fossil fuels are essentially solar power.
2. Power plants construction which works on fossil fuels is easy.
3. Fossil fuels can be transported through pipe as fossil fuels are transported in gaseous or liquid form.
4. Petroleum is used in large quantity by fuels vehicle.
5. Fossil fuels are easier to extract and process, hence are cheaper than the non-conventional forms of energy.
6. Fossils fuels can generate huge amount electricity in a single
7. Widely and easily distributed all over the world.
8. Power stations that make use of fossil fuel can be constructed in almost any location. This is possible as long as large quantities of fuel can be easily brought to the power plants.
9. Comparatively inexpensive due to large reserves and easy accessibility.
Disadvantages of fossil fuel:
1. Leakage of some fossil fuels, such as natural gas, crude oil can lead to severe hazards. Hence, transportation of these fuels is very risky.
2. They are Nonrenewable (in the sense that once used it is no longer available as the current use of that word violates laws of thermodynamics)
3. Use of crude oil causes pollution and poses environmental hazards such as oil spills when oil tankers, for instance, experience leaks or drown deep under the sea. Crude oil contains toxic chemicals which cause air pollutants when combusted.
4. Prices for fossil fuels are rising, because certain lobbying factions do not want the USA to harvest its own vast oil-, coal-, and natural gas stores.
5. Power stations that utilize coal need large amounts of fuel. In other words, they not only need truckloads but train loads of coal on a regular basis to continue operating and generating electricity. This only means that coal-fired power plants should have reserves of coal in a large area near the plant’s location.