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Table of Contents
Topic Page
Introduction 1
Fossil Fuel 2 - 3
Origin 4 - 6
Importance 7 - 8
How Fossil Fuel Is Formed 9 - 10
Environmental effects 11 13
Negative effects 14 15
Three Types of Fossil Fuels 16 17
Fossil fuel power plant 18
Fossil Fuel Power Plants: how Electricity is Generated. 19
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Introduction
Most of us know the value of fuel. I will define first what fuel is, Fuel is any material
that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled
manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a
combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the
air. Fuels are also used in the cells of organisms in a process known as cellular
respiration, where organic molecules are oxidized to release usable energy. All of a
sudden scientist and other experts discover the existence of fossil fuels. Many of the
benefits we derive from our way of life, and our high standard of living, are due to fossil
fuel use. Light, heat, food, communication, travel, community -- all are based on our
ability to produce and use energy. And most of our energy, about 85%, comes from
fossil fuel. (Another 8% comes from nuclear power, and 7 % from all other sources,
mostly hydroelectric power and wood.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redox_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(biology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organismshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organismshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(biology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redox_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_workhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy -
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Fossil Fuel
Fossil fuelsare fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of
buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is
typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years. The fossil fuels,
which contain high percentages of carbon, include coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon: hydrogen ratios like methane,
to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon,
like anthracite coal. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources because they take
millions of years to form, and reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones
are being made. The production and use of fossil fuels raise environmental concerns. A
global movement toward the generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to
help meet increased energy needs. The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3
billion tonnes (21.3 gigatonnes) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, but it is estimated that
natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount, so there is a net increase
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of 10.65 billion tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year (one ton of atmospheric
carbon is equivalent to 44/12 or 3.7 tons of carbon dioxide). Carbon dioxide is one of
the greenhouse gases that enhances radiative forcing and contributes to global
warming, causing the average surface temperature of the Earth to rise in response,
which the vast majority of climate scientists agree will cause major adverse effects.
Over the last 50 years, while consumption of fossil fuels grew substantially, the world
undertook a transition in its usage of fossil fuels, from solids (coal), to liquids (oil) to
gases (natural gas). While coal accounted for 62% of all fossil fuel consumption in 1950,
this share dropped to 28% in 1998 equivalent to the share of natural gas. The share of
oil substantially increased between 1950 and 1980, where it peaked at 45% of fossil fuel
use, then declined to 43%.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiative_forcinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumental_temperature_recordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_global_warminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_global_warminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumental_temperature_recordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiative_forcinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas -
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Origin
Petroleum and natural gas are formed by the anaerobic decomposition of remains of
organisms including phytoplankton and zooplankton that settled to the sea (or lake)
bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions, millions of years ago.
Over geological time, this organic matter, mixed with mud, got buried under heavy
layers of sediment. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure caused the organic
matter to chemically alter, first into a waxy material known as kerogen which is found
in oil shales, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a
process known as catagenesis. There is a wide range of renewable, or hydrocarbon,
compounds in any given fuel mixture. The specific mixture of hydrocarbons gives a fuel
its characteristic properties, such as boiling point, melting point, density, viscosity, etc.
Some fuels like natural gas, for instance, contain only very low boiling, gaseous
components. Others such as gasoline or diesel contain much higher boiling
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components, Terrestrial plants, on the other hand, tend to form coal and methane. Many
of the coal fields date to the Carboniferous period of Earth's history. Terrestrial plants
also form type III kerogen, a source of natural gas. The first requirement for the
formation of fossil fuels is a sedimentary basin. Sedimentary basins are formed when
the repeated transgression and regression of seas and lakes deposit numerous layers
of sediment. As these sediments are deposited, the remains of dead animals, plants,
algae, plankton and bacteria are trapped within the layers. This organic matter is buried
within numerous layers of sedimentary deposits, which eventually become sandstones,
limestones and shales. The conversion of organic matter takes time, pressure and heat.
Organic matter is deposited on the surface of the Earth, in underwater environments
either as swamps are flooded or as marine life dies and falls to the bottom of the ocean.
As the various layers of sediment are deposited on top, the load gets heavier and
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squeezes down on the organic matter below. As the compaction proceeds, the carbon
compounds within the organic matter are transformed into a substance called kerogen
that contains a range of hydrocarbons.
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Importance
Fossil fuels are of great importance because they can be burned (oxidized to carbon
dioxide and water), producing significant amounts of energy per unit weight. The use
of coal as a fuel predates recorded history. Coal was used to run furnaces for the
melting of metal ore. Semi-solid hydrocarbons from seeps were also burned in ancient
times, but these materials were mostly used for waterproofing and embalming.
Commercial exploitation of petroleum, largely as a replacement for oils from animal
sources (notably whale oil), for use in oil lamps began in the 19th century.
Natural gas, once flared-off as an unneeded byproduct of petroleum production, is now
considered a very valuable resource. Heavy crude oil, which is much more viscous than
conventional crude oil, and tar sands, wherebitumen is found mixed with sand and clay,
are becoming more important as sources of fossil fuel. Oil shale and similar materials
are sedimentary rocks containing kerogen, a complex mixture of high-molecular weight
organic compounds, which yield synthetic crude oil when heated (pyrolyzed). These
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materials have yet to be exploited commercially. These fuels can be employed in
internal combustion engines, fossil fuel power stations and other uses.Prior to the latter
half of the 18th century, windmills and watermills provided the energy needed for
industry such as milling flour, sawing wood or pumping water, and burning wood
or peat provided domestic heat. The widescale use of fossil fuels, coal at first and
petroleum later, to fire steam engines enabled the Industrial Revolution. At the same
time, gas lights using natural gas or coal gas were coming into wide use. The invention
of the internal combustion engine and its use in automobiles and trucks greatly
increased the demand for gasoline and diesel oil, both made from fossil fuels. Other
forms of transportation, railways and aircraft, also required fossil fuels. The other major
Use for fossil fuels is in generating electricity and as feedstock for the petrochemical
industry. Tar, a leftover of petroleum extraction, is used in construction of roads.
How Fossil Fuel Is Formed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_stationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windmillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flourhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawmillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_lightinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_gashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_enginehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasolinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feedstockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feedstockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_fuelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasolinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_enginehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_gashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_lightinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawmillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flourhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windmillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_station -
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Fossil fuel was formed over hundreds of millions of years ago by decomposing plants.
After a long period of time, layers and layers of rock, mud, and sand covered the dead
plants thousands of feet under the earth, which fossilized them.
Oil and natural gas were formed the same way, but coal was formed a slightly
different way. The first two were formed by organisms - plankton and plants mostly
that lived in fresh water and they were buried under rivers and oceans. After a long
period of time the water receded back. The pressure and bacteria combined to make
oil and natural gas. Oil and natural gas started to rise up from under ground but then it
stopped, because of caprock, really hard rock that these two cannot move through. The
caprock holds them back so that they cannot spill to the surface. When the petroleum
companies drill down through the caprock, if they are lucky they find oil and natural gas
under them, and thats how it is captured today. Coal is formed almost the same way
but different. It was created by dead remains of trees, ferns and other plants that lived
300 to 400 millions of years ago. Coal was found in swamps covered by seawater.
Since the sea has a lot of sulfur it stayed behind in the coal, when the water receded.
Unless it is removed when it is being burned, the sulfur goes into our air when the coal
is burned, In some parts of the world there were freshwater swamps, coal from here
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has less sulfur and is much cleaner then the other swamps. In many ways oil, natural
gas, and coal are formed the same way. In the future maybe scientists will take the
sulfur from coal so we would not have air pollution. But since they were all produced
over millions of years, in the future we will run out of all the types of fossil fuel. We are
using them up much faster than they can be produced and fossil fuel plants are where
most of our electricity comes from now.
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Environmental effects
In the United States, more than 90% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the
combustion of fossil fuels. Combustion of fossil fuels also produces other air pollutants,
such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.
According to Environment Canada: "The electricity sector is unique among industrial
sectors in its very large contribution to emissions associated with nearly all air issues.
Electricity generation produces a large share of Canadian nitrogen oxides and sulphur
dioxide emissions, which contribute to smog and acid rain and the formation of fine
particulate matter. It is the largest uncontrolled industrial source of mercury emissions in
Canada. Fossil fuel-fired electric power plants also emit carbon dioxide, which may
contribute to climate change. In addition, the sector has significant impacts on water
and habitat and species. In particular, hydro dams and transmission lines have
significant effects on water and biodiversity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_oxideshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compoundshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compoundshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_oxideshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas -
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Combustion of fossil fuels generates sulfuric, carbonic, and nitric acids, which fall to
Earth as acid rain, impacting both natural areas and the built environment. Monuments
and sculptures made from marble and limestone are particularly vulnerable, as the
acids dissolve calcium carbonate. Fossil fuels also contain radioactive materials,
mainly uranium and thorium, which are released into the atmosphere. In 2000, about
12,000 tons of thorium and 5,000 tons of uranium were released worldwide from
burning coal. It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning released 155 times as
much radioactivity into the atmosphere as the Three Mile Island incident. However, this
radioactivity from coal burning is minuscule at each source and has not shown to have
any adverse effect on human physiology. Burning coal also generates large amounts
of bottom ash and fly ash. These materials are used in a wide variety of applications,
utilizing, for example, about 40% of the US production. Harvesting, processing, and
distributing fossil fuels can also create environmental concerns. Coal mining methods,
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particularly mountaintop removal and strip mining, have negative environmental
impacts, and offshore oil drilling poses a hazard to aquatic organisms. Oil refineries also
have negative environmental impacts, including air and water pollution. Transportation
of coal requires the use of diesel-powered locomotives, while crude oil is typically
transported by tanker ships, each of which requires the combustion of additional fossil
fuels. Environmental regulation uses a variety of approaches to limit these emissions,
such as command-and-control (which mandates the amount of pollution or the
technology used), economic incentives, or voluntary programs. In economic terms,
pollution from fossil fuels is regarded as a negative externality. Taxation is considered
one way to make societal costs explicit, in order to 'internalize' the cost of pollution. This
aims to make fossil fuels more expensive, thereby reducing their use and the amount of
pollution associated with them, along with raising the funds necessary to counteract
these factors.
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Negative Effects
The negative effects of fossil fuels are endless. The worst effect associated with burning
fossil fuels is the release of carbon dioxide. This is what is known as a greenhouse gas.
When released, carbon dioxide rises into the ozone layer. Over time, the build-up of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases causes global warming. People often
debate on whether global warming is occurring. Well, it does not take a rocket scientist
to realize that global warming is taking place. Global warming is slowly causing the
polar ice caps to melt. This is raising the level of the ocean and causing there to be less
and less land. Global warming is also having a devastating effect on several species of
animals, especially polar bears. With the polar ice caps melting, there is less frozen land
for the polar bears to roam. As the food supply dwindles, so do the polar bears. Unless
there is some way that we can reverse the effects of fossil fuels, the polar bears will
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Become extinct. It is easy to see that burning fossil fuels is bad for our environment.
The gases that are released are deadly, and burning fossil fuels is a non-renewable
energy source. When people think that fossil fuels are a necessary form of energy, they
need to look into all the negative consequences. It is up to the government to find an
alternative fuel source before we destroy this planet.
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Three Types of Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are responsible for providing the energy needed worldwide for many
household and industrial purposes today. Deposits of fossil fuels are found throughout
the world deep inside the earth. 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 such as Western Pipeline Corporation as well as investors for
extraction. Though quite a few types of fossil fuels exist, here we examine three main
types that are widely utilized for energy production and many other products: petroleum,
coal and natural gas.
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Petroleum: Also called crude oil, the term petroleum encompasses multiple types of
hydrocarbons, which are compounds consisting primarily of hydrogen and carbon but
possibly containing other elements as well. Petroleum forms mainly from marine
vegetation and bacteria that lived in the oceans or other saltwater environments millions
of years ago. Petroleum deposits are often found in the same locations as natural gas,
each of which can be extracted for energy production. Petroleum is used in the
production of plastic and medications among many other products.
Coal: It forms from plants such as ferns, moss and trees which lived near shorelines
and in swamps and bogs millions of years ago. When these plants die, they are slowly
covered with sediment and over time pressed deep into the earth where they are
affected by mounting heat and pressure. Under these conditions, the organic matter
becomes richer in carbon and hydrogen, and increasingly deprived of oxygen. Coal
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goes through various stages of development based on its increasing carbon content,
and coal containing higher levels of carbon burns cleaner than those with lower levels.
The purest form of coal is graphite, which consists almost entirely of carbon.
Natural Gas: It forms mainly from the remains of plankton, or a type of small
water organisms including algae. Consisting mostly of methane, natural gas is often
found on top of deposits of petroleum due to its lower density, and is extracted in the
same process. However, deposits containing only natural gas do exist. Natural gas is
desirable in part because it burns cleaner than coal and petroleum. Natural gas is
commonly used in residential applications for home heating and has a myriad of other
applications.
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Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil fuel power plant is a system of devices for the conversion of fossil fuel energy to
mechanical work or electric energy. The main systems are the steam cycle and the gas
turbine cycle. The steam cycle relies on the Rankine cycle in which high pressure and
high temperaturesteam raised in a boiler is expanded through a steam turbine that
drives an electric generator. The steam gives up its heat of condensation in
a condenser to a heat sink such as water from a river or a lake, and the condensate can
then be pumped back into the boiler to repeat the cycle. The heat taken up by the
cooling water in the condenser is dissipated mostly through cooling towers into the
Atmosphere The gas turbine cycle relies on the Brayton cycle in which air compressed
to high pressure, and heated to high temperature by the combustion of natural gas or
light fuel oil, is the working fluid that expands in the turbine to provide the torque for
driving both a compressor and the electric generator. The gas turbine demands clean
fuels such as natural gas or light fuel oil. Combustion is the prevailing fuel utilization
technology in both the above cycles. Coal is the preferred fuel for the steam cycle
because of its low cost and broad and secure availability worldwide.
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Fossil Fuel Power Plants: how Electricity is Generated
Fossil fuel power plants produce the electricity which is the lifeblood of the developed
nation, and we all rely heavily on it in our daily lives. The majority of current power
stations run on fossil fuels. While solar energy power stations are being developed
around the world on commercial scales, it is true to say that over 70% of every
developed nations energy comes from fossil fuel electricity generation. In Australia,
over 90% of our electricity is sourced in this way. Power stations supply the main
energy grid with electricity on-demand; that is, the greater the demand the more the
power stations churn out. The amount of coal going into the boiler, and therefore the
amount of Carbon Dioxide and other gases being emitted from this fossil fuel power, is
determined by our actions. We can reduce the amount of pollution from the power
stations by using less electricity. While we are still operating the majority of our power
stations as fossil fuel power plants this is crucial; lower energy demands mean less
pollution.
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References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel
http://www.bydesign.com/fossilfuels/links/html/fossil_fuel/fossil_fuel_benefits.html
http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htm
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/energy/ecostats/index.cfm
http://bobjent.articlesbase.com/science-articles/three-types-of-fossil-fuels-169280.html
http://www.tutorvista.com/content/chemistry/chemistry-i/coal-petroleum/fossil-fuels.php
http://www.webmutations.com/energy/reports/past/repfossil.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuelhttp://www.bydesign.com/fossilfuels/links/html/fossil_fuel/fossil_fuel_benefits.htmlhttp://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htmhttp://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/energy/ecostats/index.cfmhttp://bobjent.articlesbase.com/science-articles/three-types-of-fossil-fuels-169280.htmlhttp://www.tutorvista.com/content/chemistry/chemistry-i/coal-petroleum/fossil-fuels.phphttp://www.webmutations.com/energy/reports/past/repfossil.htmlhttp://www.webmutations.com/energy/reports/past/repfossil.htmlhttp://www.tutorvista.com/content/chemistry/chemistry-i/coal-petroleum/fossil-fuels.phphttp://bobjent.articlesbase.com/science-articles/three-types-of-fossil-fuels-169280.htmlhttp://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/energy/ecostats/index.cfmhttp://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/fossil.htmhttp://www.bydesign.com/fossilfuels/links/html/fossil_fuel/fossil_fuel_benefits.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel -
8/2/2019 Earth Sci . REPORT
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BOOKS
Title : What's So Bad About Gasoline?: Fossil Fuels and What They Do (Hardcover)
Author :Anne Rockwell, Paul Meisel
Title :Beyond Smoke and Mirrors Climate Change and Energy in the 21st Century
Author : Burton Richter
http://www.booksandbooks.com/search/apachesolr_search/?author_filter=Rockwell%2C+Annehttp://www.booksandbooks.com/search/apachesolr_search/?author_filter=Rockwell%2C+Annehttp://www.booksandbooks.com/search/apachesolr_search/?author_filter=Meisel%2C+Paulhttp://www.booksandbooks.com/search/apachesolr_search/?author_filter=Meisel%2C+Paulhttp://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511802638http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511802638http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511802638http://www.booksandbooks.com/search/apachesolr_search/?author_filter=Meisel%2C+Paulhttp://www.booksandbooks.com/search/apachesolr_search/?author_filter=Rockwell%2C+Anne