Black coal being burned
Fossil fuels are nonrenewable sources of energy, meaning once this source of energy is used up, it cannot be replenished. Fossil fuels were formed beginning millions of years ago, when trees and plants died and layers of mud and rocks covered them, and they were subjected to pressure and high temperatures.
Coal
Coal is a type of fossil fuel; it is a hard, black, rocklike substance. It is use to fuel power plant and factories. In the early days, coals were used for train fuel, domestic heating, stationary steam engines, and smelting iron ore for the iron and steel industry.
There are three main type of coal; anthracite, bituminous and lignite. The anthracite is used primarily for residential and commercial space heating, while bituminous is used to fuel steam-electric power generation and lignite is used to fuel electric power generation.
Coal is mined, either underground or in open pits. Coal mining and the use of coal has an adverse effect on the environment, like acid rain and the release of carbon dioxide, which contributes to the greenhouse effect.
Petroleum or Crude Oil
Aside from coal, petroleum or crude oil also came from decayed plant and animal buried in the earth millions of years ago. The color of the oil is not always the same; it all depends on the place it came from, and can range from black brown and sometimes near colorless.
Unlike coal, crude oil is recovered by oil drilling. Before it can be used, it is heated and treated by other chemicals at a refinery.
Crude oil contributes to many products, including liquefied petroleum gas, ethane, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, jet fuel, plastics, lubricants, wax, sulfur, asphalt and paraffin wax. Like coal, crude oil has a great impact on the environment. Oil spills damage the natural ecosystems by killing the organisms it coats.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is an odorless and colorless gas. It is another type of fossil fuel, and it is formed the same as crude oil. But unlike crude oil, natural gas can form through the transformation of organic matter by using microorganisms.
Natural gas is used in both residential and commercial for heating and cooking. In transportation, it is used to fuel natural gas vehicles. It also fuels gas turbines and combustion engines to generate electricity.
The effect of natural gas extraction on the environment is less compared with coal and crude oil, but it still contributes a small amount of carbon dioxide. Among the other fossil fuels, natural gas is the cleanest and produces the least carbon dioxide.
Tags: carbon dioxide, coal crude, used fuel, came from, fossil fuel
