Fossil fuels are a natural substance formed from the remains of ancient organisms buried over millions of years where heat and pressure on layers of sediment changed the decaying organic remains into materials that can be used as an energy source.
This type of fuel depends on the carbon cycle in nature and is extracted from fossil materials such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum, which are materials that burn in the air with oxygen to produce heat and energy that is used in almost all fields.
According to global estimates, fossil fuel sources will cover about 90% of the global energy need in 2030, which amounted to 81% in 2005.
Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable energy because it takes millions of years for the materials and organisms that make them up to turn into fuel and they cannot be replaced once they are used. Fossil fuels may be solids, liquids, or gases. All types of fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, which are a class of chemicals consisting only of carbon and hydrogen atoms. The most common types of fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas.
Fossil fuels
Coal
Coal is the most widely used type of solid fossil fuel and was formed from plants that grew in or near swamps in warm, humid regions of the Earth during the Carboniferous period (about 359 to 299 million years ago). These dead plants fell into the swamp and settled at its bottom, forming a thick layer. Of decaying plant matter, over millions of years these sediments were covered and the decaying plant matter was compacted to form peat, a brown, earth-like substance. With more pressure, heat, and an increase in the layers of sediment, the peat changes to linite, which is a soft, soft coal. With continued heat and pressure on the linite, the soft coal turns into hard, hard coal. Among the hardest types of coal is anthracite, which is considered one of the best sources of energy because it generates high energy and has few waste.
Petroleum and natural gas
Petroleum and natural gas are the most common types of liquid fossil fuels. Petroleum is often called "crude oil." Although the term "petroleum" is often used to refer to the liquid form, it is a technical term that also includes natural gas.
Most of the world's natural gas and oil deposits were formed during the Carboniferous era, where oil and gas were formed through a process similar to the process of coal formation in swamps from the remains of small buried aquatic organisms such as algae and zooplankton. As these organisms die, sink to the muddy bottom and decompose, and the changes that occur to them gradually change, their remains change. Buried into a substance called kerogen, and over millions of years, with increasing temperature and pressure, the layers of sediment increase and kerogen turns into oil.
Petroleum and natural gas
Petroleum and natural gas are the most common types of liquid fossil fuels. Petroleum is often called "crude oil." Although the term "petroleum" is often used to refer to the liquid form, it is a technical term that also includes natural gas.
Most of the world's natural gas and oil deposits were formed during the Carboniferous era, where oil and gas were formed through a process similar to the process of coal formation in swamps from the remains of small buried aquatic organisms such as algae and zooplankton. As these organisms die, sink to the muddy bottom and decompose, and the changes that occur to them gradually change, their remains change. Buried into a substance called kerogen, and over millions of years, with increasing temperature and pressure, the layers of sediment increase and kerogen turns into oil.
Is petroleum a liquid or a gas?
Petroleum is either a liquid or a gas depending on the depth and temperature of the oil, as natural gas is formed in very deep and hotter locations. It is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that form in the ground in liquid, gaseous or solid form. But the term "petroleum" is often limited to its liquid form known as crude oil. Technically, the term "petroleum" also includes natural gas and the sticky or solid form known as bitumen, which is found in sand tar.
The main liquid fossil fuels in use today are refined petroleum products and include gasoline, fuel oils such as diesel, jet fuel, and furnace oils for home heating. Kerosene, which was once widely used to provide light, is still used in many places for cooking and heating and is the main fuel for modern jet engines.
Natural gas is used for heating and cooking at home and for industrial heating. Natural gas is a clean energy source as it does not produce smoke and does not leave any ash behind, so it is often a preferred fuel for environmental reasons.
Other fossil fuels
Peat and coke are solid fossil fuels that are commonly used today. Peat is used as a heating fuel in areas where other fuels are not available. It is an inefficient fuel because it burns slowly and produces a lot of smoke and little heat.
Coke is formed from the remaining materials from the process of extracting gases and tar. Coke is useful in industry because it produces intense heat without smoke. Coke is widely used in blast furnaces to make iron and in other metallurgical processes.
With the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, the search for alternative fuel sources has increased. Two of these resources are oil shale, which is a type of rock that contains oils within it, and tar sand, which is rocks that contain heavy, tar-like hydrocarbons within the rock. However, extracting useful materials from these resources is difficult and expensive, making them an impractical fuel option at present.
Locations of fossil fuels
Fossil fuels are not evenly distributed across the Earth. The United States, Russia, and China have the largest coal deposits in the world. There are also large deposits in Australia, India, and South Africa. More than half of the world's known oil and natural gas reserves are in the Middle East. This means that the East The Middle East contains more oil than the rest of the world combined, followed by Canada, the United States, Latin America, Africa, parts of Russia, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia, with each of these regions containing less than 15% of the world's proven reserves.
Fossil fuel problems
There are two main drawbacks to fossil fuels. The first is that it is a non-renewable fuel, meaning it is limited to the Earth. The second is the environmental damage it causes, as burning petroleum and coal releases harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide. These gases pollute the air and interact with moisture in the atmosphere. The atmosphere causes acid rain.
Scientific evidence has shown that burning fossil fuels increases the temperatures of the Earth's atmosphere, which is called the greenhouse effect, causing climate change and is a serious environmental concern.
These problems have prompted scientists and engineers to develop new ways to generate energy without using fossil fuels. For example, some cars now run on electricity instead of gasoline, homes can be heated using solar energy or geothermal energy, and some electric power plants operate using nuclear energy, water energy, or wind energy. These alternative energy sources are forms of renewable resources because they are completely renewable. Permanent and cannot be exhausted unlike fossil fuels.
Land degradation
Exploring, processing and extracting oil, gas and coal deposits from the ground has enormous impacts on lands and ecosystems. Fossil fuel industries use vast tracts of land for extraction infrastructure such as wells, pipelines and access roads, as well as treatment, waste storage and disposal facilities. In some cases, entire tracts of land, including entire forests, are bulldozed away to extract underground coal or oil. Even after extraction operations stop, the land that has lost its components does not return to what it was before.
As a result, wildlife habitats that are very important for the migration and breeding of some animals are being destroyed and fragmented, and even animals that are able to leave can end up suffering because they are often forced to live in less than ideal habitats and within a more competitive environment due to scarcity of resources.
Water Pollution
Coal, oil and gas development poses countless threats to waterways and groundwater. Coal mining operations result in acids that seep into the streams, rivers, and lakes surrounding the mines, in addition to discharging huge quantities of unwanted rocks into the soil and surrounding water basins. In addition, oil leaks during extraction or transportation cause massive pollution and damage to drinking water sources, sea water, and oceans, and threaten their entire ecosystems.
At the same time, drilling, crushing and extraction operations produce huge amounts of wastewater laden with heavy metals, radioactive materials and other pollutants. Factories store this waste in open pits or underground reservoirs, from which it can leak into surrounding water basins and contaminate groundwater with pollutants that can cause cancer, birth defects, neurological damage, and more.
emissions
Fossil fuels release harmful pollutants into the air even long before they are burned. In fact, many residents are exposed daily to toxic air pollution from active oil and gas wells and from the transportation and processing facilities surrounding their cities. This includes benzene, which causes leukemia and childhood blood disorders, and formaldehyde, a carcinogenic chemical. The mining and extraction processes themselves also cause many health and environmental problems, especially for the miners themselves, and especially in places of dense greenery such as forests, where their clearing releases a huge amount of naturally stored carbon.