2. A fossil fuel is composed of remnants of organisms (plants
and animals that died around 300 million years ago),
compressed in an oxygen-free environment.
3. COAL (a rocklike fossil fuel): used for a variety of
purposes such as heating homes and metalworking.
OIL OR PETROLEUM (a liquid fossil fuel): used to seal
early boats and canoes as well as for warfare where it was
set on fire and poured onto enemies as early as Roman
times.
NATURAL GAS (a gaseous fossil fuel): ignited by certain
atmospheric conditions or may just dissipate harmlessly
into the atmosphere.
4. Petroleum is particularly significant because it is packed
with easy-to-burn hydrocarbons, which is a method for
storing energy. Burning fossil fuels produces a lot of heat
very quickly.
5. Petroleum, as it comes out of the ground, is ill-suited for
use as a high-energy fuel and therefore must be refined.
6. Heating via fossil fuels, such as petroleum, is also more
efficient than other methods of heating.
7. The earth's crust contains natural fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are
types of mineral resources. Fossil fuels can be extracted from
the ground. The process is called underground mining. Drilling
for oil is also an extraction method used for fossil fuels.
Drilling for Oil/Fossil Fuels Geologists
use different types of testing equipment to find deposits of oil
under the ground. The equipment includes seismic surveys that
use shock waves, gravity meters, sniffers and magnetometers.
When oil is found, the drilling rig is set up and drilling
commences. Some of the things needed are water, access roads,
and reserve pit for the waste which is mud and rocks. When the
oil is found, it is then pumped out of the ground and sent to a
refinery.
8.
9. Exploitation and burning of petroleum has generated the
economic and industrial boom of the past two centuries.
Understanding the process of burning petroleum, as well
as why petroleum burn so well, is important to knowing
why they continue to be the default fuel of choice to
generate electricity, move vehicles and heat homes.
10. Fossil fuels get their name from their formation from dead
plant and animal matter that was compressed and heated
over millions of years.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, fossil fuels
(petroleum in particular) are used to generate more than
85 percent of the energy used by the country.
Fossil fuels are used to generate electricity, heating homes
and metalworking, power motor vehicles, and so on.
11. Electricity
Coal alone provides half the electricity in the United
States. The U.S. Department of Energy expects about 90
percent of the power plants built between 2009 and 2029
to use natural gas. Fossil fuel use in general, also, is
expected to rise because of increased power demands.
Heating
Oil and natural gas are commonly used for heating homes
as well as providing heat for industrial applications.
Transportation
Oil supplies 99 percent of the energy for cars in the
form of gasoline and diesel. Natural gas technologies
also are being developed for automobiles.
12. Extraction of petroleum
Processing of fossil fuel
Uses of fossil fuel
13. Limits
Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources, which means
there is a limited supply. As more fossil fuels are used, the
unused resources will be more costly to collect and prices
will rise.
Considerations
When fossil fuels are burned, they release pollutants that
contribute to global warming and acid rain.
