BROOMFIELD TERRIEANNCODNER DONIQUE

PURGE ANDRE

FOSSIL FUEL (PETROLIUM)

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.

WHAT IS A FOSSIL FUEL?

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.

EXAMPLES OF FOSSIL FUEL

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.

SIGNIFICANCE OF PETROLEUM

Petroleum, as it comes out of the ground, is ill-suited for use as a high-energy fuel and therefore must be refined.

EFFECTS OF PETROLEUM

Heating via fossil fuels, such as petroleum, is also more efficient than other methods of heating.

BENEFITS OF PETROLEUM

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.

EXTRACTION OF PETROLEUM

TRANSPORTATION OF PETROLEUM

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.

PROCESSING OF PETROLEUM

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.

USES OF FOSSIL FUELS

ElectricityCoal 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.

HeatingOil 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.

Extraction of petroleum

Processing of fossil fuel

Uses of fossil fuel

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.

Cuba Basin, near to the Gulf of Mexico.

LOCATION OF A FOSSIL FUEL RESERVE (PETROLEUM)

Michael Hinckley, eHow Contributor.Mark Kennan, eHow Contributor.1999-2012 Demand Media, Inc.1994 - 2012 California Energy Commission.

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