Fossil FuelsBy: Marissa Rooney

What are Fossil Fuels?

Are a non-renewable source of energy. Formed from plants and

animals that lived up to 300 million years ago, fossil fuels are found in deposits beneath the earth. The fuels are burned to release the chemical energy that is stored

within this resource. Over 85% of our energy demands are met by the

combustion of fossil fuels.. They were formed is called the

Carboniferous Period

What are the different types?

The three main

types of fossil fuels are

coal, oil, and natural gasses.

How is coal formed?

Coal is formed in a similar to the other fossil fuels, though it goes through a different process, coalification.

What are the different stages of coals formation?

Coal is made of decomposed plant matter in conditions of high temperature and pressure, though it takes a relatively shorter amount of time to form. Coal

is not a uniform substance either, it's composition varies from deposit to deposit. Factors that cause this deviation are the types of original plant

matter, and the extent the plant matter decomposed. There are over 1200 distinguishable types of coal. Coal begins as peat, a mass of dead and

decomposing plant matter. Peat itself has been used as fuel in the past, as an alternative to wood. Next, the peat becomes lignite, a brownish rock that contains recognizable plant matter and has a relatively low heating value.

Lignite is the halfway point from peat to coal. The next phase is sub bituminous. A shade of dull black, showing very little plant matter, this type of

coal has a less than ideal heating value. Bituminous coal is jet black, very dense, and brittle. This type of coal has high heating value.

How is coal used as a fossil fuel?

Coal provides around 28% of our energy, burning coal produces sulfur dioxide, an acidic gas that contributes to the formation of

acid rain. This can be largely avoided using "flue gas desulphurization" to clean up the gases before they are released into the atmosphere. This method uses limestone, and produces

gypsum for the building industry as a by-product. However, it uses a lot of limestone.

How is oil formed?

Oil is found in the ground, not freely drifting up through the earth. This is because the hydrocarbons come across rock formations that they are unable to penetrate. Complex rock structures that effectively

trap gas and oil are formed by tectonic plate activity, the same forces that shift continents. The most common formation that accomplishes this is called an anticline, a dome or arched layer of rock that is impermeable by oil and gas. Underneath this barrier, a reservoir builds up. An oil reservoir is not some

vast underground lake, but rather a seemingly solid layer of rock that is porous. Oil fields have been found everywhere on the planet except for the continent of Antarctica.

How is oil used as a fossil fuel?

Oil is easier to get out of the ground, Oil can be burnt directly. Making it easier to

harvest for our energy such as in cars.

How is natural gas formed?

Sometime between 6,000 to 2,000 years BCE (Before the Common Era), the first

discoveries of natural gas seeps were made in Iran. Natural gas is usually found near

petroleum underground. It is pumped from below ground and travels in pipelines to

storage areas. The gas seeps, probably first ignited by lightning, provided the fuel for the "eternal fires" of the fire-worshiping religion

of the ancient Persians.

How is natural gas used as a fossil fuel?

Natural gas usually has no odor and you can't see it. Before it is sent to the pipelines and storage tanks, it is mixed with a chemical that gives a strong odor. The odor smells almost like rotten eggs. The odor makes it

easy to smell if there is a leak.

What are refineries and why are they important to the production of fossil fuels.

Oil's first stop outside the well is an oil refinery. A refinery is a plant where not concentrated oil is processed. Sometimes refineries are located near oil wells, but usually the crude oil has to be delivered to the refinery by ship, barge, pipeline, or train.

The Exxon oil spill

On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez, en route from Valdez, Alaska to Los Angeles, California, ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The vessel was traveling outside normal shipping lanes in an attempt to avoid ice. Within six hours of the grounding, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. Eight of the eleven tanks on board were damaged. The oil would eventually impact over 1,100 miles of non-continuous coastline in Alaska, making the Exxon Valdez the largest oil spill to date in U.S. waters. The response to the Exxon Valdez involved more personnel and equipment over a longer period of time than did any other spill in U.S. history. Logistical problems in providing fuel, meals, berthing, response equipment, waste management and other resources were one of the largest challenges to response management. At the height of the response, more than 11,000 personnel, 1,400 vessels and 85 aircraft were involved in the cleanup.

The Deep Water Horizon oil catastrophe

Conservationists monitoring the spread of oil from the Deepwater Horizon rig across the Gulf of Mexico say the situation is at risk of turning into a disaster for the biodiversity in the area. Coastal areas around Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida will all potentially be affected by the spill. Oil that drifts ashore will impact on important breeding grounds for seabirds and many other species, according wildlife experts. Oyster and lobster fisheries could also be badly hit. Pelicans on their nests, and other shore birds, with an orange containment boom behind them, are seen Friday, April 30, 2010 on Breton Island, La. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)"It seems to me yet another man-made environmental tragedy on our hands," said Martin Spray, chief executive of the UK Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. "The coast of Louisiana has about 40% of the US coastal wetlands so it's a seriously important area.