FOSSIL FUELS

By : Ahmed Rasheed Yar Khan

WHAT ARE FOSSIL FUELS?

Many people mistake fossil fuels to be pollution.

Fossil fuel is actually a natural fuel
Usually made up of either coal, oil or natural gas.

These come from millions of years ago from the remains of living
organisms.

It is loaded with energy hence it is an excellent source of fuel,

and this is the reason why most of the world depends on it.
But it causes lots of pollution in the process of making the fuel
Other problems could also include deforestation and destruction
of habitats

HOW WERE FOSSIL FUELS FORMED?

coal was formed from dead trees and other plant
material
crude oil and gas were formed from dead marine
organisms
Millions and millions of years ago, huge numbers
of microscopic animals and plants know as
plankton died and fell to the bottom of the sea.
Their remains were covered by mud.
As the mud sediment was buried by more
sediment, it started to change into rock as the
temperature and pressure of the earth
increased.
The plant and animal remains were altered
chemically during this process, and slowly
changed into the fossil fuels we use to today.

HOW IS CRUDE OIL REFINED?

PA RT I

But before we begin we need to know what is crude oil?...in

simple terms, it is unrefined petroleum. It is a product
composed of many types of hydrocarbons and other organic
materials.
The problem with crude oil is that it contains hundreds of
different types of hydrocarbons all mixed together.
You have to separate the different types of hydrocarbons to
have anything useful.
Fortunately there is an easy way to separate things, and this is
whatoil refiningis all about.

HOW IS CRUDE OIL REFINED? PART

II
The most basic way to refine crude oil is
by distillation.
Different hydrocarbon chain lengths all
have gradually higher boiling points, so
they can all be separated by distillation.
This is what happens in an oil refinery in one part of the process, crude oil is
heated and the different chains are
pulled out by their vaporization
temperatures.
Each different chain length has a
different property that makes it useful
in a different way.

USES OF CRUDE OIL

Petroleum gas - used for heating, cooking, making plastics
Naphtha or Ligroin - intermediate that will be further processed to make
gasoline
Gas oil or Diesel distillate - used for diesel fuel and heating oil; starting
material for making other products
Gasoline - motor fuel
Kerosene - fuel for jet engines and tractors; starting material for making other
products
Lubricating oil - used for motor oil, grease, other lubricants
Heavy gas or Fuel oil - used for industrial fuel; starting material for making
other products
Residuals - coke, asphalt, tar, waxes; starting material for making other products

PROBLEMS USING FOSSIL FUELS

Environmental Hazards
Acid Rain
Effect on Human Health [due
to pollution]

Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide when they burn, which

adds to the greenhouse effect and increases global
warming. Of the three fossil fuels, for a given amount of
energy released, coal produces the most carbon dioxide
and natural gas produces the least.

Non-Renewable
Impact on Aquatic Life by Oil
Spill
Need Huge Amount of
Reserves

Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources. Their

supply is limited and they will eventually run out. Fossil
fuels do not renew themselves, while fuels such as wood
can be renewed endlessly.

Coal and oil release sulfur dioxide gas when they burn,
which causes breathing problems for living creatures and
contributes to acid rain.