The Sources Of Fossil Fuels - 1428 Words

IV. Fossil Fuels Fossil Fuels are the natural fuels such as coal or gas found in the Earth’s crust. It is formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms. A hydrocarbon deposit, such as oil, coal, or natural gas, derived from the accumulated remains of ancient plants and animals. Carbon dioxide and other gases were produced by burning fossil fuels are considered to be one of the principal causes of global warming. A. The origin of coal is a plentiful fossil fuel and has been used historically by the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese. 1) Types of coal – how formed, composition. a) Peat as an energy source is limited and was not considerably ranked. It is the first step in the coal formation and is made of over sixty†¦show more content†¦Lignite is also the lowest ranked because of its low heat content. Usually it was burned as a fuel at some steam electric generating plants that are mined in China, Greece, Germany, Turkey, Canada and the United States. However, while Germany’s electricity comes from lignite power plants, Greece, lignite is approximately 50% of power. Lignite’s carbon content is only 25% - 35%. c) Bituminous coal is formed as more pressure is enforced on to the lignite coal. The more the pressure is enforced, the more water is discharged which increases the amount of pure carbon and increases the heat content of the coal. Bituminous coal is mostly formed when a sub-bituminous coal is of higher levels of metamorphism. It is used in the United States at about 50%, and across Europe. Bituminous has a carbon content between 77% and 87% on a dry ash-free basis and a heating value that is much higher that lignite or sub-bituminous coal (2). Sub-bituminous is the second lowest energy content. d) Anthracite coal is of a metamorphic rock and is considered the highest grade. It is hard and its color is dark black and shiny. It has a very light weight when compared to other forms of coal and there is a very little water present. As a result, anthracite has the highest heat content and less smoke. Its pure carbon content is over 85%. Anthracite is formed when the bituminous coal is opened to extreme pressure. Historically, anthracite was mined in a 480 square