FOSSIL FUEL

WHAT IS FOSSIL FUEL? Fossil fuel is an energy resource that is formed

from the remains of plant and animals that lived a long time ago.

Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fuels formed by natural resources such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOSSIL FUELS oil natural gas coal

HOW IS COAL FORMED? Coal forms when dead plant material build up and up to

form peat, which is the first step. This is compacted between layers of sedimentary rock, forming a rock call lignite. Then this is compacted even more. Then, heat and pressure deep deep beneath the surface create anthracite, or coal. Coal is a metamorphic rock.

Coal is formed by a process called coalification. Coal comes from the massive accumulation of dead land-based plant life, mainly trees. This organic matter was deposited in sedimentary basins on land (of continental origin), where the water was shallow.

HOW IS COAL USED AS FOSSIL FUEL Fossil fuel is burned to give off. Coal is a

nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to create.

Coal is a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to create. The energy in coal comes from the energy stored by plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, when the Earth was partly covered with swampy forests.

HOW IS OIL FORMED Oil was formed from the remains of animals and plants (diatoms) that lived millions of years ago in a marine (water) environment before the dinosaurs. Over millions of years, the remains of these animals and plants were covered by layers of sand and silt. Heat and pressure from these layers helped the remains turn into what we today call crude oil. The word "petroleum" means "rock oil" or "oil from the earth.

Oil and gas were formed by the anaerobic decay of organic material in conditions of increased temperature and pressure.

HOW IS OIL USED AS A FOSSIL FUEL?

After crude oil is removed from the ground, it is sent to a refinery by pipeline, ship, or barge. At a refinery, different parts of the crude oil are separated into useable petroleum products.

Natural gas is mostly made up of a gas called methane. Methane is a simple chemical compound that is made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It's chemical formula is CH4 - one atom of carbon along with four atoms hydrogen. This gas is highly flammable.

HOW IS NATURAL GAS FORMED?

natural gas are formed from the remains of tiny aquatic animals and plants. 

Natural gas is a combustible mixture of hydrocarbon gases. While natural gas is formed primarily of methane, it can also include ethane, propane, butane and pentane.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZmlFjYpo3s&feature=related

HOW IS NATURAL GAS USED AS A FOSSIL

FUEL?

Natural gas is a fossil fuel composed almost entirely of methane, but does contain small amounts of other gases, including ethane, propane, butane and pentane.

 Natural gas has fewer emissions when burned than other fossil fuels.

WHAT ARE REFINERIES AND WHY ARE THEY

IMPORTANT TO THE PRODUCTION OF FOSSIL FUELS?

A refinery is a factory. a refinery takes a raw material crude oil and transforms it into gasoline and hundreds of other useful products.

Refinery means a facility used to produce taxable fuel and from which taxable fuel may be removed by pipeline, by vessel, or at a rack.

Refineries break down crude oil into its various components, which can then be selectively converted into a range of new products.

DESCRIBE THE EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL The Exxon Valdez oil spill was caused by

poor seamanship that may have resulted because the Ship's Captain was possibly inebriated. Because of the captain bad communication he fairly heed warnings from his own crew about the ship's location, bearing and proximity to hazard caused the grounding of the oil spill in the Alaska. They refuse to pay for the spilling of the oil spill, which lead to a lot of disaster including oil pollution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1U-iWUPOYA

DESCRIBE THE DEEP WATER HORIZON OIL CATASTROPHE This is a massive ongoing oil spill

stemming from a sea floor oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. The spread of the oil was increased by strong southerly winds caused by an impending cold front. It