“Fossil fuels are the fuels formed by natural processes such as decomposition of dead and buried organisms. “ Fossil fuels are buried flammable geologic deposits of organic substances such as dead plants, and animals that got deposited under several thousand feet of silt. These deposits decayed with the passage of time and got converted to natural gas, coal, and petroleum due to the extreme heat and pressure inside the earth’s crust. They are also known as non-renewable sources of energy as it takes a very long time for it to replenish. Types, Formation and Uses of Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels are of the following types: Coal Petroleum Natural gas

2. STEPWELL (BAOLI ):
Today, we were going on a school trip to the Adalaj stepwell (baoli ),
about eighteen kilometres from Ahmedabad. We began counting the
vehicles on the road.

3. Some of us counted the bicycles, others counted the buses, cars, and
motorcycles. Abraham, who was counting bicycles, soon got bored.
There were hardly any bicycles on this highway. Screeeech! The
driver suddenly braked at the red light. It was a big crossing, and we
could see the traffic lined up on all sides.

4. Honk, honk, the sound of loud horns, and smoke coming out of the
vehicles! May be that is why a little boy in a rickshaw was coughing
so much. I smelt something, familiar. I remembered this smell – it
came from Baba’s tractor in the village.

5. ON THE PETROL PUMP: After sometime our bus stopped at a
petrol pump. There was a long queue. It seemed as if we would have
a long wait. We all got down from the bus and started looking
around the petrol pump. We saw many large boards and posters.

7. Fossil Fuels:
“Fossil fuels are the fuels formed by natural processes such as
decomposition of dead and buried organisms. “ Fossil fuels are
buried flammable geologic deposits of organic substances such as
dead plants, and animals that got deposited under several thousand
feet of silt.

8. These deposits decayed with the passage of time and got converted to
natural gas, coal, and petroleum due to the extreme heat and
pressure inside the earth’s crust. They are also known as non-
renewable sources of energy as it takes a very long time for it to
replenish.

9. Coal: It is a hard, black coloured substance made up of carbon,
hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. The major types of coal
are- anthracite, bituminous and lignite. Anthracite has a higher
carbon concentration and is the hardest type of coal. Lignite has a
high concentration of oxygen and hydrogen but a low concentration
of carbon. Bituminous is a moderate form of coal. Coal is processed
industrially to obtain derivatives like coke, coal tar, and coal gas.

10. Coal: The process of formation of coal is known as coalification. The
dense forest present in the low-lying wetland got buried in the earth,
millions of years ago. Soil kept depositing over them and they got
compressed. As they went deeper and deeper, they faced high
temperature and pressure. As a result, the substances slowly got
converted into coal.

11. Uses of Coal: Coal was used to produce steam in the railway engines
initially. It is used to cook food. It is used to generate electricity in
thermal plants. It is used in industries as fuel.

12. Petroleum: It is a clear, oily liquid, usually green or black in colour.
It has a very strange smell and is a mixture of petroleum gas, diesel,
paraffin wax, petrol, lubricating oil, etc. It is also termed as “Black
Gold” because of its wide range of uses in many industries.

14. Where do we get petrol and diesel?
The sea animals and plants died and their bodies settled at the
bottom of the sea. They got compressed by the layers of sand and
clay. Their encounter with high temperature and pressure converts
them into petroleum. The petroleum is separated from the crude oil
by a series of processes in a refinery. This is known as petroleum
refining.

15. How do you get petrol?
The first part of refining crude oil is to heat it until it boils. The
boiling liquid is separated into different liquids and gases in a
distillation column. These liquids are used to make petrol, paraffin,
diesel fuel etc. Crude oil is a mixture of different chemical called
hydrocarbons.

16. Uses of Petroleum:
It is used to power internal combustion engines in the form of petrol.
It is used in roofing, road pavements, and as a water repellent. It is
used in manufacturing detergents, plastics, fibres, polyethene, etc.

17. KEROSENE:
Kerosene, also known as paraffin, lamp oil, and coal oil (an obsolete
term), is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from
petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as
households.

18. Natural gas:
It is a clean and non-toxic fossil fuel. It is colourless and odourless
and can be easily transferred through pipelines. It is stored as
compressed natural gas (CNG) under high pressure. It is a less
polluting and less expensive fossil fuel. Methane is the most
important natural gas.

19. Formation of Natural Gas:
The phytoplankton and zooplankton sink to the bottom of the ocean
and mix with organic materials to form an organic-rich mud. The
mud buried under more sediments and lithifies to form an organic
shale. This prevents its exposure to oxygen. This is done to protect
the organic materials from being decomposed by bacteria. The
increasing pressure and temperature transform the shale into a
waxy material known as the kerogen. At temperatures between 90-
160°C kerogen is transformed into natural gas.

20. Uses of Natural gas:
Compressed Natural Gas is used for generating power. It is used as
fuels in automobiles. It can be used at homes for cooking. It is used
as a starting material in chemicals and fertilizers.

21. What is CNG used for? :
CNG, also known as compressed natural gas, is an eco-friendly
alternative to gasoline. Made by compressing natural gas (methane)
down to less than 1% of its volume, CNG fuel is safer than gasoline
and diesel because it is non-toxic and does not contaminate ground
water.

22. How is CNG formed?
CNG is produced by compressing natural gas to less than 1% of its
volume at standard atmospheric pressure. To provide adequate
driving range, CNG is stored onboard a vehicle in a compressed
gaseous state at a pressure of up to 3,600 pounds per square inch.

23. Fossil Fuels Renewable?
Fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy. Most of the energy
used by us is obtained by the burning of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels
are used up at a faster rate. They cannot be regrown at a scale
compared to their consumption. With the increased demand for the
production of various energies, fossil fuel energy is declining. It is
difficult to replace them. That is why they are known as a non-
renewable source of energy.

24. Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable
resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale,
such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.

25. Non-renewable energy comes from sources that could eventually run
out. All fossil fuels are non renewable resources. It took millions of
years to form fossil fuels and we are currently using it up faster than
it is being made. Another challenge to using non renewable energy
sources is that they can cause pollution. Burning fossil fuels releases
chemicals into the air and water. Reducing our dependence on fossil
fuels is important, so governments are working hard to encourage
scientists and industries to find new sources of energy and to
improve alternatives.

26. Renewable energy comes from natural resources that can be more
easily replenished. Sunlight, which we will never run out of, is also a
renewable source of energy. Other sources of renewable energy
include wind, water, sunlight, and geothermal energy. These sources
cause little to no pollution and will last thousands, or maybe even
millions, of years.

27. Renewables replace fossil fuel energy on the grid. In the U.S. and in
virtually every region, when electricity supplied by wind or solar
energy is available, it displaces energy produced by natural gas or
coal-fired generators.

28. SOLAR ENERGY :
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed
using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating,
photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt
power plants and artificial photosynthesis.

29. Why is solar energy important?
Solar energy - a clean source No greenhouse gas emissions are
released into the atmosphere when you use solar panels to create
electricity. And because the sun provides more energy than we'll ever
need, electricity from solar power is a very important energy source
in the move to clean energy production.

30. WIND ENERGY:
Wind energy is a form of solar energy. Wind energy (or wind power)
describes the process by which wind is used to generate
electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into
mechanical power. A generator can convert mechanical power into
electricity.

31. What is the use of wind energy?
The terms "wind energy" and "wind power" both describe the
process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or
electricity. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks
(such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can
convert this mechanical power into electricity.

32. BIO GAS: Biogas is the mixture of gases produced by the
breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen
(anaerobically), primarily consisting of methane and carbon
dioxide. Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as
agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage,
green waste or food waste.

33. Bio Gas:
Biogas differs from natural gas in that it is a renewable energy
source produced biologically through anaerobic digestion rather
than a fossil fuel produced by geological processes. Biogas is
primarily composed of methane gas, carbon dioxide, and trace
amounts of nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide.

34. NUCLEAR ENERGY:
Nuclear energy, also called atomic energy, energy that is released in
significant amounts in processes that affect atomic nuclei, the dense
cores of atoms. It is distinct from the energy of other atomic
phenomena such as ordinary chemical reactions, which involve only
the orbital electrons of atoms.

35. Is nuclear energy good?
Nuclear power releases less radiation into the environment than any
other major energy source. Second, nuclear power plants operate at
much higher capacity factors than renewable energy sources or fossil
fuels. ... Nuclear is a clear winner on reliability.

36. A new study published today in Science Advances finds that if we
burn all of the remaining fossil fuels on Earth, almost all of the ice in
Antarctica will melt, potentially causing sea levels to rise by as much
as 200 feet--enough to drown most major cities in the world.