What is a Fossil Fuel?

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Fossil fuels are the most widely used form of energy in the world. They power practically every device we use and are used in every manufacturing application that we can imagine. Even the electricity generated to power a television or light a house is most likely produced using fossil fuels. The United States is the largest consumer of fossil fuels, which account for about 86% of its energy needs. Two-thirds of the electricity generated and almost all of the fuel used in transportation, comes from fossil fuels. Among the fossil fuels, oil and natural gas are the most popular because of their ease of transport, handling, use, and relatively low emissions. As these supplies are exhausted, they must be substituted by other forms of fossils, such as coal, oil shale, and tar sands.

Fossil refers to the remains of animals, plants, or other life forms that have been protected from decomposition and oxidation for a very long time. Fuel refers to anything that can be burned as a source of energy. Therefore, fossil fuels are the remains of animals and plants that have formed into materials that can be burned. Since the source of these materials is living matter, they have the same composition as living organisms. They consist of fats, oils, paraffin (waxes), carbohydrates (sugars, starch, and cellulose), and proteins. Sulfur, phosphorous, and metals –although they can be burned—are not considered fossils because they do not originate from organic matter.

Figure 1 Fossil fuel.
Figure 1 Fossil fuel.

Contrary to popular belief, fossil fuels are not the remains of dinosaurs; in fact, most fossil fuels were formed millions of years before the first dinosaurs lived. Since most lands were swamps, we can expect to find fossil fuels in areas that were once lush and housed many forms of plants and animals. The most likely sources are ancient trees, animals, fish, and tiny organisms that flourished in the oceans (Figure 7-1). Marshlands, subtropical and tropical swamps, lakes, lagoons, and river deltas are ideal sites.


(1) Toossi Reza, "Energy and the Environment:Sources, technologies, and impacts", Verve Publishers, 2005

Further Reading

Berkowitz, N., Fossil Hydrocarbons: Chemistry and Technology, Elsevier Academic Press, 1997.

Deff eyes, K. S., Hubbert’s Peak: Th e Impending World Oil Shortage, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J., 2001.

Campbell, C. J., Th e Coming Oil Crisis, Multi-Science Publishing Company, 2004.

Tariq Ali, Th e Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity, Verso, 2002.

Pelletiere, S., Iraq and the International Oil System: Why America Went to War in the Gulf, Praeger Publishing, 2001.

Oil and Gas Journal, Technology, news, statistics, special reports, and analysis (http://ogj.pennnet.com).

Journal of Petroleum Technology, The official journal of Society of Petroleum Engineers, Dallas.

The Petroleum Engineer, Petroleum Engineer Pub. Co.

Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Elsevier, covers the fields of petroleum (and natural gas) exploration, production and flow.

External Links

National Energy Technology Laboratory: Th e Strategic Center for Coal (http://www.netl.doe.gov/coal).

National Petroleum Technology Office (http://www.npto.doe.gov).

US Geological Survey (http://www.usgs.gov).

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) (http://www.opec.org).

Society of Petroleum Engineers (http://sae.org).