What are Fossil Fuels? Advantages and Disadvantages

Ever since we were little, we have often come across the term ‘fossil fuel’ in our science & environment studies books. Additionally, we may have learned about it while studying natural resources. 

 

While we may have acquired a rudimentary picture of fossil fuels in our minds, they are significantly more vital and relevant nowadays. This is especially because there is much discussion over whether or not these fossil fuels will be exhausted soon. Given the importance of fossil fuels in our energy and electrical systems, we should be aware of their consequences.

 

In this blog, you will get a fair idea regarding the nature and types of fossil fuels, along with the advantages and disadvantages of using them in our daily lives. Let’s discover. 

 

 

What can be defined as ‘Fossil Fuels’?

 

Prehistoric living organisms like plant and animal materials that perished hundreds of millions of years ago and were then exposed to extreme heat and pressure over millions of years are known as fossil fuels. 

 

These material sources of energy, which we can find in the Earth's crust and comprise carbon and hydrogen, can be burnt to generate energy. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas.

 

Our forefathers relied on extremely simple types of energy for the cost of human civilization: human strength, animal muscle, and the combustion of organic matter such as forest-derived wood or crops. 

 

However, the Industrial Revolution ushered in a completely new source of energy: fossil fuels. Fossil fuel energy has been a key driver of subsequent technological, social, commercial, and development and breakthrough technologies.

 

Carbon and hydrogen bonding make up the majority of fossil fuels. Coal, oil, and natural gas are three major types of fossil fuels that may all be used to generate energy.

 

1. Coal 

 

Coal is a hard fossil fuel generated by the decomposition of land plants over long periods of time. Rocks and soil deposits become coal when the layers are crushed under pressure and scorched with heat over time. In comparison to other major fossil fuels, coal is abundantly available. 

 

Experts predict that as oil supplies grow increasingly deficit, global coal use will rise. Coal reserves might last for another two hundred years or more. Mines are typically used to extract coal. 

 

Coal consumption has increased since the middle of the twentieth century. Since they can afford oil or natural gas, many emerging economies rely on coal for energy. Coal is a key source of energy in many countries, including India and China.

 

2. Oil 

 

Liquid hydrocarbons or oil is one of the three main types of fossil fuel made from the remnants of various microorganisms that have accumulated on the seabed. The sediments eventually end up in layers of rock, where oil is trapped in microscopic places after thousands of generations. 

 

Massive drilling platforms can be used to retrieve this oil. The most extensively utilized fossil fuel is oil. 

 

Crude oil is made up of a variety of organic chemicals that are refined into distinct products. It's used in vehicles, planes, highways, and roofs, among other things.

 

3. Natural Gas 

 

Natural gas is a flexible, plentiful, and generally clean energy source when compared to other fossil fuels like coal and oil. It is made up of the remnants of various microorganisms, just like oil. 

 

It's a fairly young source of fuel. Coal was utilized more often than natural gas until 1999. In industrialized countries, natural gas has now superseded coal consumption.  

 

People are concerned, though, that, like oil, natural gas reserves may get depleted.  Several experts anticipate that this will unfold by the middle or end of the twenty-first century. 

 

Methane (CH4) makes up the majority of natural gas.  It exists in microscopic amounts at great depths in the ground and is severely compacted. Drilling is used to bring it to the surface, just like oil. Fossil fuel reserves of natural gas are more equally dispersed than oil reserves across the world.

 

Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are the three basic fossil fuels. Coal is inexpensive and easily available, but when coal is burned, it emits a lot of toxic pollutants.

 

Petroleum, often known as crude oil, is more difficult to come by and burns cleaner than coal. It may also be piped via pipelines and processed into fuels like gasoline or kerosene. Natural gas is now less costly and environmentally friendly than coal or oil. (Source)

 

Underneath the Earth's crust, fossil fuels are locked in different strata or layers and are surrounded by geological formations. 

 

Coal deposits are generally 200 to 300 feet underneath the ground level. Oil and natural gas resources are generally a mile or two below the surface, with the innermost oil and gas wells reaching more than six miles.

 

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels

 

Previously, fossil fuels were abundant and simple to extract and transport. However, there are currently indications that the supply is running exhausted and that replenishment will take decades. 

 

Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of using fossil fuels and evaluate where we stand. 

 

Advantages of Using Fossil Fuels

 

Fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) have long played a significant role in modern energy systems worldwide, and they continue to do so. Some of the main advantages of using fossil fuels are mentioned below. 

 

1. Fossil fuels are readily available and inexpensive to use

 

Fossil fuels are relatively cheaper, easy to source and generate. Initially, there was a large supply. Furthermore, because fossil fuels have fuelled our society for 250 years, the mechanism to transport them affordably is already in existence.

 

2. Reliability and Uses 

 

At the present, fossil fuels are reliable. There are numerous mining areas and significant oil and gas resources, and as blasting indicates, mining and extraction research is progressing rapidly. 

 

Oil, coal, and natural gas were the principal fuels for generating electricity in the twentieth century, while liquid fuels such as gasoline, petroleum diesel, and kerosene became the driving force behind automobiles, tractors, locomotives, and planes.

 

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Disadvantages of Using Fossil Fuels

 

Along with the several advantages, they do, however, have a number of drawbacks. They create carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned, which is one of the primary causes of global climate change such as global warming.

 

Fossil fuels are also a major source of local air pollution, which is thought to be responsible for millions of premature deaths worldwide each year.

 

1. Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy

 

When you burn a gallon of oil, it's gone forever. Similarly, these fossil fuels are exhaustible and will eventually run out. 

 

We have around 100 years of coal consumption left, 50 years of fuel oil, and 50 years of natural gas energy resources left, according to estimates. As a result, this is a significant issue for ourselves, our children, and our future generations.

 

2. The carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels contributes significantly to global warming

 

The environmental problems caused by the exploitation and combustion of fossil fuels are a more serious problem. UN climate change scientists cautioned in a 2018 study that if emissions from fossil fuel use are not dramatically cut, the world is currently facing possibly catastrophic overheating.

 

According to ourworldindata.org, coal, oil, and gas accounted for roughly 84% of worldwide primary energy in 2019. We must significantly lower this proportion in the next decades by replacing them with low-carbon energy sources.

 

When low-carbon energy sources such as renewables energy and nuclear energy become more readily accessible, the world should quickly move away from fossil fuels.

 

 

Wrapping Up

 

Fossil fuels are one of the most crucial forms of energy and electricity supply for various households and industries across the globe. However, as the saying goes, “All good things come with a price.” 

 

Since fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy, enduring millions of years for fresh coal, oil, and natural gas resources to grow is not a viable option for humankind. 

 

In the last two decades, fossil fuels have accounted for about three-quarters of all human-caused pollution. Engineers and scientists are now attempting to find methods to minimize our reliance on fossil fuels while also making their combustion greener and better for the planet.

 

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