Fossil Fuels: Uses, Advantages and Disadvantages Explained Clearly

Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years. Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include coal, petroleum, and natural gas. They range from volatile materials with low carbon: hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to non-volatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields, alone, associated with oil, or in the form of methane clathrates. The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century.

What are fossil fuels used for?

1. Fossil fuels are used to fuel cars and airplanes, power electricity plants, and heat our homes.
2. They are also used to make medicines, cosmetics, plastics, synthetic fabrics, and lubricants.
3. When you brushed your teeth today, you used a product made from oil – toothpaste.
4.  Look at your shoes – they are a product made from oil.
5. Sunglasses, tires, tennis balls and TVs are all products of oil and gas.

Next time you’re playing basketball with your friends, think about the ball you’re dribbling. You guessed it; the rubber to make that ball came from oil. The fact is, a huge number of products that we use every day, wouldn’t be available without the oil and gas extracted and processed.

Advantages of Fossil Fuels

1. A major advantage of fossil fuels is their capacity to generate huge amounts of electricity in just a single location.
2. Fossil fuels are very easy to find.
3. When coal is used in power plants, they are very cost effective. Coal is also in abundant supply.
4. Transporting oil and gas to the power stations can be made through the use of pipes making it an easy task.
5. Power plants that utilize gas are very efficient.
6. Power stations that make use of fossil fuel can be constructed in almost any location. This is possible as long as large quantities of fuel can be easily brought to the power plants.
7. Easily combustible, and produces high energy upon combustion helping in locomotion and in the generation of electricity and various other forms of energy
8. Widely and easily distributed all over the world
9. Comparatively inexpensive due to large reserves and easy accessibility
10. Very large amounts of electricity can be generated in one place using coal, fairly cheaply.
11. Gas-fired power stations are very efficient.
12. A fossil-fuelled power station can be built almost anywhere, so long as you can get large quantities of fuel to it. Did coal power station, in Goda, Jharkhand, India, has a dedicated rail link to supply the coal.
13. Fossil Fuels are long lasting and we still have many deposits of fuel that will last at least another 300 years

Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels

1. Pollution is a major disadvantage of fossil fuels. This is because they give off carbon dioxide when burned thereby causing a greenhouse effect. This is also the main contributory factor to the global warming experienced by the earth today.
2. Coal also produces carbon dioxide when burned compared to burning oil or gas. Additionally, it gives off sulphur dioxide, a kind of gas that creates acid rain.
3. Environmentally, the mining of coal results in the destruction of wide areas of land. Mining this fossil fuel is also difficult and may endanger the lives of miners. Coal mining is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
4. Power stations that utilize coal need large amounts of fuel. In other words, they not only need truckloads but trainloads of coal on a regular basis to continue operating and generating electricity. This only means that coalfired power plants should have reserves of coal in a large area near the plant’s location.
5. Use of natural gas can cause unpleasant Odors and some problems especially with transportation.
6. Use of crude oil causes pollution and poses environmental hazards such as oil spills when oil tankers, for instance, experience leaks or drown deep under the sea. Crude oil contains toxic chemicals which cause air pollutants when combusted.
7. They are Non-renewable (in the sense that once used it is no longer available) and take millions of years to form.
8. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide: the gas that causes global warming.
9. Mining of such fuels leads to irreversible damage to the adjoining environment; (narrow shafts for oil, caverns for coal)
10. Some speculate that it might run out this century
11. Prices for fossil fuels are rising.
12. Mining coal is a very dangerous job to do and it involves deforestation
13. Power stations, which make/use coal, need lots of fuel. They regularly get this supply through truck or train, to operate/generate electricity. This means that they also need a large area for the reservation of coal.
14. The using of natural gases causes horrible smells, especially during transportation.
15. Crude oil is very hazardous. It causes environmental pollution
16. They release a poisonous gas called carbon monoxide; this gas is very toxic for humans and animals.

FAQ's

Why Are Fossil Fuels Important?

Fossil fuels are important because they are at present the largest source of energy the world has. Fossil fuels are so called because they are formed from the remains of animals that have decomposed over millions of years.

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Sandeep Ghatuary

Finance & Accounting blogger simplifying complex topics.

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