NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Mineral fuel

Download high resolution version (897x634, 202 KB)Coal cars in Ashtabula, Ohio (taken Sept. 26, 2004) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. Click on date to download the file or see the image uploaded on that...

Coal rail cars in Railyard in the port of Ashtabula Ashtabula is a city located in Ashtabula County, Ohio. A major location on the Underground Railroad in the middle 19th century, the city today is major coal port on Lake Erie at the mouth of the Ashtabula River northeast of Cleveland. The name Ashtabula... Ashtabula, Ohio

Fossil fuels, also known as mineral fuels, are In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is a cleaning solution consisting only of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). They all consist of a carbon backbone and atoms of hydrogen attached to that backbone. (Often the term is used as a shortened form of the term aliphatic hydrocarbon.) For example, methane (swamp gas... hydrocarbon-containing -1... natural resources such as Coal Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground either by underground mining, open-pit mining or strip mining. It is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. It is composed primarily of carbon and hydrocarbons, along with assorted other elements, including sulfur. Often associated with the... coal, Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petrus – rock and oleum – oil), mineral oil, or crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the... petroleum and Natural gas rig Natural gas is a gas produced by the anaerobic decay of organic material. It is usually found in oil fields and natural gas fields, but is also generated in swamps and marshes (where it is called swamp gas or marsh gas), in landfill sites, and during digestion... natural gas. The utilization of fossil fuels has fueled industrial development and largely supplanted water driven mills, as well as the burning of This article describes the wood that comprises trees and boards. For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a material found as the primary content of the stems of woody plants, especially trees, but also shrubs. These perennial plants are... wood or Peat in Lewis, Scotland Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetable matter. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, moors, muskegs, mires, and fens. Geographic distribution Peat deposits are found in many places around the world, notably in Ireland, Scotland, northern Germany and Scandinavia, and in North... peat for heat.

When generating The article on electrical energy is located elsewhere. Electricity is a property of certain subatomic particles (e.g. electrons / protons) which couples to electromagnetic fields and causes attractive and repulsive forces between them. Electricity gives rise to one of the four fundamental forces of nature, and is a conserved property... electricity, energy from the Combustion or burning is an exothermic reaction between a substance (the fuel) and a gas (the oxidizer) to release heat. Combustion normally occurs in oxygen (often in the form of gaseous O2) to form oxides. However, combustion can also take place in other gases like chlorine. Since the fuel is... combustion of fossil fuels is often used to power a WWII era ship propulsion turbine A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow. The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor-blade assembly. Moving fluid acts on the blades to spin them and impart energy to the rotor. Early turbine examples are windmills and... turbine. Older generators used steam generated by the burning of the fuel to turn the turbine, but in newer power plants the gases produced by burning of the fuel turn a The worlds first commercial, oil-free gas turbine is manufactured by Capstone. This machine has a single-stage radial compressor and turbine, a recuperator, and foil bearings. A gas turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a flow of combustion gas. It has an upstream compressor coupled... gas turbine directly.

The burning of fossil fuels by humans is their major source of emissions of Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. A very widely known chemical compound, it is frequently called by its formula CO2. Carbon dioxide results from the combustion of organic matter if sufficient amounts of oxygen are present. It is also produced by various... carbon dioxide which is one of the Greenhouse gases are gaseous components of the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, which in the cloudless case causes (see note below) about 60-70% of the greenhouse effect on Earth, carbon dioxide (about 26%) and ozone. [1] Minor greenhouse gases... greenhouse gases that is believed to contribute to Global Mean Temperatures 1880-2005 Global warming is a term used to describe an increase over time of the average temperature of Earths atmosphere and oceans. Global warming theories attempt to account for the rise in average global temperatures since the late 19th century (0.6 ± 0.2°C... global warming. A small amount of hydrocarbon-based fuels are Biofuel is any fuel that derives from biomass _ recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows. It is a renewable energy, unlike natural resources such as petroleum, coal and nuclear fuels. Typically biofuel is burned to release its stored chemical energy. Research into more efficient... biofuels which are derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide and thus do not increase the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Origin

There are two theories on the origin of fossil fuels: the mainstream biogenic theory and the The theory of abiogenic petroleum origin states that petroleum (or crude oil) is primarily created from non- biological sources of hydrocarbons located deep in the Earth. The theory stands in contrast to the more widely held conventional view that petroleum is created from the remains of ancient living matter. The... abiogenic theory. The two theories have been intensely debated since the Events and trends Italian unification under King Victor Emmanuel II. Wars for expansion and national unity continue until the incorporation of the Papal States (March 17, 1861 - September 20, 1870). American Civil War fought between the remaining United States of America under President Abraham Lincoln and the self-declared Confederate... 1860s, shortly after the discovery of widespread petroleum. According to the biogenic theory, fossil fuels are the altered remnants of ancient plant and animal life deposited in Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee. Sedimentary rock is one of the three main rock groups (along with igneous and metamorphic rocks) and is formed in three main ways—by the deposition of the weathered remains of other rocks (known as clastic... sedimentary rocks. The organic molecules associated with these organisms forms a group of chemicals known as Kerogens are chemical compounds, often found to be formed by the low-grade metamorphism (i.e. diagenesis) of organic molecules derived from decaying plant and animal matter. These are long-chain polymers which do not dissolve in several specific solvents. Kerogens are the precursors to hydrocarbons (fossil fuels). Types Labile... kerogens which are then transformed into hydrocarbons by the process of Catagenesis can refer to: The cracking process in which organic kerogens are broken down into hydrocarbons (see catagenesis (geology)) Retrogressive evolution, as contrasted with anagenesis (see catagenesis (biology)) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an... catagenesis. According to the abiogenic theory, hydrocarbon deposits are primordial, being part of the Earth as it formed.

The biogenic theory was favored early because in the late Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. In the sense of the Common Era... 19th century it was believed that the Earth was extremely hot (possibly molten rock) during its formation. This would have precluded the accretion of hydrocarbons, which would have been oxidized into water and carbon dioxide. When it was later discovered that all fossil fuels contain traces of biological debris, the biogenic theory gained further support because the idea that life (even microbial life) could exist at the depths at which petroleum had been found seemed even less plausible.

Research in the abiogenic theory is in progress. For details on the subject see the article The theory of abiogenic petroleum origin states that petroleum (or crude oil) is primarily created from non- biological sources of hydrocarbons located deep in the Earth. The theory stands in contrast to the more widely held conventional view that petroleum is created from the remains of ancient living matter. The... Abiogenic petroleum origin.

A limited resource

The reports from the early 1970s - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes.css; @import /skins/monobook/IE55Fixes.css; @import /skins/monobook/IE60Fixes.css; /**/ 1970s From Wikipedia Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of... 1970s (the (Redirected from 1973 energy crisis) United States, drivers of vehicles with odd numbered license plates were allowed to purchase gasoline only on odd-numbered days of the month, while drivers with even-numbers were limited to even-numbered days. The world oil shock of 1973 began in earnest on October... 1973 energy crisis) that Crude oil is a finite resource. It is estimated that there is a total of 2,390 billion barrels (380 km³) of crude oil on Earth. Estimates of undiscovered reserves range widely from 275 to 1,469 billion barrels (44 to 234 km³). Between 1859 and 1968, 200 billion barrels... oil supplies would run out in the Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM... 1990s have proven wrong, but oil is still believed to be a finite resource. Even if The theory of abiogenic petroleum origin states that petroleum (or crude oil) is primarily created from non- biological sources of hydrocarbons located deep in the Earth. The theory stands in contrast to the more widely held conventional view that petroleum is created from the remains of ancient living matter. The... abiogenic oil is the source, the theory is not of practical use unless significant deposits are discovered. Significant usage of Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. The lower power station has four water turbines which can generate 360 megawatts of electricity within 60 seconds of the need arising. Hydroelectricity... hydroelectricity and Nuclear power station at Leibstadt, Switzerland. The nuclear reactor is inside the dome-shaped containment building. A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate (as opposed to a nuclear explosion, where the chain reaction occurs in a split... nuclear power (outside the The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America¹, the States, or (archaically) Columbia — is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii... United States) and scientific advances have reduced the dependency on fossil fuels, of which household usage has increased nonetheless. Petroleum is also important because it is a source of A petrochemical is any chemical derived from fossil fuel. These include purified fossil fuels such as methane, propane, butane, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, or fuel oil, and also include many agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, and other items such as plastics, asphalt and synthetic fibers... petrochemicals, for which there are a vast variety of uses.

Sooner or later we will have to find alternatives. However, many people share a viewpoint that the time at which we would run out of fossil fuels is far in the future. Some hope that by then we may have presently unavailable power systems such as A solar power satellite, or SPS, is a proposed satellite built in high Earth orbit that uses microwave power transmission to beam solar power to a very large antenna on Earth where it can be used in place of conventional power sources. The advantage to placing the solar collectors in... solar power satellites or In physics, nuclear fusion (a thermonuclear reaction) is a process in which two nuclei join, forming a larger nucleus and releasing energy. Nuclear fusion is the energy source which causes stars to shine, and hydrogen bombs to explode. It takes considerable energy to force nuclei to fuse, even those of... nuclear fusion.

The principle of The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). The graph depicts an increase in demand from D1 to D2 along with the consequent increase... supply and demand suggests that as hydrocarbon supplies diminish, prices will rise. It has therefore been pointed out that higher prices will lead to increased supplies as previously uneconomic sources become more economical to exploit. Artificial gasolines and other Renewable energy (sources) or RES includes all sources of energy that are captured from on-going natural processes, such as solar power, wind power, water flow in streams (hydro power), biomass, biodiesel and geothermal heat flows. Most renewable forms of energy, other than geothermal and tidal power, come from the... renewable energy sources presently require more expensive production and processing technologies than conventional petroleum reserves, but may then become economically viable. See Future energy development face great challenges due to an increasing world population, demands for higher standards of living, demands for less pollution and a much discussed end to fossil fuels. Failure would result in overpopulation and a Malthusian catastrophe. Most energy sources use energy from sunlight, either directly like solar... future energy development.

Origin

A limited resource

See also

External links