Fossil Fuels

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Fossil Fuels, energy-rich substances that have formed from long-buried plants and microorganisms. Fossil fuels, which include petroleum, coal, and natural gas, provide most of the energy that powers modern industrial society. The gasoline that fuels our cars, the coal that powers many electrical plants, and the natural gas that heats our homes are all fossil fuels.

Chemically, fossil fuels consist largely of hydrocarbons, which are compounds composed of hydrogen and carbon. Some fossil fuels also contain smaller amounts of other compounds. Hydrocarbons form from ancient living organisms that were buried under layers of sediment millions of years ago. As accumulating sediment layers exerted increasing heat and pressure, the remains of the organisms gradually transformed into hydrocarbons. The most commonly used fossil fuels are petroleum, coal, and natural gas. These substances are extracted from the earth’s crust and, if necessary, refined into suitable fuel products, such as gasoline, heating oil, and kerosene. Some of these hydrocarbons may also be processed into plastics, chemicals, lubricants, and other nonfuel products. Geologists have identified other types of hydrocarbon-rich deposits that can serve as fuels. Such deposits, which include oil shale, tar sands, and gas hydrates, are not widely used because they are too costly to extract and refine.

The majority of fossil fuels are used in the transportation, manufacturing, residential heating, and electric-power generation industries. Crude petroleum is refined into gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel, which power the world’s transportation system. Coal is the fuel most commonly burned to generate electric power, and natural gas is used primarily in commercial and residential buildings for heating water and air, for air conditioning, and as fuel for stoves and other heating appliances.

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