Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels They are the main source of energy that we have throughout the world. It is a set of remains of organisms that has been present on Earth and, after being subjected to the heat and pressure of the earth's crust for hundreds of millions of years, has formed and has contained a large amount of energy. Its formation is due to a natural process of aerobic decomposition of dead and buried organisms. Over the years, this decomposition has become a hydrocarbon capable of containing energy.

In this article we are going to focus on explaining the characteristics, applications, origin and secondary effects of fossil fuels. Do you want to know everything about them?

Fossil fuels as an energy source

Our world is continually changing. The economic development that unleashed the industrial revolution is making our society evolve. A totally industrialized society where economic development is linked to energy sources.

The energy that the human being consumes every day to carry out all the activities is obtained from different sources. Some of them are renewable sources and others not. For now, our world is moving in mostly with non-renewable energies that pollute the planet.

Fossil energy is obtained through the combustion of some substances that come from plant remains and other living organisms that have been decomposing over the years. Millions of years ago, these remains were buried by the effects of natural phenomena and the action of microorganisms. Once they were buried in the earth's crust, they were committed to conditions of pressure and high temperature that have given them their current characteristics.

Types of fossil fuels

Currently, various types of fossil fuels are used to obtain energy. Each one has different characteristics and origin. However, they all contain a large amount of energy that is used for different uses.

Next we will describe the main ones:

• Mineral carbon. It is the coal that was used for locomotives. It is mainly carbon found in large deposits in the ground. To extract it, mines are built where the resource is exploited.
• Petroleum. It is a mixture of a wide variety of hydrocarbons in the liquid phase. It is composed of other large impurities and is used to obtain various fuels and by-products.
• Natural gas. It is composed mainly of methane gas. This gas corresponds to the lightest part of hydrocarbons. Therefore, it is said that natural gas is less polluting and more pure. It is extracted from oil fields in the form of gas.
• Tar sands and oil shales. They are materials formed by clay-sized sands that contain small remains of organic matter. This organic matter is composed of decomposed materials with a structure very similar to that of oil.

Nuclear energy is also considered a type of fossil fuel. It is released as a result of a nuclear reaction called Nuclear fision. It is the division of nuclei of heavy atoms such as uranium or plutonium.

Oil formation

Petroleum is a fossil fuel that originates from the debris feedstock of living aquatic, animal and plant organisms. These living beings lived in the seas, lagoons and mouths near the sea.

Oil is in those media of sedimentary origin. This means that the matter that has formed was organic and was deposited being covered by sediment. Deeper and deeper, by the action of the pressure of the earth's crust, it was transformed into a hydrocarbon.

This process takes millions of years in time. Therefore, although oil is continually being generated, it is doing so at a minuscule rate for the human scale. In addition, the rate of oil consumption is such that the dates for its exhaustion are already scheduled. In the oil formation reaction, aerobic bacteria act first and anaerobic bacteria later, in greater depth. These reactions release oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. These three elements are part of the volatile compounds of hydrocarbons.

As the sediments are compacted by the effect of pressure, the bedrock is formed. Subsequently, due to migration effects, the oil begins to impregnate all the more porous and more permeable rocks. These rocks have been called "Warehouse rocks." There the oil concentrates and remains in them. In this way, the oil extraction processes are carried out for its exploitation as fuel.

Advantages and disadvantages

Fossil fuels have several advantages and disadvantages when it comes to using them as an energy source. Let's analyze them:

• Abundance in the deposits. Although there is talk of its next depletion, the reserves of fossil fuels still have to supply us. With the growth of renewable energy, its use is decreasing every day.
• Accessibility to reserves is not very complicated yet. This means that, being easy to extract, the economic operating costs are reduced.
• Provides a lot of power at a relatively low price. It must be said that, although they are not useful for the long term, they are strong and cheap energies.
• Its transport and storage is cheap and easy. Unlike renewable energy, the transport and storage of fossil fuels is easy. Renewables have drawbacks in their storage systems.

The disadvantages are broader since they are divided into several types. We are going to discuss them in parts.

Environmental disadvantages

The combustion, extraction, processing and transportation of these fossil fuels have a direct consequence on the greenhouse effect. Almost 80% of carbon dioxide emissions globally they come from the use of fossil fuels.

Health effects

The population is affected by pollution and suffers from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The most sensitive sectors of the population are pregnant women, the elderly and children. Children are especially the most affected, since by running more while you play, they breathe more air and drink more water. Your metabolism is not yet developed enough to eliminate harmful substances.

Let's hope that renewable energies replace fossil fuels and improve the quality of life.