Related topics: carbon dioxide , climate change , greenhouse gas , energy , renewable energy
Fossil fuel
hideFossil fuels or mineral fuels are fuels formed by natural resources 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. These fuels contain high percentage of carbon and hydrocarbons.
Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon:hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile 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. It is generally accepted that they formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years. This biogenic theory was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century.
It was estimated by the Energy Information Administration that in 2006 primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.8%, coal 26.6%, natural gas 22.9%, amounting to an 86% share for fossil fuels in primary energy production in the world. Non-fossil sources included hydroelectric 6.3%, nuclear 6.0%, and (geothermal, solar, tide, wind, wood, waste) amounting 0.9 percent. World energy consumption was growing about 2.3% per year.
Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form, and reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being formed. The production and use of fossil fuels raise environmental concerns. A global movement toward the generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to help meet increased energy needs.[citation needed]
The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes (21.3 gigatonnes) of carbon dioxide per year, but it is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount, so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year (one tonne of atmospheric carbon is equivalent to 44/12 or 3.7 tonnes of carbon). Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that enhances radiative forcing and contributes to global warming, causing the average surface temperature of the Earth to rise in response, which climate scientists agree will cause major adverse effects.
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News tagged with fossil fuels
Researchers engineer bacteria to turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The genetically modified cyanobacterium consumes carbon dioxide and produces the liquid fuel isobutanol by using energy from sunlight.
Bioengineers succeed in producing plastic without the use of fossil fuels
Nov 23, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (17) |
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A team of pioneering South Korean scientists have succeeded in producing the polymers used for everyday plastics through bioengineering, rather than through the use of fossil fuel based chemicals. This groundbreaking research, ...
Argonne 'homegrown' hybrid solar cell aims for low-cost power
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (12) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have refined a technique to manufacture solar cells by creating tubes of semiconducting material and then "growing" ...
US army to be powered by waste
Oct 12, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Defense company Qinetiq has been awarded a contract to supply the US army with a system that generates electricity from garbage.
$21 Billion Orbiting Solar Array will Beam Electricity to Earth
Sep 15, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (41) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The Japanese are preparing to develop a two trillion yen (approximately $21 billion USD) space solar project that will beam electricity from space in the form of microwaves or lasers to around ...
Will China's Planned Solar Field Lower the Cost of Alternative Energy?
Sep 14, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (24) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the biggest complaints that some have about solar power (and other forms of alternative energy) is that it is so much more expensive than the fossil fuels that are more commonly used ...
Solar Roadways Awarded DOT Contract to Pave Roads with Solar Cells
Sep 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In a first step toward turning highways into energy-generating solar panels, the Sagle, Idaho-based startup Solar Roadways has recently received a $100,000 grant from the US Department of ...
How a Solar-Hydrogen Economy Could Supply the World's Energy Needs
Aug 24, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (48) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As the world's oil supply continues to dry out every day, the question of what will replace oil and other fossil fuels is becoming more and more urgent. According to the World Coal Institute, ...
Germany wants a million electric cars by 2020
Aug 19, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
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The German government unveiled plans Wednesday to get one million electric cars zipping around the country by 2020, offering sweeteners to jump-start national giants like BMW and Volkswagen into action.
Chicago Installs Solar Powered Charging Station for Electric Vehicles
Apr 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the biggest arguments that some have made against plug-in electric vehicles is that they still promote the use of fossil fuels. When you have to plug in a car for a charge, the electricity ...
New hydrogen production method could reduce need for fossil fuels
Jan 06, 2009 |
3 / 5 (22) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have created an entirely natural and renewable method for producing hydrogen to generate electricity which could drastically reduce the dependency on fossil fuels in the future.
INL develops safer, more efficient nuclear fuel for next-gen reactors
Nov 30, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (15) |
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As the nation ponders its energy choices, Americans keep asking themselves: how can the country make better use of its resources and emit fewer greenhouse gases without hurting U.S. industries? A research ...
Intensive land management leaves Europe without carbon sinks
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 23, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (8) |
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A new calculation of Europe's greenhouse gas balance shows that emissions of methane and nitrous oxide tip the balance and eliminate Europe's terrestrial sink of greenhouse gases.
Oceans' uptake of manmade carbon may be slowing
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 18, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (25) |
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The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. Now, the first year-by-year accounting of this mechanism during the industrial ...
Fighting climate change by turning CO2 to stone
Nov 17, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (13) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- While politicians debate the best ways to cut global carbon dioxide emissions, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory's Center for Advanced Energy Studies are charging ahead on a strategy ...
