Seite - 61 - in Water, Energy, and Environment - A Primer

Chapter6 Fossil fuels Fossil fuels, in theformofcoal,oil,andnaturalgas,havebeenthe principal energy sources powering US and global economic development over the past century. Today they supply more than 80% of all the energy consumed in industrially developed nations. They are hydrocarbons, compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen, and range from volatile materials such as natural gas (largely methane, CH4) with low carbon to hydrogen ratios, to almost pure carbon materials such as anthracite coal. When a fossil fuel is burned (oxidized to CO2 and H2O) large amounts of energy are released, which can be used for heating and to produce electricity.When petroleum is refined (i.e., processed into gasoline or diesel fuel) it can be used as a liquid fuel for transportation. Natural gas, when compressed, can also be used as a transportation fuel. Over the past few decades the burning of fossil fuelswas responsible for more than70%ofhuman-causedgreenhouse gas emissions. The idea that fossil fuels were formed from the fossilized remains of dead organisms and plants, via exposure to high ©2019TheAuthor. This isanOpenAccessbookchapter distributedunder the termsof the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits copying and redistribution for non-commercial purposeswith noderivatives, provided theoriginalwork is properly cited (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). This does not affect the rights licensed or assigned from any third party in this book. The chapter is from the bookWater,Energy, andEnvironment:APrimer, AllanR.Hoffman (Author). doi: 10.2166/9781780409658_0061