Fossil 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.
[1]

The fossil fuels, which contain high percentages of carbon, include coal, petroleum,

and natural gas. Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon:hydrogen ratios likemethane, 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[2] by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over millions of years.
[3]

This biogenic theory was first introduced by Georg Agricola in 1556 and later

by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century. 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 made. The production and use of fossil fuels raise environmental concerns. A global movement toward the generation ofrenewable energy is therefore under way to help meet increased energy needs.

The principle of supply and demand suggests that as hydrocarbon supplies diminish, prices will rise. Therefore higher prices will lead to increased alternative, renewable energy supplies as previously uneconomic sources become sufficiently economical to exploit. Artificial gasoline and other renewable energy sources currently require more expensive production and processing technologies than conventional petroleum reserves, but may become economically viable in the near future. See Energy development. Different alternative sources of energy include nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and geothermal. Fossil fuels are of great importance because they can be burned (oxidized to carbon dioxide and water), producing significant amounts of energy per unit weight. The use of coal as a fuel predates recorded history. Coal was used to run furnaces for the melting of metal ore. Semi-solid hydrocarbons from seeps were also burned in ancient times,[7] but these materials were mostly used for waterproofing and embalming.[8] Commercial exploitation of petroleum, largely as a replacement for oils from animal sources (notablywhale oil), for use in oil lamps began in the 19th century.[9] Natural gas, once flared-off as an unneeded byproduct of petroleum production, is now considered a very valuable resource. Heavy crude oil, which is much more viscous than conventional crude oil, and tar sands, where bitumen is found mixed with sand and clay, are becoming more important as sources of fossil fuel.[11] Oil shale and similar materials are sedimentary rocks containing kerogen, a complex mixture of highmolecular weight organic compounds, which yield synthetic crude oil when heated (pyrolyzed). These materials have yet to be exploited commercially.[12] These fuels can be employed in internal combustion engines, fossil fuel power stations and other uses. A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum (oil) to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation. In many countries, such plants provide most of the electrical energy used. Fossil fuel power stations (except for MHD generators) have some kind of rotating machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical, which then

operate an electrical generator. The prime mover may be a steam turbine, a gas turbine or, in small isolated plants, a reciprocating internal combustion engine. All plants use the drop between the high pressure and temperature of the steam or combusting fuel and the lower pressure of the atmosphere or condensing vapor in the steam turbine.

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon along with variable quantities of other elements, chiefly sulfur, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Finely ground bituminous coal, known in this application as sea coal, is a constituent of foundry sand. While the molten metal is in the mould the coal burns slowly, releasing reducing gases at pressure and so preventing the metal from penetrating the pores of the sand. It is also contained in mould wash, a paste or liquid with the same function applied to the mould before casting. Sea coal can be mixed with the clay lining (the "bod") used for the bottom of a cupola furnace. When heated the coal decomposes and the bod becomes slightly friable, easing the process of breaking open holes for tapping the molten metal. Coal was used to run furnaces for the melting of metal ore

The Philippines is a relatively minor coal producer but has a number of coal-fired power stations. The Philippine Department of Energy estimates that in 2005 coal-fired power stations accounted for 3,967 MW of the electricity generated in the country, representing approximately 27% of the total. In addition the cement sector accounted for approximately 20% of the country's coal consumption.

Coal is primarily used as a solid fuel to produce electricity and heat through combustion. When coal is used for electricity generation, it is usually pulverized and then combusted (burned) in a furnace with a boiler. The furnace heat converts boiler water to steam, which is then used to spin turbines which turn generators and create electricity. The thermodynamic efficiency of this process has been improved over time. Other efficient ways to use coal are combined heat and power cogeneration and an MHD topping cycle. The U.S. Geological Service reports that in 2007 "production of coal was 3.72 million metric tons (Mt) compared with 2.53 Mt reported in 2006 (table 1). The increase in coal production was attributable principally to high demand in both the local and the world markets as the result of increases in oil prices" The Philippine Department of Energy reports that the largest coal producer in 2005 was the Semirara Mining Corporation (SMC) which produced approximately 92% of the total. Smaller mining operations were based on deposits in Cebu, Zamboanga Sibuguey, Albay, Surigao and Negros Provinces.

Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills. It is a widely used fuel source, a major feedstock for fertilizers, and a potent greenhouse gas. It is also commonly used in coal plant conversion projects because it is seen as a cleaner burning fuel. However, natural gas, while producing less carbon dioxide than coal or oil, does contribute net carbon into the atmosphere. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, it must undergo extensive natural gas processing to remove almost all materials other than methane. The by-products of that processing include ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes and higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, elemental sulfur, carbon, water vapor and sometimes helium and nitrogen.Natural gas is often informally referred to as simply gas, especially when compared to other energy sources such as oil or coal. The world's largest proven gas reserves are located in Russia. Russia is also the world's largest natural gas producer, through the Gazprom company. The world's largest gas field is Qatar's offshore North Field, estimated to have 25 trillion cubic metres of gas in placeenough to last more than 200 years at optimum production

levels. The second largest natural gas field is the South Pars Gas Field in Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Connected to Qatar's North Field, it has estimated reserves of 8 to 14 trillion cubic metres of gas. According to the Energy Information Administration, the 1987 repeal of the Power Plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act prohibiting the use of natural gas by new electric generating units led to a large increase in natural gas generating capacity through 2000. Additional factors contributing to this increase were low natural gas prices through the 1990s, the availability of increasingly efficient natural gas technology in the form of advanced combined cycle units, the short construction-to-operation time to build new combined cycle units, and the attractiveness of natural gas as a trace SO2-emitting fuel source. In the past, natural gas was almost always a byproduct of producing oil, since the small, light gas carbon chains come out of solution as it undergoes pressure reduction from the reservoir to the surface, similar to uncapping a bottle of soda pop where the carbon dioxide effervesces. Unwanted natural gas can be a disposal problem at the well site. If there is not a market for natural gas near the wellhead it is virtually valueless since it must be piped to the end user. Until recently, such unwanted gas was burned off at the well site, but due to environmental concerns this practice is becoming less common. Often, unwanted gas (or 'stranded' gas without a market) is pumped back into the reservoir with an 'injection' well for disposal or depressurizing the producing formation. Another solution is to export the natural gas as a liquid. Gas-to-liquid, (GTL) is a developing technology that converts stranded natural gas into synthetic gasoline or diesel or jet fuel (synfuels) through the Fischer-Tropsch process developed in World War II Germany. Such fuels can be transported through conventional pipelines and tankers to users. Proponents claim GTL fuels burn cleaner than comparable petroleum fuels. Most major international oil companies are in advanced development stages of GTL production, with a world-scale (140,000 bbl/day) GTL plant in Qatar scheduled to come online before 2010. In locations such as the United States with a high natural gas demand, pipelines are constructed to take the gas from the well site to the end consumer.

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. It is refined and separated, most easily by boiling point, into a large number of consumer products, from gasoline and kerosene to asphalt and chemical reagents used to make plastics and pharmaceuticals. Crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid composed mostly of hydrogen and carbon. It is usually found underground but can also be found above ground in oil seeps or tar pits. Crude oil is used to produce fuel for cars, trucks, airplanes, boats and trains. It is also used for a wide variety of other products including asphalt for roads, lubricants for all kinds of machines, plastics for toys, bottles, food wrap and computers. In its strictest sense, petroleum includes only crude oil, but in common usage it includes all liquid, gaseous, and solid (e.g., paraffin) hydrocarbons. Under surface pressure and temperature conditions, lighter hydrocarbons methane, ethane, propane and butane occur as gases,

while pentane and heavier ones are in the form of liquids or solids. However, in an underground oil reservoir the proportions of gas, liquid, and solid depend on subsurface conditions and on the phase diagram of the petroleum mixture.[5] An oil well produces predominantly crude oil, with some natural gas dissolved in it. Because the pressure is lower at the surface than underground, some of the gas will come out of solution and be recovered (or burned) as associated gas or solution gas. A gas well produces predominantly natural gas. However, because the underground temperature and pressure are higher than at the surface, the gas may contain heavier hydrocarbons such as pentane, hexane, and heptane in the gaseous state. At surface conditions these will condense out of the gas to form natural gas condensate, often shortened to condensate. Condensate resembles petrol in appearance and is similar in composition to some volatile light crude oils. There are several major oil producing regions around the globe. The Kuwait and Saudi Arabia's crude oil fields are the largest, although Middle East oil from other countries in the region such as Iran and Iraq also make up a significant part of world production figures. Crude oil is believed to have been formed from very small plants and animals that lived in ancient seas and oceans a very long time ago. As these plants and animals die, they sink to the bottom of the sea where they mix with mud, sand, and clay. This mixture of mud and organic (once-living) material is rich in hydrogen and carbon, the building blocks of crude oil. Year-after-year more mud and sediments are deposited on the sea floor. Over millions of years this layer of organic-rich mud becomes buried thousands of feet deep in the earth.

Biofuels are a wide range of fuels which are in some way derived from biomass. The term covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases.[1] Biofuels are gaining increased public and scientific attention, driven by factors such as oil price spikes, the need for increased energy, and concern over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermenting the sugar components of plant materials and it is made mostly from sugar and starch crops. With advanced technology being developed, cellulosic biomass, such as trees and grasses, are also used as feed stocks for ethanol production. Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions. Bioethanol is widely used in the USA and in Brazil. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled greases. Biodiesel can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as

a diesel additive to reduce levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons from diesel-powered vehicles. Biodiesel is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is the most common biofuel in Europe. Most transportation fuels are liquids, because vehicles usually require high energy density, as occurs in liquids and solids. High power density can be provided most inexpensively by an internal; these engines require clean burning fuels, to keep the engine clean and minimize air pollution. The fuels that are easiest to burn cleanly are typically liquids and gases. Thus liquids (and gases that can be stored in liquid form) meet the requirements of being both portable and clean burning. Also, liquids and gases can be pumped, which means handling is easily mechanized, and thus less laborious. There are international organizations such as IEA Bioenergy,[48] established in 1978 by the OECD International Energy Agency (IEA), with the aim of improving cooperation and information exchange between countries that have national programs in bioenergy research, development and deployment. The U.N. International Biofuels Forum is formed by Brazil,China, India, South Africa, the United States and the European Commission.[49] The world leaders in biofuel development and use are Brazil, United States, France, Sweden and Germany. Russia is willing to play one of the main roles in the solid biofuel production in the near future in Europe. The biggest pellet plant with production capacity of 1 mio tons of pellets is run in 2011 near the borderwith European Union. The biggest biomass (solid biofuels) resources are concentrated in Russia (25% of world forests are in Russia) .