Vedant Deshmukh 10 A SEA activity

Sanskar Dnyanpeeth, Khamgaon

Subject: Science

SEA activity

Name: Mst. Vedant Deshmukh

Class: 10thA

Roll no: 10129

Topic: Coal and Petroleum

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 Vedant Deshmukh 10 A SEA activity

Introduction
Coal and Petroleum - Exhaustible Natural Resources
There are so many materials catering to our various needs on a daily basis. We
drink water, eat food, breathe air, go to school, etc. All these things are
available to us, but are all free of cost and readily accessible without fear of
being depleted one day.
No. Not everything is readily available to us. For instance, sunlight, air, etc are
resources which we find in abundance and it won’t be depleted any time soon.
Hence, these resources are called Inexhaustible natural resources.
Other resources are created in very limited quantities and it takes a very long
time for such resources to be replenished. Such resources are known as
exhaustible natural resources. Ex: coal, petroleum, minerals, natural gas, etc.
Let us briefly understand a few of these exhaustible natural resources.

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 Vedant Deshmukh 10 A SEA activity

Coal

Coal is a black hard rock, flammable in nature. It belongs to the

category of solid fossil fuels because of its ignition property. It

consists of 65-95% carbon. The other constituents include

hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen. Coal is formed from the remains of plants which lived

millions of years ago in tropical regions of the Earth. Due to natural processes such as flooding, these

trees got buried under the soil. With time, more and more soil got deposited over them. The

temperature rose with depth. Under the high conditions of temperature and pressure over a long

period of time, these remains of dead vegetation got converted to coal. The process of conversion of

dead vegetation to coal is termed as canonization.

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Types of Coal
Coal can be divided into four types, based on their carbon content and ignition rate. In this section, we shall
learn about the stages through which coal is formed.
▪ Peat: Peat is a heterogeneous mixture of partially decomposed organic matter that has accumulated in
a water-saturated environment in the absence of oxygen. Peat is used for its highly absorbent property
towards fuel. The carbon content in peat is less than 60%.
▪ Lignite: When peat gets transformed into a rock, it forms lignite. Lignite is the lowest rank of coal in
terms of carbon content and efficiency. It is mainly used for electric power generation. It has a carbon
content of nearly 60% – 70%.
▪ Bituminous: When lignite is subjected to high temperature and pressure, the process of organic
metamorphism takes place, where oxygen and hydrogen content of the matter decreases, thus
increasing the carbon content. The carbon content of bituminous coal ranges from 77-87%. It is used
as a fuel in steam-electric power generation and for heat and power applications in manufacturing
industries.
▪ Anthracite: Anthracite is considered the highest quality of coal. It has a carbon content of 87% or
more. It is hard and glossy in nature and has the highest heating value. It is mainly used for residential
and commercial purposes.

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 Vedant Deshmukh 10 A SEA activity

Petroleum

Petroleum is a naturally occurring, yellow to brown liquid found in

geological formations beneath the Earth’s surface. It consists of 93-
97% Carbon. The other constituents include hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen, and sulphur. Petroleum is formed from the remains of
zooplankton and algae. Vast quantities of these remains settled at the
lake or sea bottoms upon mixing with sediments got buried in the
absence of oxygen. With further layer settling to the sea or lake bed, they got subjected to high
temperature and pressure. Over time, the organic matter changes to a waxy material known as
kerogen. Kerogen when applied with more heat converts into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
Formation of petroleum occurs from the hydrocarbon with various reactions at high temperature and
pressure. Fossils represent the remains or traces of once-living organisms. Broadly, the four types of
fossils are: Body, Molecular, Trace & Carbon Fossil. Fossil fuels are used to fuel cars and aeroplanes,
power electricity plants, to make medicines, cosmetics, plastics, synthetic fibres and lubricants and
also in the manufacture of products for everyday use such as toothpaste, tires etc.

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Crude petroleum oil is further distilled to obtain gasoline (petrol), kerosene, butane, diesel, LPG etc.
apart from asphalt and other chemical reagents.
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Thank You

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