COAL AND PETROLEUM:

Uses and Need for Conservation

MADE BY - HARLEEN KAUR
SESSION - 2021-22
CLASS AND SECTION - X-C
ROLL NUMBER - 18
 Whatare
What arefossil
fossilfuels
fuels??
◈ Fossil fuels are made from decomposing plants and animals. These fuels are
found in the Earth's crust and contain carbon and hydrogen, which can be
burned for energy. Coal, crude oil/petroleum, and natural gas are examples
of fossil fuels. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is
typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years.
◈ Here we will discuss about the use and the need for conservation of the
following:
▪ Coal
▪ Petroleum
 Coal and its Uses
◈ Coal is an essential resource for tackling the challenges facing the modern world - specifically
the rapid increase in energy consumption. Coal is significantly cheaper and more accessible
than other fossil fuels and its reserves are distributed much more equally around the planet. It
can also be processed industrially in order to obtain products like coke, tar and coal gas
◈ Coal accounts for over 37% of the world’s electricity supply. It is fundamental in
powering homes and industry, providing energy for transport and producing steel and
concrete.
◈ Some of its uses are listed below-

1. Electricity Generation :
Power generation is the primary use for coal worldwide. Thermal coal is burnt to create steam that
drives turbines and generators for the production of electricity.
2. Metal Production :
Coal converted to coke is used to produce around 70% of the world’s steel. Coal is also widely
used in the production of other metals including aluminium and copper.

3. Cement Production :
Coal is used as a key energy source in cement production. By-products of coal combustion such as
fly ash also play an important role in cement manufacture and the wider construction industry.

4. Gasification and Liquefaction :

Coal is heated and pressurised with steam to produce ‘town’ gas for domestic lighting, heating and
cooking. It is liquefied to make synthetic fuels similar to petroleum or diesel. The majority of coal-
to-gas projects are located in the USA and China, with a few in Indonesia, India, Australia, Canada
and South Africa.
5. Chemical Production :
Syngas — from gasification — can be further processed to produce chemical building blocks such
as methanol, ammonia and urea.

6. Other Industries :
Other major users of coal include the paper, textile and glass industries. Coal is also used in the
manufacture of carbon fibre and specialist ingredients such as silicon metals, which are used to
produce ingredients for the household and personal care sectors.
 Petroleum and its Uses
◈ Petroleum is a naturally occurring element which is in liquid state. It is generally black in
colour. It is usually found in geological formations underneath the earth’s crust. Petroleum is a
mix of thousands of molecules and organic compounds. However, hydrocarbons of various
molecular weights form the majority of them.
1. Transportation:
The entire transport system of the world depends upon petroleum. It has revolutionized the entire
transport system be it road, rail, water or air transport. Petrol and diesel are the main sources of
energy for all types of modern transport vehicles.
2. Industrial power:
Oil is the major source of industrial power. Diesel and gasoline are used in gas turbines to produce
electricity.
3. Heating and lighting:
Heavier oils are used in central heating plants for shops, offices as well as homes. Oil is also used
to produce electricity for industrial and domestic use. The lighter grades of oil such as ‘kerosene’
are still used for domestic purposes.

4. Lubricants:
Lubricants are very useful for all types of machines especially for the machines used in transport
and industries. All types of lubricants and greases are produced from petroleum. Vehicles of all
kinds and the vast range of sophisticated machinery in use in factories and offices rely on lubri­
cants and would grind to standstill if they were not available.

5. Petro-chemical industry:
Both petro-chemical and chemical industries use petroleum by-products as raw material. Petro-
products are used to produce: chemical fertilizer, synthetic fiber, synthetic rubber, nylon, plastics,
pesti­cides and insecticides, perfumes, dyes, paints, carbon black and Sulphur, etc.
 6. Use of by-products:
The crude oil is a mixture of carbon, hydrogen, impurities and few other components. The refining
process separates various fractions of hydrocarbons and several by-products have been produced.

The most important products and by-products are: petrol, paraffin, diesel, gas oil, and petro-
chemical by-products – plastic, detergents, aviation gasoline, naphtha, Mobil, grease, Vaseline,
wax, butadine, asphalt, etc. In fact, nowadays thousands of products are produced by petro-
chemical combinations.
 NEED FOR CONSERVATION OF COAL AND PETROLEUM

1. Coal and Petroleum in the Earth are Limited

Coal and petroleum were formed from the degradation of biomass of plants and animals
respectively, buried deep under the earth millions of years ago. We obtain coal from the ‘coal
mines’ dug into the earth and petroleum is obtained by digging ‘oil wells’ deep in the earth.
The crude petroleum oil obtained from oil wells is then separated into fuels such as LPG, petrol,
diesel and kerosene. We have been using coal and petroleum resources at such a rapid rate in the
past that they will get exhausted in the near future.
It has been estimated that at the present rate of consumption, the known petroleum reserves of the
earth will last us for just about 40 years more and the coal will last for about another 200 years
only. Once exhausted, coal and petroleum will not be available to us in near future (because they
are formed extremely slowly over a very, very long time). It is, therefore, necessary to conserve (or
save) coal and petroleum resources of the earth by reducing their consumption so that they may
last for as long as possible.
2. Burning of fossil fuels cause pollution:
TOTAL GREENHOUSE GAS
EMISSIONS BY ECONOMIC
◈ The largest source of greenhouse gas SECTOR IN 2019
emissions from human activities in the is from
burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and Agriculture
Commercial and
transportation 10%
Residential
Industry
29%
◈ In 2019, fossil fuels were the source of 74% of 13% Electricity
Transportation
total human-caused (anthropogenic)
23%
greenhouse gas emissions. 25%
 Today'swastage
Today's wastageisistomorrow's
tomorrow'sShortage
Shortage!!
Souse
So usejudiciously.
judiciously.

Thank You!