Effects of Burning Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels can be defined as the material containing hydrocarbons that are generated from the remains of the dead and decay of plants and animals that are buried underground for many years, which are extracted and burned by humans to release energy for various uses. The three main fossil fuels are natural gas, coal, and petroleum. These are extracted by humans through mining and drilling. Fossil fuels are burnt to generate energy that can be used for direct heating in cooking purposes, for power engines like motor engines or internal combustion engines or for electricity generation. 

Other chemical derivatives can be derived from fossil fuels when they are refined in the chemical industries by various processes. The refined fossil fuels that are commonly used are kerosene, gasoline, and propane and some of the common chemically derived products include plastics and agricultural products such as fertilisers and pesticides. In spite of having a wide range of uses, it is marked to be harmful to the environment as they cause a direct effect on the communities and the climate in every step of their use starting from the extraction and transportation to consumption of the fuels.  

Types of Fossil Fuels

Let us understand how fossil fuels are formed. Fossil fuel is formed when any of a class of hydrocarbon-containing materials of biological origin occurring within the Earth’s crust that can be used as a source of energy.

There are Three Primary Varieties of Fossil Fuels:

• Petroleum,

• Natural gas, and

• Coal.

Let us understand the varieties of fossil fuels.

1. Petroleum: 

Petroleum, also called oil, is the most often used and discussed form of fossil fuel around the globe today. Today, we think of oil as the fuel that we pump into our cars at pump stations, but refined gasoline is not what comes out of the ground at oil wells.

On the contrary, crude oil is a form of petroleum that happens naturally. Petroleum consists of carbon and hydrogen that has gone through an organic phase in single-cell plants or being animals, like blue-green algae or animals.

The preserved remains of such organisms become petroleum through a process called Diagenesis. Petroleum is classified by its predominant hydrocarbon. There are 5 grades of crude oil based on specific gravity ranging from heavy to light, the latter being the most desirable.  

2. Natural Gas: 

Natural Gas is made up of methane and is incredibly lightweight. While petroleum is generated solely inside the oil window. Natural gas migrates up from deep below Earth’s surface and accumulates in traps, along with petroleum. They have three main properties: colour, odour, and flammability. Methane is colourless, odourless, and highly flammable.

3. Coal:

Here natural gas is a gas, petroleum is a liquid, and coal is, of course, a solid. Coal looks like chunks of midnight black rock, which are harvested from the Earth by workers in mining operations. During surface or underground mining, coal can be recovered. For surface mining, the process is straightforward. Coal is composed of 5 diverse elements: oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulphur, with the distributions of those 5 elements varying depending on the piece of coal. In any case, coal today is used for everything from producing steel and cement to keeping the lights at homes and Industries. 

• Hydrocarbon – Any category of organic chemical compounds composed solely of carbon (C) and hydrogen gas (H).

• Methane: A chemical compound with the chemical formula CH₄.

The Effects of Burning Fossil Fuel

Burning fossil fuels can affect the environment, air quality, climatic conditions, and human health. Every recent study by scientists states that the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas for energy is the main contributor to the rapidly rising level of carbon dioxide that is driving climate change. As the burning of fossil fuels increases, the climatic condition will change and increase the temperature. Fossil fuel extraction, processing, and burning can have negative health effects on the communities. 

Global Warming Pollution

Fossil fuel and global warming are closely associated with each other. The presence of high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere results in an increase in the amount of heat and temperature on the surface of the Earth. This is because carbon dioxide traps heat obtained from sunlight and it does not dissipate out of the atmosphere, this process is known as the greenhouse effect. Since fossil fuels are hydrocarbons (made from hydrogen and carbon), burning fossil fuels releases an enormous amount of carbon dioxide into the air. When there's a major rise in the percentage of carbon dioxide in the air, the amount of heat captured by the carbon dioxide gas also increases. This, in turn, results in an overall rise in the surface temperature of the Earth, which is additionally referred to as global warming.

Higher Rise in the Sea Level 

The rise in the sea level can adversely affect the climate of the Earth. We will witness a drastic change in the weather conditions in various parts of the world. The glaciers of the Earth will melt at a much faster rate. As a result of this, the areas which are located near the water bodies like the coastal regions and the banks of the river are likely to get submerged underwater.

Lots of islands, deltas, and thickly inhabited cities will get enclosed by water. Droughts and floods can occur more frequently in several inland areas that have extreme weather. The cities that are situated near the sea would also suffer the consequences.

Other Forms of Air Pollution

We also cause air pollution indirectly, like when we buy goods and services that make use of energy in their manufacture and delivery. Most of this air pollution we tend to cause results from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline to produce electricity and power for our vehicles. Fossil fuels emit more than simply carbon dioxide when burned. Due to the burning of fossil fuels, many harmful pollutants are formed such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter, lead, mercury, and sulphur dioxide (SO₂). Coal-fired power plants singlehandedly generate 42 per cent of dangerous mercury emissions and the vast majority of the particulate matter in our air. In the meantime, fossil fuel-powered trucks, cars, and boats are the main suppliers of toxic carbon monoxide gas and nitrogen oxide, which produces smog (and metabolism illnesses) on hot days. Fuels such as coal, and petroleum release unburnt particles into the environment. The particles result in air pollution and cause respiratory diseases such as respiratory illness, lung damage, ozone (smog) effect, reduces the ability of blood to bring oxygen to the blood cells and tissues, liver and kidney, etc. 

Toxic Gases Causing Acid Rain

The burning of fossil fuels gives out harmful compounds like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These substances will rise terribly high into the atmosphere, wherever they combine and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form a lot of acidic pollutants, called air pollution. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides dissolve very easily with water and are carried very far by the wind. As a result, both the compounds can travel long distances where they become part of the rain, sleet, snow, and fog that we experience on certain days. 

Human activities are the main reason for acid rain. Over the past few decades, we humans have released so many different chemicals into the air that they have changed the mix of gases in the atmosphere. Huge power plants release the majority of sulphur dioxide and much of the nitrogen oxides when they burn fossil fuels, such as coal, to produce electricity. In addition to this, the gases from cars, trucks, and buses release nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide into the air. These pollutants cause acid rain by the wind. 

Oil Spills

Crude oil or petroleum is often transported from one place to another by tankers and ships. Any leakage in these tankers causes oil spills. This issue can lead to water pollution and poses a problem for marine life. Thus, we can see that the issues of fossil fuels, global warming, and climate change are all interwoven with each other. We all have to play a vital role in controlling their harmful effects. If we take some small measures from our side, then we can save our mother Earth from any major disaster. We should reduce energy consumption in our homes when not in use and use our vehicles only for travelling short distances. We also have to stop cutting trees and plant more saplings regularly. This is because plants use up the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus check its level from rising and protecting the environment. Our activities have put the Earth at risk, and it's now our responsibility to reverse the trend.

Ocean Acidification

When we burn crude oil, coal, and gas, we change the ocean’s basic chemistry, making it more acidic. Our seas absorb as much as a quarter of all carbon emitted. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution and our fossil fuel-burning ways, the ocean has become 30 per cent more acidic. As the acidity in our waters increases, the amount of calcium carbonate which is a substance used by oysters, lobsters, and countless other marine organisms to form shells will go down. The growth rate of the species when reduced weakens the shells and imperils entire food chains. 

When we start analysing the effects caused by burning fossil fuels, we can conclude that all the problems are interlinked. We have to reduce the burning of fuels and save our environment.

Facts about Fossil Fuels

Modern society is majorly built up upon the burning of fossil fuels. These fuels are generated deep within the Earth crust due to high pressure and temperature for over a million years and finally result in the formation of “non-renewable” energy. Out of all the energies, we consume on a daily basis, 80% of it comes from fossil fuels. Thus, below there are a few facts that are mentioned about fossil fuels:

1. All fossil fuels are the result of the decomposition of dead and decaying matter like plants and animals for millions of years underwater under high temperature and pressure.

2. Though fossil fuels are used in the generation of energy to produce electricity and many more energy forms, it is also used to develop various grades of plastics.

3. Fossil fuels may run out really fast as the study suggests that we have limited oil resources that will last for another 100 years and the non-renewable source of energy that will last for another 1000 years. 

4. One of the most undiscovered fossil fuels is oil shales which are a game-changer in today’s scenario. It has been studied that it is thousand times greater and more efficient than crude oil to develop energy and is found around the world. 

5. Fossil fuels are more cost-efficient and thus most of the energy resources are derived from fossil fuels.