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Fossil Fuels: Natural Resources

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Fossil fuels, based on the article “Today and Tomorrow”, are generally natural resources. From the word itself, fossil, fossil fuels are formed from remnants of prehistoric creatures. Most of the biological matter formed to fossil fuels are from plants and microorganisms. Because of being exposed to vast heat and pressure from the inner sections of the earth through an estimate of one hundred to four hundred million years ago, these biological matters have physically and chemically change to form fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are mainly being used as a source of energy. Back in the 1700s, the industrial revolution, individuals used wood for fire, watermills, and windmills as a source of energy. The industrial revolution was the time …show more content…

Presently, fossil fuels account for about 88% of the commercial energy sources used. This situation hasn't changed much over the last 50 years. (Judkins et al., p. 331) Fossil fuels are being used in our transportation. Specifically oil is being used in vehicles, airplanes, and most of ships. Fossil fuels are also used in factories and is used to power machines for manufacturing. Fossil fuels are also used in power plants for generation of electricity. Modern society has been fundamentally shaped by the use of fossil fuels and we are still very much dependent on these fuels for our energy needs. (Holt, Rineheart, & Winston, 2004, p. …show more content…

Capable of generating electricity to a city depending on the watts it produce. (2014) There are different types of power plants. Nuclear power plants produce electricity by using nuclear reactors. Hydro power plants generate electricity from kinetic energy released by flowing water. Thermal power plants generate electricity with the use of heat. Majority of the power plants are thermal power plants.
Power plant. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/power plant http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-power-plants.html Thermal power plants use fossil fuels to generate the heat needed of the power plant to produce electricity. The image above presents a flow of how a coal power plant works. As you can see coal, a fossil fuel, is used to heat up water and generates steam. Steam now goes to the turbine which generates electricity and the cycle goes on. http://www.sick.com/group/en/home/solutions/industries/power_plant/pages/power.aspx http://www.originenergy.com.au/4229/Coal There are different types of fossil fuels. Base on Origin Energy, there are five main kinds of fossil fuels. The five main types are coal, petroleum, oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas.

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