Knowra Fossil fuel Fossil fuel A fuel formed from buried remains of ancient organisms, chiefly coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Burning it releases stored chemical energy and usually emits carbon dioxide.
Coal formation : The geological transformation of buried plant matter into coal through heat, pressure, and time. Coal forms chiefly from ancient peat accumulated in wetlands.
Combustion : A chemical reaction in which a fuel reacts rapidly with an oxidant, releasing heat and often light. Burning fossil fuels transfers their chemical energy into heat.
Electricity generation : The conversion of other forms of energy into electrical energy. Coal and natural gas remain widely used fuels for producing electricity.
Climate change : Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, driven today mainly by human greenhouse-gas emissions. Carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel use is the largest source of human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions.
Renewable energy : Energy from sources replenished naturally on human timescales, such as sunlight, wind, and flowing water. Renewables can provide energy without extracting ancient carbon reserves.
Petroleum geology : The study of how petroleum forms, migrates, and accumulates in subsurface rock. It explains how buried organic matter becomes extractable oil.
Steam turbine : A rotary engine that extracts energy from pressurized steam to produce mechanical work. Many fossil-fuel power stations use combustion heat to make turbine-driving steam.
Internal combustion engine : An engine that produces mechanical power by burning fuel inside a working chamber. Petroleum fuels power many vehicles through this engine type.
Air pollution : Contamination of the atmosphere by substances that harm health or ecosystems. Fossil-fuel combustion emits particulates, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and other pollutants.
Nuclear power : Electricity generated from energy released by nuclear reactions, usually fission. It produces low operational carbon emissions without burning fossil carbon.
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