Coal and petroleum

 

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*    In our daily life, we use both natural and man -made materials.

 

*    There are two types of resources, natural and manmade.

 

 

 

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*    Natural materials or resources are obtained directly from nature (plants or animals or earth).

                        Example: Wood, clay, fibres, leather, minerals, metals, natural rubber, etc.

 

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*    Synthetic materials or resources are made by man from natural resources to improve our daily life.

 

             Example: Paper, plastics, polymers, synthetic fibres like nylon, polyester, and materials like concrete, glass, etc.

 

 

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Renewable and non - renewable resources

 

*    Natural resources can be classified into two types, exhaustible and non- exhaustible.

 

Exhaustible resources

Inexhaustible resources

Ř Exhaustible resources or non- renewable resources are present in nature only in limited amounts. They can be exhausted by human activities, and once they are exhausted, it takes a very long time by nature to replenish them.

 

Ř Examples of exhaustible resources are coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc.

 

 

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Ř Inexhaustible resources or renewable resources are those which are present in nature in unlimited quantity. They can be replenished by nature again and again.

 

Ř  Examples of inexhaustible resources are water, wind, soil, sunlight, air, etc.

 

 

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*    Even though water is a renewable resource, mismanagement of water decreases its availability at a certain place. So, it can be treated as a non-renewable resource.

 

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*    Over exploitation of non-renewable resources leads to decrease in their availability for future generations. So, they should be used sustainably.

 

 

Fossil fuels

 

*    The fuels derived from dead and decaying remains of plants and animals (fossils) are called fossil fuels.

*    Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are common examples of fossil fuels.

 

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Coal

 

 

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*    Coal is a black, solid rock like substance that can be burned as a fuel.

*    It is used to cook food, to produce steam in thermal power plants, and as a fuel in many industrial processes.

*    It is also used in paper manufacture, alumina refineries, and chemical & pharmaceutical industries.

*    Several chemical products can be obtained from coal products and by-products.

*    Earlier, it was used in railway engines to produce steam.

*    The process of coal mining is shown below

 

 

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*    About 300 million years ago, due to natural processes like flooding, dense forests got buried under the soil.

 

*    As more soil got deposited upon them, they sank deeper and deeper into the earth.

 

*    There, due to high temperature and pressure, they got compressed and were converted into coal.

 

*    As coal contains mainly carbon, the slow process of conversion of dead vegetation into coal is called carbonisation.

 

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*    When burnt in air, coal gives carbon dioxide gas.

 

*    There are four types of coal; Lignite, sub- bituminous, bituminous, and anthracite.

 

 

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*    Coal is used to produce industrially useful products like coke, coal tar, and coal gas.

 

Coke

 

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*    Coke is a tough, porous, black substance with high carbon content and few impurities.

 

*    It is an almost pure form of carbon and is prepared by heating coal in the absence of air.

 

*    Coke is used in blast furnaces for smelting (extracting) iron and also in blacksmithing.

 

 

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Coal tar

 

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*    Coal tar is a thick, black liquid with an unpleasant smell.

*    It is produced by distilling bituminous coal, and contains about 200 substances.

*    Substances obtained from coal tar are used as starting materials for manufacturing various substances used in everyday life.

*    It is used in surfacing of roads, synthetic dyes, medicines & drugs, explosives, perfumes, plastics, paints, photographic materials, roofing, etc

*    It contains many chemicals like benzene, naphthalene (moth repellent), aniline, etc.

*    Nowadays, coal tar is replaced by bitumen, a petroleum product for surfacing the roads.

 

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 Coal gas

 

*    Coal gas is a mixture of gases like methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide obtained during destructive distillation of coal.

 

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*    It is obtained during the production of coke and is used as a fuel.

 

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*    Earlier, in 1810, coal gas was used for street lighting in London and in 1820 in New York. Nowadays, it is used as a source of heat.

 

 

Petroleum

 

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*    Petroleum is a liquid fossil fuel occurring beneath the earth’s surface that can be refined and used as a fuel.

*    Petroleum products are obtained from petroleum and include gasoline, diesel, petrol, jet fuel, heating oil, paraffin wax, dyes, lubricating oils, asphalt, etc.

 

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*    There are around 6000 items obtained from petroleum.

 

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*    Due to its great commercial importance, petroleum is called black gold.

 

 

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*    Petroleum was formed from organisms living in the sea.

 

*    As these organisms died, their bodies settled under the sea and got deposited with layers of sand and clay.

 

*    Over millions of years, in the absence of air, high temperature and pressure transformed them to petroleum and natural gas.

 

 

 

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*    Petroleum is insoluble in water and has lesser density than water. So, it forms a separate layer above that of water.

 

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*    The world’s first oil drill was in Pennsylvania in 1859.

 

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*    In 1867, oil was found at Makum in Assam.

 

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*    In India, oil is found in Assam, Gujarat, Mumbai High, and in river basins of Krishna and Godavari.

 

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 Refining of petroleum

*    The process of separating various constituents or fractions of petroleum is known as refining. It is carried out in petroleum refineries.

 

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*    The crude petroleum obtained from drills is transformed into gasoline, petrol, diesel, etc.

 

*    Petroleum refineries involve many different processing units and storage tanks.

 

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*    Each refinery has its own arrangement and processing methods based on its location, crude oil availability, economic considerations, etc.

 

 

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Petrochemicals

 

*    Petrochemicals are the substances obtained from petroleum and natural gas.

 

*    They are used in manufacturing detergents, fibres like polyester, nylon, acrylic, plastics, paints, wax, etc.

 

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*    Petrochemicals are a collection of pure chemical compounds, whereas petroleum products are complex mixtures.

 

 

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Natural gas

 

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*    Natural gas or fossil gas is a gas consisting of mainly methane and a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium, etc.

 

*    It was formed from layers of decomposed plant and animal matter exposed to high temperature and pressure over millions of years.

 

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*    Natural gas is used as a starting material for manufacture of chemicals and fertilizers.

 

*    Hydrogen gas obtained from natural gas is used for production of fertilisers like urea.

 

 

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*    Natural gas can easily be transported through pipelines and is used in homes and industries as it can be directly used for burning.

 

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*    Pipeline network exists in some parts of Delhi, Vadodara, and some other places.

 

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*    It is usually stored under high pressure as compressed natural gas (CNG).

 

*    CNG is nowadays used as fuel in vehicles as it is a cleaner and less polluting fuel.

 

*    In India, natural gas is found in Tripura, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and in Krishna and Godavari delta.

 

 

Conservation of natural resources

 

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*    Fossil fuels are non-renewable or exhaustible resources and it is necessary to conserve them.

 

*    The known reserves of these resources could last only a few hundred years, but they take millions of years to be formed.

 

*    These fuels cannot be prepared in laboratories or by artificial methods.

 

*    The burning of fossil fuels causes air pollution and global warming. So they should be used only when absolutely necessary.

 

*    This will help to prolong their availability and reduce environmental damage.

 

PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Association) advises people to save petrol by:-

 

*    Driving at a constant and moderate speed

*    Switching off the engines during traffic

*    Ensuring correct tyre pressure

*    Ensuring regular maintenance of the vehicle.