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Importance of Fossil Fuels

Coal, oil and gas are fossil fuels. They are formed from remains of ancient living things
Crude Oil (Petroleum)
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mixture of compounds of hydrogen and carbon


Hydrocarbon is separated through distillation in a refinery. This involves heating the oil
until parts of it turn into vapour, then collecting and cooling the vapour. Some
components separated include; petrol, naphtha, diesel, kerosene and bitumen
Petrol/diesel/kerosene fuels
Naphtha is the starting material for plastic
Bitumen is used to surface the roads

Coal is the altered remains of ancient plants


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non-renewable resource
main source of energy for the production of electricity
a raw material used in making steel

Natural gas is formed along with oil.


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used for generation of electricity, as a fuel, domestic heating and cooking and in
chemical manufacturing industry
it is associated with petroleum deposits
its composition is about 90% methanal

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