Class - VIII

Topic - Coal and Petroleum

 Natural Resources
Exhaustible Natural Resources - The resources which are
present in a limited amount in nature, cannot be continually
replenished and are likely to be exhausted by various human
activities are called exhaustible natural resources, e.g.,
petroleum, coal, natural gas, minerals and forests.
Inexhaustible Natural Resources - The resources which are
present in an unlimited amount in nature, can be continually
replenished and are not likely to be exhausted by various
human activities are called inexhaustible natural resources,
e.g., air, sunlight, water and soil.
 Fossil fuels - Coal, Petroleum and Natural gas are
formed from the remains of plants and animals that died
millions of years ago, these are called fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are valuable sources of energy.

Coal Petroleum Natural Gas

Coal - Coal is a black or brownish-black, hard and
combustible substance. It is a sedimentary rock that usually
occurs in layers called coal beds or coal seams. Chemically,
coal is a mixture of chemical substances containing carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen in combined form, together with
small amounts of nitrogen and sulphur Coal is obtained by
the process of mining.
Coal was Formed
About three hundred million years ago, our earth was covered
with dense forests and swamps having huge trees, ferns and
other leafy plants. As these trees and plants died, they fell
down on the wet and swampy floor of the forest and began to
sink into the soil. More and more dead vegetables, gravel and
soil deposited over them. The heat and pressure from the top
layers gradually turned the remains of plants into coal.
 Types of Coal
Types of Carbon Properties
Coal
Content
Anthracite 90 % Shiny Black and very hard
Bituminous/ 60 % Black in colour, Breaks very easily
Black Coal
Lignite 40 % Brown in colour, softer than other
types
 Destructive Distillation of Coal
When coal is decomposed by heating in the absence of air to
produce useful products, it is called destructive distillation
of coal. On heating strongly in the absence of air, coal
produces coke, coal tar and coal gas.
Coke - It is a greyish-black solid
and is not as shiny as coal. It has a
rough texture. The solid left behind
destructive distillation is called
coke which contains approximately
98% carbon. Thus, we can say: It is
pure carbon.

Uses of Coke
 Coke is an important smokeless fuel. It is used in the extraction
of iron and other metals, and preparation of fuel gases like
producer gas and water gas.
 Coke is a better fuel than coal because coke does not
produce smoke on burning. It also produces more heat on
burning as compared to coal.
Coal Gas - It is
a mixture of
hydrogen, methane,
carbon monoxideand
other gases.

Uses of Coal Gas

► Coal gas is used as an important industrial fuel because it
produces a lot of heat on burning.
► In the olden times, coal gas was used for street lighting as
it produces a luminous flame on burning.
Coal Tar - It is a dark-black and oily liquid with a very
unpleasant smell. It contains many useful chemicals
which are used to make inks, dyes,
detergents, insecticides, artificial fibers,
etc. Previously,coal tar was used for
metalling the roads but now it has been replaced with
bitumen
Some Facts about Coal
Industrial Revolution, started in the 18th
century, was based on coal which was used to
power the steam engines. Burning of coal is the
major cause of air pollution. When coal burns, it
produces carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide,
sulphur dioxide and a lot of smoke. Carbon
dioxide is the main greenhouse gas and it
causes global warming. Sulphur dioxide and
nitrogen dioxide cause acid rain. Nitrogen
dioxide also causes smog.
 Diseases due to Coal Mining
► Pneumoconiosis, also called black lung disease, is a
chronic lung disease found in coal miners.

► Coal mining is a dangerous activity and, sometimes, it

can be disastrous.

► Coal mining leads to adverse effects on the environment

Which result to destroy soil profile, wildlife habitat and
topography (physical features of land) of the mined area.
 PETROLEUM
The word 'petroleum comes from two Latin words petra (=
rocks) and oleum (= oil) meaning rock oil. Petroleum is a
naturally occurring liquid. It is a mixture of various liquid
hydrocarbons.
These hydrocarbons are later used in the extraction of Petrol and
Diesel .
How Petroleum was Formed
Petroleum was formed from remains of very tiny animals
and plants that lived in seas and died millions of years ago.
After they died, their bodies sank and got buried at the
bottom of seas. Over the time, they were covered by layers
of sand, silt and clay. In the absence of air, enormous heat
and pressure from these layers slowly changed the dead
organisms into petroleum and natural gas.
Refining of Petroleum -
Petroleum is a black and
smelly liquid. It
contains many useful
substances like petroleum
gas, petrol, diesel, paraffin
wax, fuel oil,
lubricating oil, naphtha, etc.
The various constituents
of petroleum are
separated by a process
called petroleum
refining. These
constituents of petroleum
are useful to us in many
ways
Petroleum Product and uses
 Impact of Petroleum on the
Environment
Petroleum production can affect the environment in the
following manners: ▸ Drilling for petroleum may cause
disturbance in the aquatic ecosystems.

► Transporting petroleum may cause oilspills.

► Sometimes, tanks in which petroleum is stored, may leak
and pollute the groundwater.
► Refining of petroleum to produce various products may
lead to water and air pollution.
► When petroleum products are burnt, they give off pollutants
like carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide
and particulate matter.
NATURAL GAS - Natural gas is obtained from the
remains of tiny plants and animals that lived in the sea
millions of years ago. Natural gas consists chiefly of
methane. Along with methane, small amounts of other
gases like ethane, propane and butane are also present in
it
Uses - Natural gas is highly inflammable. It burns
cleanly and does not produce any ash or smoke. It is
stored under high pressure as Compressed Natural Gas
(CNG). These days, it is used as a fuel to run
autorickshaws, buses, cars, taxies, etc. The use of CNG
in automobiles has brought down the pollution level in
Delhi.
FOSSIL FUELS ARE LIMITED
They account for 90% of the energy being used today.
Burning of fossil fuels like coal and petroleum leads to
major environmental problems such as air pollution,
acid rain and global warming.
We should try to save fossil fuels. We can do this by
following some simple ways like:
 We should walk down to short distance, instead of
using a vehicle.
 We should switch off the vehicle engine at
the traffic signals.
We should use car pools to reduce the consumption
of fuel.
 Try to uses alternate sources of
energy
Alternate sources of
energy