Coal & Petroleum 🪨

What is a natural resource?

Anything used by humans for themselves.

Define renewable resources.

Resources which are not likely to be exhausted by human activities and are present in unlimited quantity.

Give examples of renewable resources.

Water and sunlight.

Define non-renewable resources.

Resources that are likely to be exhausted by human activities and are limited.

Example of non-renewable resources.

Fossil fuels.

What are fossil fuels?

Formed when dead remains of organic matter are subjected to high heat and pressure.

Define coal.

Hard, black/brownish rock mainly composed of carbon, used as fuel.

What process converts dead vegetation into coal?

Carbonisation.

How is coal obtained if it is not more than 200 feet down?

By surface mining.

How is coal obtained if it lies below 200 feet?

By deep mining.

What is coke?

A tough, porous, black substance that is the purest form of carbon, used in steel production.

What is coal tar?

A black, thick liquid made from over 200 substances, used in paints, roads, cosmetics, and medicines.

What is coal gas?

Gas obtained during the process of making coke, used to generate power in power plants.

What does 'petroleum' mean?

Derived from Latin, meaning 'rock oil', which is mined from between the rocks in the Earth.

How was petroleum formed?

Remains of shallow sea life buried under sediments and transformed by heat, pressure, and absence of oxygen.

What are the extraction steps for petroleum?

A drill and pipeline are lowered to the seabed where oil and gas are pumped out.

What is the refining of petroleum?

The process of separating the various constituents of petroleum based on their boiling points.

What is natural gas?

A comparatively cleaner fuel that is easier to transport through pipes.

What is Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)?

Natural gas stored under high pressure.

What is the purpose of the Petrol Conservation Research Association (PCRA)?

To find out how to save petrol while driving.