Coal and Petroleum Flashcards

Flashcards covering the vocabulary and key terms related to coal and petroleum, their formation, uses, and environmental impact.

Resource

All the things required to meet basic necessities of life.

Renewable/Inexhaustible Resources

Resources which can be replenished in a short amount of time.

Exhaustible/Non-renewable Resources

Resources which can be exhausted by humans and take a lot of time to renew.

Fossil Fuel

Dead remains of plants & animals buried deep under the earth.

Fuel

A substance burnt to produce energy.

Carbonization

Slow process of conversion of dead remains of plants and vegetation into coal.

Destructive Distillation of Coal

Breaking coal by heating it to high temperature in the absence of air.

Coke

Hard, greyish black, composed of 98% carbon, used in heating furnaces and the manufacture of steel.

Coal Tar

Thick black liquid with an unpleasant smell, containing more than 200 carbon compounds.

Coal Gas

Consists of 3 gases (hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane) and is obtained during destructive distillation of coal.

Ammoniacal Liquor

Ammonium compounds, formed when dissolved in water.

Petroleum

Oil from rocks - dark coloured thick oily liquid with an unpleasant smell.

Refining of Petroleum

Process of separating various constituents of petroleum.

Petrochemicals

Very useful substances which are obtained from petroleum and natural gas, used to manufacture synthetic fibers, perfumes, explosives, dyes, etc.

Natural Gas

Important fossil fuel found above petroleum, a mixture of lower hydrocarbons mainly methane and small proportions of propane and butane.

CNG

Compressed Natural Gas, used as fuel in cars, buses, trucks as it is less polluting.

Limitations of Fossil Fuels

Gases (CO2 & Carbon Monoxide) and smoke are produced causing respiratory problems and suffocation

PCRA

Petroleum Conservation Research Association