NCERT CBSE CHAPTER 5

COAL AND PETROLEUM

CLASS: VIII STUDY NOTES SCIENCE

Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas are exhaustible natural resources. These are formed from
the dead remains of living organisms (fossils). So, these are all known as fossil fuels.

Why do we need fossil fuels?

• Fuels are required for different purposes such as:

• Transportation: fuels are used to run different vehicles such as cars, trucks,
motorcycles, trains, airplanes etc.
• Cooking: fuels are needed for cooking.
• Heating: fuel is also used to generate heat.
Coal

Coal
Coal is a fossil fuel formed from dead plant matter over millions of years due to heat and
pressure.

How was Coal formed?

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 • About 300 million years ago the earth had dense forests in low lying wetland areas.
Due to natural processes, like flooding, these forests got buried under the soil. As
more soil deposited over them, they were compressed. The temperature also rose as
they sank deeper and deeper.
• Under high pressure and high temperature, dead plants got slowly converted to coal.
As coal contains mainly carbon, the slow process of conversion of dead vegetation
into coal is called carbonisation. Since it was formed from the remains of vegetation,
coal is also called a fossil fuel.

• Coal comes from a coal mine.

Uses of Coal

• Used as fuel to cook food.

• Used in thermal power plants to produce electricity.

• Used as fuel in various industries.

• Once used as fuel to run steam-powered railway engines.

What is destructive distillation?

Destructive distillation of coal: It is a process in which coal is heated in absence of air at very
high temperature to obtain various useful products from it. Different products obtained through
this process are coal gas, coal tar, coke and ammoniacal liquor.

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 Destructive Distillation of coal
Coke
It is a tough, porous and black substance. It is almost pure form of carbon. Coke is used in the
manufacture of steel and in the extraction of many metals.
Coal tar
Products obtained from coal tar are used as starting materials for manufacturing various
substances used in everyday life and in industry, like synthetic dyes, drugs, explosives,
perfumes, plastics, paints, photographic materials, roofing materials, etc. Interestingly,
naphthalene balls used to repel moths and other insects are also obtained from coal tar.
Coal gas
Coal gas is obtained during the processing of coal to get coke. It is used as a fuel in many
industries situated near the coal processing plants.

Ammoniacal Liquor
The ammonia produced is absorbed in the water forming ammoniacal liquor (ammonium
hydroxide). It is used in fertiliser producing industries.

Petroleum

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 Petroleum
Petroleum (also known as crude oil) is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of ancient marine
organisms.

How is Petroleum and Natural Gas formed?

• Petroleum was formed from organisms living in the sea. As these organisms died,
their bodies settled at the bottom of the sea and got covered with layers of sand and
clay.
• Over millions of years, absence of air, high temperature and high pressure
transformed the dead organisms into petroleum and natural gas.

Refining of Petroleum
Fractional distillation of petroleum is the process by which oil refineries separate crude
oil into different, more useful hydrocarbon products based on their boiling points in a
distillation tower.

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 What are hydrocarbons?

• A hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting of only hydrogen and carbon

atoms.

• Eg - Methane (CH4), Ethane (C2H6), Propane (C3H8) and Butane (C4H10).

LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas) gas is basically the mixture of hydrocarbons. Major
component is butane. It is odourless in its natural state. The smell that we notice when
there is a leak is actually the stench of an entirely different agent, called Ethyl Mercaptan.
It becomes easy to detect leakage.

Why Petroleum is called ‘black gold?

Petroleum is called 'black gold' because of its great commercial importance.
What are petrochemicals?
Many useful substances are obtained from petroleum and natural gas by refining process are
called petrochemicals.

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Petrochemicals are used in manufacturing:

• Synthetic fibres (such as Polyester, Nylon, Acrylic etc.)

• Detergents

• Polythene

• Plastics

• Hydrogen gas obtained from natural gas, is used in the production of fertilisers (urea).

Natural Gas

Natural Gas

Natural gas is a fossil fuel found naturally as a hydrocarbon gas mixture in the oil wells. Its
main component is methane along with small quantity of ethane and propane.

Why is Natural Gas important as a fossil fuel?

• It can easily be transported through pipes.

• It is stored under high pressure as CNG. CNG is used for power generation. It is now
being used as a fuel for transport vehicles.

• Natural Gas does not cause pollution and has high calorific value (produces more amount
of heat)

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is the natural gas stored under high pressure. It is mainly
composed of methane.

Why is CNG considered as a cleaner fuel?

• CNG does not emit harmful gases on burning.

• It does not leave any residue after burning.

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Why we cannot prepare coal and petroleum in laboratory?

Fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas cannot be created in the laboratory as it is
not possible to create the natural conditions under which they are formed in laboratory.
Moreover, it takes thousands of years for them to be formed.

Consequences of the burning of fossil fuels

• Increase in air pollution: The burning of fossil fuels results in the release of unburnt carbon
particles in the air. These particles act as pollutants and increase air pollution. Fossil fuels
release poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere.
• Global Warming: Fossil fuels when burnt release large amounts of carbon dioxide in the
air. As the amount of carbon dioxide increases it results in an increase in the global
temperature of the earth and leads to global warming.
Why should we use fossil fuels economically?

• They are available in limited quantities.

• Burning these fuels also cause air pollution as well as global warming.

• Hence, we should use these fuels economically to make sure that we can use them for a
longer time, the risk of global warming gets reduced and we can live in a cleaner
environment.

How can we save petrol or diesel while driving?

According to the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) in India, we can save
petrol or diesel while driving by:

• Drive at a constant and moderate speed.

• Maintain tyre pressure at correct levels.

• Switch off the engine when you are waiting (such as traffic light).

• Do regular maintenance of your vehicle.