NON-RENEWABLE: FOSSIL FUELS
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Non-renewable mineral and energy resources are formed over geological timescales.
The location of non-renewable mineral and energy resources, including fossil fuels, iron ore, nickel and gold, is related to their geological setting, including sedimentary, magmatic, metamorphic and hydrothermal processes.
Environmental considerations are important in the exploration, extraction and processing of non-renewable resources, and the decommissioning of resource sites.
Environmental considerations.
Environmental considerations are important in the exploration, extraction and processing of non-renewable resources, and the decommissioning of resource sites.
Interpret a range of scientific and media texts and evaluate processes, claims and conclusions by considering the quality of available evidence, use reasoning to construct scientific arguments.
Energy Resources
Energy Resources
Oil and gas are hydrocarbons, molecules of combined hydrogen and carbon produced from the breakdown of organic (living) materials.
Indirectly they are fossilised energy supplies from ancient sunlight, converted by photosynthesis to plant and then sometimes animal materials and then finally are buried and chemically changed by the earth.
Fossil fuels hydrocarbons were produced millions of years ago.
A fossil fuel is a combustible material of biological origin, found as altered carbon compounds with geological deposits.
The most common fossil fuels are coal, oil, natural gas, oil shales and oil sands, which occur in abundance in Australia and the majority of it in WA.
Surface hydrocarbons seeps have been utilised since Palaeolithic times.
Bitumen was found on Neanderthal tools, was used to seal baskets in early cities of the Middle East and was employed in the construction of towers in Babylon where asphalt was used later to seal streets.
Chinese people first drilled for oil as a fuel about 347AD using over 180m of bamboo poles. The oil was used to heat brine to make salt for preserving food.
Our modern life depends on using hydrocarbons as fuel for heat, for transport, for light and for a source of chemicals to produce plastics, paints and pharmaceuticals, among other things.
The problem we face today is our reliance on these fuels.
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY CONSUMPTION - FUEL TYPE
The Formation of Fossils Fuels
One condition that all fossils fuels have in common is the need to form in an anaerobic (oxygen poor) environment so that the contained carbon remains as stored energy. When organic matter decays in an aerobic (oxygenated) environment, the contained carbon is digested during the process and the stored energy is lost.
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