Notes for Coal and Petroleum

Introduction
We use various materials for our basic needs. Some of them are found in nature and some have
been made by human efforts.
Natural resources
Definition
The sources which are obtained from nature are called natural resources.
Types of natural resources
1.   Inexhaustible natural resources
        These sources are present in unlimited quantity in nature and are not likely to be exhausted by
human activities.
        Examples: Sunlight, air, etc.
2.   Exhaustible natural resources
        The amount of these resources in nature is limited, they can be exhausted by human activities.
        Examples: Forests, coal, petroleum. minerals, wild life, natural gas, etc.
Booster 1
Can sunlight get exhausted by human activities?
Explanation
Sunlight is an ultimate source of energy available free of cost. It cannot be exhausted by human
activities as it is produced by a natural process of fusion inside the sun. Due to this nuclear fusion
extremely large amount of energy is produced which comes in the form of sunlight.
Test Yourself
1.   Name some inexhaustible substances other than sunlight and air.
2.   Which fuel is used for running vehicles?
        (a) Wood
(b) Coal
        (c) Diesel
(d) Charcoal
3.   Which of the following is a natural resource?
        (a) Tea
(b) Cooked food
        (c) Air
(d) Toffee
4.   inexhaustible natural resource in nature are
        (a) limited
(b) unlimited
        (c) scarce
(d) not present
5.   Which of the following is an exhaustible natural resource?
        (a) Air
(b) Water
        (c) Soil
(d) Forest
Types of natural resources
Memory map

IDEMIA Internal
Fuels
A fuel is a substance, which bums In air to produce energy without releasing harmful gases in large
quantities.
Fuels can be classified as natural (primary) fuels and derived (secondary) fuels. If a fuel Is present in
its natural state, it is called natural fuel. If a fuel is processed to improve its quality, it Is called
derived fuel.
Memory map

Calorific value of a fuel

Calorific value of a fuel is the amount of heat liberated by complete burning of a unit mass or volume
of a fuel. For liquid or gaseous fuels, volume of fuel is considered while for solid fuels mass of fuel is
considered to find out the calorific value.

Characteristics of an ideal fuel

(1)   It should have a high calorific value.
(2)   It should not cause any pollution or should not produce harmful gases on combustion.
(3)   It should be of low cost and easily available.
(4)   It should be easy to handle, store and transport.
(5)   It should have moderate ignition temperature.
(6)   It should have moderate rate of combustion.
Fossil fuels
Exhaustible natural resources like coal, petroleum and natural gas were formed from the dead
remains of living organism (fossils). So, these are called fossil fuels. Coal and petroleum are very
important natural resources and play a vital role in modem society. They are found in the earth's
crust.
Coal
Coal is a complex mixture of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen compounds. me nitrogen, sulphur and
phosphorus compounds are also present in it. It is found in coal mines deep under the surface of
earth. Story of formation : It is believed that millions of years ago, the ground below the forests was
split open by natural forces such as earthquakes and volcanoes. The forests got buried under the
surface of earth. Thus, the plants had no contact with oxygen. Successive layers of sediments
sealed the buried plants. Over millions of year, these deposits were subjected to tremendous
pressure and heat finally transformed them into coal.
Carbonisation: The chemical process involved in the transformation of punt matter into coal is
called the carbonisation of plant matter.

IDEMIA Internal
The carbon content of coal depends upon the variety of the coal. The higher the temperature and
pressure of the Earth and the longer the coal has been hurried under the Earth, the more is the
carbon content in it. So, the different varieties of coal are as follows (1) Peat (2) Lignite (3)
Bituminous coal (4) Anthracite coal
Peat: It is the youngest variety of coal which is light brown in colour. It contains minimum carbon
content and produces less heat and more smoke on burning. Its calorific value is 10 to 15 kJ/g.
Lignite: It is known as soft coal. It is also brown in colour and contains more carbon than peat. Its
calorific value is 15 to 20 kJ/g.
Bituminous coal: It is the common household coal. It is the most abundant f and Is compact, black,
contains more carbon and produces more heat than peat and lignite. Its calorific value is 30 to 35
kJ/g.
Anthracite coal: It is the hardest coal containing maximum carbon. T+ burns with difficulty due to
presence of very low volatile matter. Therefore it is not used for household purposes, it is mainly
used for industrial purposes. Its calorific value is 28 to 30 kJ/g.

Destructive distillation of coal

The process of heating coal in the absence of air is called the destructive distillation of coal. Coal
contains a number of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. When coal
is heated in the absence of air, a number of products are obtained.
The main products obtained by the destructive distillation of coal are as follows:
(1) Coke         (2) Coal tar         (3) Coal gas

IDEMIA Internal
(1) Coke: contains 98 % carbon. It is porous, tough, black and the purest form of coal. Like charcoal,
it Is a good fuel and burns without smoke. It is largely employed as a reducing agent in the extraction
of metals from their ores. It is also used in making fuel gases like water gas and producer gas.
(2) Coal tar (liquid): Coal tar is a mixture of different carbon compounds. It thick, black liquid with
unpleasant smell. The fractional distillation of coal tar gives many chemical substances which are
used in the preparation of dyes, explosives, paints, synthetics fibers, drugs, and pesticides. Some of
these chemical substances are benzene, toluene, phenol and aniline. Naphthalene balls used to
repel moth and other insects are also obtained from coal tar.
         Note: These days bitumen a petroleum product is used in place of coal tar for metalling the
roads.
(3) Coal Gas: Coal gas is mainly a mixture of hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. The gases
present in coal gas are combustible and hence, it is an excellent fuel. It has high calorific value. It
was used for lighting houses, factories and streets in Mumbai until 1950. It was also used for cooling
earlier.
Petroleum
It is dark brownish to green coloured viscous liquid fossil fuel. It has strong foul smell due to the
presence of sulphur containing compounds in it. It is commonly called as crude oil. The economy of
a nation depends to a great extent on petroleum wealth, that's why petroleum is called the black
gold.
Its name is derived from Latin words Petra (meaning rock) and O1eum (meaning oil). Thus,
petroleum literally means "rock oil".
Origin of petroleum: Petroleum is a complex mixture of solid, liquid and seous hydrocarbons,
mixed with salt water and earthy particles. It is always found trapped between two impervious rocks.
It is believed that petroleum is formed by the anaerobic decomposition of extremely small sea
animals and plants which got buried in the sea bed millions of years ago. Let us see how this
happened.

Occurrence of petroleum: Petroleum occurs at a moderate depth (500 m to 200 m) between the 2

layers of impervious rocks. The petroleum is lighter than It water & hence, floats over it. Natural gas
is found above petroleum, trapped between the rock cap & petroleum layer.

IDEMIA Internal
Drilling of oil wells: The hole is drilled in the Earth's crust & when it reached the rock cap, the
natural gas comes out first with a great pressure. When the pressure of gas subsides, petroleum
starts flowing out due to the pressure of natural gas.
Refining of petroleum: Petroleum is a mixture of several hydrocarbons. It also contains water, salt
and rocky materials. It cannot be used in this made form either as a fuel or a basic material to
produce other useful components. Before being put to use, it has to be purified or refined. The
process of separating the various components of petroleum from one another is known as the
refining of petroleum. This is done by a process called fractional distillation which is based on the
fact that the different components of petroleum have distinctly different boiling points.
In fractional distillation, crude petroleum is heated to a temperature of ,4U0°C or slightly above in a
furnace.
Uses of petroleum
(1) Petroleum products are used as fuels.
(2) Lubricating oils, and vaseline are used as lubricants.
(3) Paraffin wax, products of petroleum, is used for manufacturing candles, polishes, waxed paper,
water proofing, etc.
(4) Some of the by-products of petroleum after purification are used in the preparation of medicines,
ointments, face creams and cosmetics.

IDEMIA Internal
Natural gas
Natural gas was formed millions of years ago along with petroleum when microscopic sea plants &
animals died & got buried under the sand & mud. These plants & animals under anaerobic
conditions changed to gas.
Composition
It consist mainly of methane (about 85%), ethane (about 10%) propane (about 3%) and butane when
natural gas is compressed at high pressure then it is called CNG (compressed natural gas). CNG is
used for power generation.
It is now being used as a fuel for transport vehicles because it is less polluting. The great advantage
of CNG is that it can be used directly for burning in homes and factories where it can be supplied
through pipes. Such network of pjpeline exists in Vadodara (Gujarat) and some parts of Delhi.
Occurrence
It is generally found trapped between impervious rocks, sometimes along with petroleum &
sometimes without petroleum.
In our country, natural gas has been found in Tripura, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and in the Krishna
Godavari Delta.
Uses of natural gas
(1) As a fuel - It has a very high calorific value of 55 ktJ/g
(2) As a source of hydrogen & carbon

Booster 2
Why petroleum is also known as black gold?
Explanation
Many useful substances are obtained from petroleum which can be used for the manufacture of
detergents, fibers (polyester, nylon, acrylic etc.) polyethene and many other plastics.
Due to its great commercial importance, petroleum is also called Black Gold.
Conservation of fossil fuels
It is believed that it took millions of years for the dead organisms to change into coal, petroleum or
natural gas. Furthermore, their known reserves are limited.
Another problem with fossil fuels is that they are steadily increasing air . pollution, their use is linked
to global warming. So, it is important that we use fuels only when it is absolutely necessary. tri this

IDEMIA Internal
way, we can save these fuels for the Manufacture of many substances which are dependent on
petrochemicals.
For energy purpose, we must look for alternative sources, such as solar energy, tidal energy, wind
energy, etc. Furthermore, fossil fuels will be available to future generations for more useful products.
In India, the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) offers the following tips to
conserve petrol & diesel while driving.
(1) Drive at a constant & moderate speed as far as possible. Driving at a high speed or slow speed
wastes a lot of fuel.
(2) Switch off engine if you have to wait at traffic lights or for any other reason.
(3) Check the tyre pressure regularly, low pressure or too high pressure waste fuel.
(4) Make sure that you send your vehicle to garage for regular maintenance.

COAL AND PETROLEUM

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1.   Water is a ________
        a. Natural substance
        b. Man made substance
        c. Both of these
        d. None of these
2.   When coal burns in air then
        a. Carbon dioxide is formed
        b. Sulphur dioxide is formed
        c. Carbon monoxide is formed
        d. Hydrogen gas is formed
3.   Purest form of carbon is
        a. Coal
        b. Charcoal
        c. Coke
        d. All of these
4.   Coaltar contains about
        a. 300 substance
        b. 400 substance
        c. 200 substance
        d. 100 substance
5.   The first oil well was drilled in
        a. USA
        b. USSR
        c. UK
        d. India
6.   PCRA stands for
        a. Public Conservations Research Association
        b. Petroleum Conservation Research Association
        c. Public Council of Research Association
        d. Partial Counting of remaining Amendment
7.   An example of fossil fuel is
        a. Wood
        b. Animal waste
        c. Coal
        d. All of these
8.   Which of the following is natural resource?
        a. Car

IDEMIA Internal
        b. Bus
        c. Water
        d. Parks
9.   Which of the following is manmade resource?
        a. Air
        b. Water
        c. Soil
        d. Parks
10.   Which of the following is obtained from coal tar ?
        a. Petrol
        b. Coke
        c. Air
        d. Naphthalene balls
Answers
1.     A
2.     A
3.     C
4.     C
5.     A
6.     B
7.     C
8.     C
9.     D
10.   D

COAL AND PETROLEUM

HIGH ORDER THINKING QUESTIONS
1.   Write the names of two natural substances.
2.   What is the purest form of carbon?
3.   What is the main use of coke?
4.   Name two fractions of petroleum>
5.   Why petroleum is called black gold?
6.   Expand PCRA.
7.   What are natural resources? Explain with examples.
8.   What are fossil fuels? Name main fossil fuel.
9.   What is coal tar? What are its uses?
10.   Why CNG is called clean fuel?
11.   State some harmful effects of using fossil fuels?
12.   What are petrochemicals?
COAL AND PETROLEUM

SAMPLE PAPER QUESTIONS

1.   Name two man-made substances, two natural and two exhaustible substances.
2.   Name the gas which is formed when coal is heated in the absence of air.
3.   Where was the first oil well drilled?
4.   How many substances are found in coal tar?
5.   Name the places where natural gas is found in India.
6.   What are exhaustible natural resources? Explain with exampes.
7.   What is coal gas? Write its uses.
8.   What is petroleum? What is it called black gold?
9.   Describe the process of formation of coal in the nature.

IDEMIA Internal
10.   What is main component of LPG?
COAL AND PETROLEUM

TEST
MAXIMUM TIME: 45 MINUTES
MAXIMUM MARKS: 30 MARKS
1.   Expand CNG and write its uses. (3)
2.   What is the main component of CNG and LPG. (2)
3.   Write two uses of coke. (2)
4.   What happens when wood is heated in absence of air? (2)
5.   Why coal and petroleum are called fossil fuels? (3)
6.   How does coal formation takes place in nature? (4)
7.   What are the components of petroleum? Write its uses. (4)
8.   Explain advises given by PCRA for saving petrol and diesel. (4)
9.   What are natural resources? Classify them. Write examples. (5)
10.   What are petrochemicals? (1)

IDEMIA Internal