What are fossil fuels?
Coal, oil, and natural gas are all decomposed of plant and animal matter buried deep in our Earth’s geological formations. This organic matter is mostly made up of carbon and hydrogen. When this carbon and hydrogen is burned, chemical energy is released. There is also impurities included in this organic composition such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and even ash which is derived from such process. These impurities when released are extremely hazardous to our environment.
Here is an example of what Bituminous (most common and potent) coal is composed of:
Carbon - 67%
Hydrogen - 5%
Sulfur - 1.5% (increasing as Earth changes)
Nitrogen - 1.5%
Oxygen - 8.7%
Ash - 9.8%
Moisture - 6.7%
What worries us about fossil fuel power plant is the emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. These pollutants cast hazard on human health and Earth’s environment. Emissions of such pollutants are currently being controlled by the U.S. government, although it is merely a generous quota to power plants. But nevertheless, a percentage of reduction in respect to electrical output has been observed.
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