Essay on exploring alternative of oil fuel
In 700 words
Answers
Answer:
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Have you noticed how food is cooked in your house? More so, what is used in your car or the bus you use for going to one place to another? All such things which are used to generate energy and do work are called fuels. A car runs on petrol, diesel or (Compressed Natural Gas) CNG, while households use Liquefied Petroleum Gas) LPG or (Piped Natural Gas) PNG.
Explanation:
Introduction:
Fuel can be said to be any form of material that reacts with another substance or material to ensure the release of energy in the form of heat energy and can used to perform work. Fuel used to be solely referred to as the materials that can release chemical energy, it has now started to be applied to different other sources that produce heat energy like nuclear energy through nuclear fusion and nuclear fission.
The fuel reactions led to a release of heat energy which is then converted through heat engines to mechanical energy. Sometimes, the heat can be used for industrial processes, cooking or warmth and also serves as a source of illumination through the combustion. The organisms also use fuels in their cells through a process commonly called cellular respiration; there is the oxidation of the organic molecules so that usable energy can be released.
The fuel source that is most commonly employed by human beings is hydrocarbons and other related molecules that contain oxygen even though some other materials and substances like metals that are radioactive are also employed. Fuels are quite different from the other devices and substances that store potential energy like the ones that release directly mechanical energy like reservoir water, air that is compressed, springs and flywheels or electrical energy such as capacitors and batteries.
History:
The very first use and employment of fuel that is known, was the stick or wood combustion by the Homo erectus about two or three million years before now. Humans have derived fuel from animal fat or plants through most of our history as humans. A derivative of wood that is known as charcoal has been in use for more than 8,000 years now when it was used to melt metals. When the forests in Europe started to face serious depletion, charcoal was substituted with coke during the 1700s. We now use charcoal briquettes as fuel when we cook through barbecue.
The first time coal was used as a source of fuel in China about 3000 years ago. Chemical energy is usually released by combustion. The introduction and inception of the famed steam engine in the year 1769 in the region of the United Kingdom led to the use of coal as a very popular source of power. Locomotives and ships were also driven with the use of coal. London began using the gas that is gotten from coal as lighting on the streets around the 1800s. By the 1900s and 2000s, the major area where the coal was employed is the generation of electricity and by 2005, coal provided over 40% of the electrical supply of power all over the world.
During the period of industrial revolution, there was the rapid adoption of fossil fuels, mainly due to fossil fuels being more flexible and concentrated than other energy sources that are traditional like water power. Fossil fuels have become very important and vital component of our society today. A large majority of the countries we have today, generate power through the burning of fossil fuels. Now, we are beginning to look towards energy and fuel sources that are renewable. A good example of such renewable fuel is biofuels such as alcohols.
Types of Fuel:
We have primary two types of fuel in the world we live in today. They are chemical fuels and nuclear fuels.
1. Chemical Fuels:
These are the material or substances that react with substances and materials around them and then release energy majorly through the process known as combustion. The chemical bond of the particular fuels does not store the released chemical energy during combustion. The released chemical energy is actually stored in the double bonded molecule of oxygen which is very weak.
We can classify chemical fuels into two broad ways: first on the basis of the physical properties like a gas, liquid or solid. We can also classify fuels on the basis of the occurrence like natural fuel (primary) and artificial (secondary).
2. Nuclear Fuels:
This is any substance or material that can be consumed in order to produce nuclear energy. It is important to note that any form of matter can produce nuclear energy and act as nuclear fuel if put under conditions that are right and favourable. Almost every nuclear fuel is made up of heavy and rare fissile elements which can undergo nuclear fission. The striking of these fuels by neutrons causes them to emit neutrons when these matters are broken apart. Therefore, the process of nuclear energy production is a chain reaction that is self-sustaining.