Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are formed from organic material, both plant and animal remains, that have settled to the bottom of oceans. The immense pressure of the water changes this organic matter into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
This process is known as catagenesis. Where the bulk of this organic material is mostly plant matter, the process tends to form coal. Many of the coal fields date to one specific period in history, which has been named the Carboniferous era.
How were fossil fuels formed?
Fossil fuels can be burned to produce significant amounts of energy. As a result they have been commercially exploited in the last few hundred years.
The Industrial Revolution was based on the availability of fossil fuels. The invention of the internal combustion engine allowed machines to manufacture consumer goods. Trains, cars and lorries followed with the resulting demand for petrol and diesel. Coal was used for heating and cooking, and later became the main fuel used in power stations to generate electricity.
One way to continue to allow fossil fuel power stations to be used in the future is to add carbon capture devices and to use carbon sequestration technologies.
Of course these carbon capture mechanisms are not generally available yet! But the Longannet power station on the Firth of Forth has been fitted with the UK's first carbon capture unit on at trial basis. The 'captured' carbon dioxide is turned into liquid form ready for storage (wherever that may be).
If this trial shows that similar capture mechanisms can be used on all the existing coal fired stations in the UK then that will go a long way to meeting the UK 2020 carbon reduction targets!