Fuel is basically any substance that generates chemical or nuclear energy. Different types of fuels are used in different tasks. Some of these tasks include warming, heating, cooking, producing industrial goods, running machinery, etc.
Fuels generate chemical and nuclear energy as heat. These are used to accomplish various tasks with ease. Petrol, diesel, LPG, wood, coal tar, cow dung, charcoal, methane, coal gas, water gas and kerosene are some of the examples of fuels. Here are essays of varying lengths on Fuel to help you with the topic in your exam. You can select any Fuel Essay of your choice:
A substance that produces chemical or nuclear energy when it comes in contact with other substances is called fuel. This energy is used as it is or is further converted to mechanical energy and is put to use in different ways. Some of the common tasks carried out with the help of different fuels include running vehicles, operating machinery, cooking, ironing and warming.
Chemical fuels have broadly been classified into three categories – Solid fuel, Liquid fuel and Gaseous fuel. Solid fuels include wood, cow dung, charcoal and coke to name a few. Liquid fuels include petroleum which is processed to form various varieties of liquid fuels such diesel, naphtha, kerosene, etc. Natural gases come under the category of gaseous fuels. These are processed and converted into CNG, blast furnace gas, methane and coal gas for various purposes. Nuclear fuels on the other hand are divided into two categories – Fission and Fusion. Each of these fuels has its own unique utility. We use most of these to carry out our day to day tasks.
Fuels are fast depleting from the surface of the earth. This is because their demand is growing at a rapid speed whereas its supply is limited. We must use these substances wisely so that they do not get exhausted.
Introduction
Fuels were initially known as, those substances that released only chemical energy. However, soon those that produced nuclear energy were also included under this tag. These are used for carrying out various tasks. Most of the things we rely upon and cannot imagine our lives without these days run on fuels.
Fuels Used in Our Day-to-day Lives
There are various fuels that are used in our daily lives. Here is a look at the most commonly used fuels among these:
Petrol/ Diesel/ CNG
The car, bus, scooter or bike we use to commute to different places run on petrol, diesel or CNG. These are secondary fuels derived from petroleum and natural gases. The production cost involved in extracting and producing these fuels is high and thus these are quite expensive.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Liquefied Petroleum Gas or LPG is popularly known as used for cooking. Natural gases are also used for various routine tasks such as heating the room, operating water heaters, etc. These gases burn cleanly and do not pollute the air.
Fuel Production in India
India is known for the production of various fuels. While it exports the ones that are abundantly available here, it imports the ones that are not sufficient for use.
Digboi town in the India state of Assam and Western Offshore are known for their oil deposits. The gas fields in India are also located in Assam. The state of Gujarat also boasts of gas fields. Some of the other places in India that have crude petroleum and natural gas reserves include Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Eastern Offshore.
Conclusion
Today, we cannot imagine our lives without the things that run on or are produced with the help of fuel. Fuel production is a lucrative business though a good amount of investment is required to begin with it. Most countries exporting fuels such as petroleum and natural gases are witnessing a booming economy.
Introduction
Fuels are of various types and are used for different purposes. While some of these are used in the process of production, others are used for the purpose transportation. Man relies on fuels for almost all his tasks. Just as every other thing on earth, fuels offer both advantages and disadvantages.
Main Types of Fuels
Fuels have mainly been divided into three different categories. Here is a brief look at these categories:
These refer to the solid substances that generate heat and light energy by the process of combustion. There are various solid fuels that are put to different uses. These include firewood, pellets, charcoal, peat, coal, biomass, municipal waste and coke. Most of the solid fuels are more readily available as compared to liquid and gaseous fuels. These are thus cheaper than the other two forms.
On the downside, solid fuels are heavier and thus difficult to transport. They require a good amount of air for proper combustion. The thermal energy of solid fuels is low.
These are combustible molecules that are brought together to generate mechanical energy. Some of the examples of liquid fuels include gasoline, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas and compressed natural gases. Since liquid takes the form of any object it is filled in, liquid fuels are comparatively easier to transport. There is no dust or ash formation on burning these fuels. These are used as internal combustion fuels.
On the downside, liquid fuels are quite expensive. Most of these are highly inflammable and thus the risk involved in storing the same is quite high. They are also known for bad odours.
These are the fuels available in the gaseous forms. While some of these fuels are freely available in nature such as the natural gases other are derived from different substances. Gaseous fuels generated from solid fuels such as coal and biomass are termed as coal gas and biomass gas. Gases generated from liquid fuel such as petroleum include refinery gases and liquefied petroleum gas.
Gaseous fuels can easily be transferred through pipelines. Unlike liquid and solid fuels, the gaseous fuels do not produce any smoke. These are comparatively cleaner when it comes to handling. They can be burned even with slight air supply.
On the downside these are highly inflammable and hence storing these involves risk. These are quite expensive and also require huge tanks for storage.
Conclusion
While some of the fuels are renewable others are non-renewable yet others take hundreds of years to renew. Thus, we must use these resources carefully. We must avoid wastage of any kind.
Introduction
Fuels govern our lives to a large extent. We use these in our day to day lives for carrying of various tasks including cooking, keeping the food fresh, cooling, commuting, heating, manufacturing various goods and what not. Fuels are of different types. These have broadly been categorised into two categories – Bio Fuels and Fossil Fuels. The segregation is done based on the way these are generated.
What are Fossil Fuels?
Fossil fuels take millions of years to form. These are thus often referred to as non-renewable fuels. These fuels are generated by the changes that take place naturally in the dead remains of animals and plants over the centuries.
There are mainly three types of fossil fuels. These are coal which is a solid fossil fuel, oil which is liquid fossil fuel and natural gas which is gaseous fossil fuel. These are used for carrying out day to day tasks such as generating electricity, heating your home or office space, running your vehicle, etc. We are dependent on these fuels for almost all our tasks. The use of these fuels has made our lives smooth and comfortable.
However, these fuels also have a downside to them. The supply of these fuels is limited and the demand is high. This is the reason why they are priced high. Also since they take centuries to generate and are almost non-renewable they are fast depleting. Another main problem with fossil fuels is that they release carbon dioxide on burning and this increases the pollution level in the atmosphere. The increasing use of fossil fuels is a major cause of global warming.
Major producers of fossil fuels around the world include China, Saudi Arabia, U.S., Russia, Canada and Indonesia.
What are Bio Fuels?
These fuels are generated from biomass that includes plants and animal wastes, municipal wastes, as well as the wastes from the food, agro and other industries. The waste products used for the production of bio fuels need not be very old. For instance, these are made of freshly harvested plants unlike fossil fuels that take millions of years to generate. Burning these fuels produces less greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels. However these are more expensive compared to the fossil fuels.
Bio fuels are divided into two categories – Primary Bio fuels and Secondary Bio fuels. While the primary bio fuels are put to use in unprocessed form, secondary bio fuels are used after being processed. Some of the examples of bio fuels include green diesel which is generated from algae and certain other plant wastes, biodiesel which is produced with the help of vegetable oils and liquid animal fats and biogas which is generated from animal waste and other organic material.
Bio fuels are mainly produced to replace fossil fuels such as diesel, coal and gasoline. U.S., Brazil, France, China, Argentina and Germany are among the top bio fuel producers.
Conclusion
Both bio fuels and fossil fuels have their set of advantages and disadvantages. It takes a lot of time, energy and investment to produce these fuels. We must thus stop wasting the available fuel resources.
Introduction
Fuels are divided into different categories based on their properties and their way of production. For instance, some fuels come under chemical fuels others are categorized as nuclear fuels. Some of these are solid, others are liquid and yet others are gaseous. These are also distinguished based on whether these are fossil fuels or bio fuels. Then, there is yet another basis on which these are divided and that is whether these are renewable or non-renewable fuels.
Renewable Fuels
Renewable energy is the energy that can regenerate on its own following the natural course. This is mostly available in abundance in the environment because of its nature to replenish. As the name suggests, renewable fuels are made from renewable resources. Bio fuels and hydrogen fuels are considered to be renewable fuels. A common example of renewable fuel can be hydroelectric power. This is because it is generated from water which is a renewable resource. However, the investment involved in the production of hydropower is quite high.
Renewable fuels are mostly safer to use as the gases they emit are not as harmful as those emitted by most non-renewable fuels.
Non-Renewable Fuels
Non-renewable fuels, as is evident by the name, are those fuels that cannot be renewed. It takes numerous years to generate these fuels and once used these get finished. These cannot be replenished and are thus depleting at a fast pace. The time would not be far when we may run out of these. In addition to this, the amount of pollution they generate is enormous. Most of the non-renewable fuels are fossil fuels the main element in which is carbon. On burning they emit carbon dioxide and other harmful gases that are adding to the problem of global warming.
However, many of these fuels provide high energy compared to renewable fuels. These are also easier to burn.
Save Fuel for Future Generations
With the growing technology and changing lifestyle, the consumption of fuels such as petroleum, natural gases and coal has increased manifolds. Even though most of these are available in abundance currently and many among these are renewable fuels however if we continue to use these at this pace these may deplete pretty soon. Here is how we can contribute our bit towards saving fuel for future generations:
You must ensure that you use all the appliances running on different fuels very cautiously. Simple things such as turning off the light while leaving the room, cooking on low flame, car pooling, etc can make a difference.
There are many energy efficient appliances. You must switch to such appliances to save fuel. One of the common examples of this is the CFL. You can change the regular lights in your house with the energy efficient CFLs or LED lights to save electricity.
You must limit the use of air conditioners and room heaters. These devices do not only use a substantial amount of fuel energy but also have a bad impact on your health as well as the environment as a whole. You can bring down the temperature of your house or heat it using eco friendly ways.
Conclusion
Whether you are making use of renewable fuels or non-renewable fuels, you must be cautious about the amount you use. Never misuse these valuable resources. Not only because we need to save these for our future generations but also because using too much of these is not good for the environment which ultimately impacts our health. Most of these fuels, especially the non-renewable ones, are adding to the pollution on earth. Hence, to make our planet a better place to live, we must restrict the use of fuel.