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What is fossil fuels?
In economic activity people use various substances, among which one of the first in importance are combustible minerals. For any state, this is a very important strategic raw material that has been extracted and used by mankind since ancient times. Which minerals are flammable? These include coal, gas, oil, peat and oil shale.
Coal
Coals are the contemporaries of the geological ages of antiquity. In the geochronological scale, one of the periods is called coal. It is believed that at that time the planet was covered by a tropical forest, which consisted of huge horsetails and tree-like ferns. As a result, they formed coal fossil fuels.
At that time, the climate was humid and warm. The fallen trees were replaced by new ones. Huge layers of wood accumulated. In shallow water reservoirs and swamps, they have turned into coal fossil fuels. It is believed that this way was formed at least 30% of the coal on the planet. Coal deposits are not uncommon. They can be found not only on the continents, but also on some islands. Even Antarctica is no exception. It is believed that combustible minerals lie beneath the kilometer ice beds.
Hydrocarbon fossil fuels
These include oil and gas, which are formed in the natural cavities of the interior. They accumulated organic matter, the remains of living organisms. For millions of years, almost without access to air, they have become a valuable raw material, which is called "black gold", as well as into natural gas. Deposits of combustible minerals of hydrocarbon type are on all continents. Oil has a complex chemical composition. Its production is accompanied by the release of natural gas, which, as a rule, lies above the oil-bearing horizon. Oil is used in a huge number of industries. In addition to the basis for the production of motor fuel, it is the most important raw material for the chemical industry.
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