Where do the carbon in fossil fuels come from?

Answer 1

Fossil fuels are the remains of plant and animal matter than have undergone changes over vast periods of time, heat and pressure beneath the earth. Nitrogen and sulfur are natural components of protein and other metabolic products in cells, so these remain in the fossil fuels, and are oxidised to various sulfur and nitrogen oxides upon combustion of the fuel.

Answer 2

The plants of vast forests that once covered Earth provide the energy stored in fossil fuels. A fuel is a material that contains stored potential energy.The gasoline used in vehicles and the propane used in a gas grill are examples of fuels. Some of the fossil fuels used today were made from materials that formed hundreds of millions of years ago.

Answer 3

The carbon started in the form of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and it was separated into carbon and oxygen by photosynthesis in plants around 50-250 million years ago. Photosynthesis uses the Sun's energy. The plant material became fossilised and appears now as oil and natural gas.

Burning the carbon in the fuel in oxygen from the atmosphere re-creates carbon dioxide, and the energy used up millions of years ago is re-released as heat to drive engines and turbines.

The downside is that the carbon dioxide is a waste product that is difficult to deal with. At present most of it - millions of tons each year - is dumped into the atmosphere, and it largely sits there, leading to global warming.

Answer 4

It comes from the carbon that was in the plants. This will slowly be released from the plant after it dies.

Answer 5

oil and gas are hydrocarbons so they contain hydrogen and carbon

e.g. methane is CH4 (one carbon and four hydrogen atoms)