Fossil fuels include Coal, oil and natural gas etc.

These are called

fossil fuels because they are formed by the decomposition of dead bodies of
living organisms. Millions of year ago, the dead remains of living organism
mainly of plants were buried under the earths surface. Dead Sea plants were
decomposed under anaerobic conditions inside the earth. Heat and pressure
worked on it, and thus this organic matter is converted into present form of
petroleum and natural gas. On the other hand, the plants on the land had
also undergone the similar processes, and coal was formed.
There are three main type of fossil fuel:
1. Coal: Coal is dark rock which catches fire when burn in presence of
oxygen. The main constituents of coal are carbon, hydrogen, sulfur,
hydrogen etc. There are varieties of coal like anthracite, bituminous and
lignite. Anthracite has the highest percentage of carbon followed by
bituminous and lignite. Worldwide, there is large scale use of coal in
producing electricity. There are other uses of coal also.
2. Petroleum oil: Petroleum oil is the dark colored liquid with offensive odor,
found at various depths in many regions below the surface of the earth. It
is also called rock oil, mineral oil or crude oil. It is generally found under
the rock strata of the earths crust and often floats over salted water. The
crude oil contains compounds of hydrogen and carbon, compounds of
sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. The disagreeable smell is due to compounds
of sulfur. The rate of consumption of crude petroleum has become so fast
that it is estimated that most of world reserves will be exhausted by
2025. From the refining of the petroleum oil , We obtain various useful
products like Petrol , Kerosene , Diesel , LPG , lubricant oil , wax and
other petrochemicals .
3. Natural gas: The gas found above the petroleum deposits is referred to as
natural gas. Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane, hexanes and nitrogen are
its main constituents. It is highly inflammable. The power plants which
use natural gas as fuel are energy efficient. It is also used for domestic
purpose.