Types of Resources

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What are Natural resources?

Resources found in nature are called Natural resources. There are two types of natural resources:

Renewable Resources

Resources that are inexhaustible, that is, the resources that won’t be depleted over time, are known as Renewable resources.

The sun, wind, tides are examples of inexhaustible resources.

Non-Renewable Resources

Resources that are exhaustible, that is, the resources that will get over in a short span of time, are known as Non-renewable resources.

Natural gas, mineral ores, uranium and many more are examples of exhaustible resources.

The two major non-renewable resources that power our modern existence are Coal and Petroleum, which we learn about in detail.

Coal

Coal is a black, hard as a stone substance consisting majorly of carbon. It is used as fuel in homes and industries.

Process of Coal Formation

About 300 million years ago, the earth was covered with vast tracts of forest and thick vegetative cover. A series of natural events submerged the forests. The floods created swamp-like areas that led to the decomposition of vegetative remains by the anaerobic microbes in the water.

After a few years, this decayed matter started resembling a black like sticky layer submerged in water called Peat.

As new soil deposited over the peat layer, it put pressure on it pushing it deeper into the earth. The high pressure and the high temperatures inside the earth compressed the free molecules of peat and solidified them to form Coal.

This slow process of conversion of dead vegetation into coal is called Carbonisation.

During this process, substances such as oxygen, nitrogen and moisture reduce gradually, leaving behind mainly carbon.

Source of Energy in Coal

Plants make use of the sunlight during the process of photosynthesis. They store food in their body and use it later to aid different processes. When they die and decompose, this stored food turns into manure for new plants to grow. But millions of years ago, these plants did not decompose. Instead, they turned into coal when they were trapped under the earth due to floods and other natural events. And along with that the energy also remained inside them. It is this energy that is released when coal is burnt.

Summary