Save Fuel Essay: Why Conservation is Key

Fuel is one of the most essential commodities for everyday activities. We human beings are undoubtedly dependent on fuel for multiple purposes. Fuel when burned produces energy. Coal, wood, oil, petrol, or gas produce energy when heated, so we consider them as fuel. Fuel plays an indispensable role in our lives. But we are facing a huge fuel crisis at the moment. Fuel is not a man-made resource. It is a natural resource so we must use fuel very judiciously to save our environment.

Almost everything we use depends on fuel. Some common types of fuels are petrol, gas, diesel, aviation fuel which are used in cooking, automobiles, ships, airplanes, manufacturing, and processing, etc. It provides electricity for homes and buildings. Industrialization, machinery, and fast mode of transportation have become a way of life and they use a whole lot of oil and gas every day.

Despite its enormous benefits, non-renewable resources, fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas have been exploited sufficiently due to many reasons. Our environment is getting affected severely by harmful and toxic gasses due to the combustion of fuel. This is causing depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. The rising temperature of the earth has resulted in abnormal melting of polar ice caps, flooding of several coastal areas, and rising sea levels.

 Apart from carbon dioxide, many other toxic gasses such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, arsenic, lead, and mercury emissions not only harm our environment but also cause serious health hazards such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. A respiratory infection has become a common issue in children. Indeed it has become a threat to life on Earth.

The increase in usage of fossil fuels is depleting their presence within the earth. We should save fuel for a better environment and our future generation. Conserving energy should be a part of the daily routine of an individual. Every small effort by each individual can make a big difference. To meet our growing needs, we should abandon the traditional methods of using this energy and start using renewable resources. This will not only create a better environment but also be available for our future generations. Many organizations around the world are making significant efforts to conserve fuel. They are trying to use renewable energy from sources that will never deplete including solar power, wind power, geothermal power, hydropower, and thermal energy. International seminars are being held to reduce the carbon imprint, by making developed and developing nations agree to reduce pollution, emanating from the factories.

At the individual level, you should decrease the consumption of fuel in vehicles. For short distances, you can either walk or use cycles. Do car-pooling as much as possible. Periodical maintenance of cars is necessary. Get the air filters of the cars clean from time to time because it reduces the consumption of petrol. At home and commercial establishments use Led bulbs and tube lights. Use the air conditioner in moderation and always at a low setting to save energy. Switch off the air conditioner, lights and fans when not being used. Use electrical appliances for cooking and reheating food. Keep your cooking vessels covered while cooking. In addition, you can save electricity by using good quality wire. You should attach solar panels in offices and streetlights should be intelligent lights. They should turn off automatically in the daylight.

What are Fuels?

The substance which is burned to generate heat energy is called Fuels. In easy words- A substance that can burn in the air is called a combustible substance. Example. Coal, LPG, Kerosene, Diesel, Petrol are fueled.

Types of Fuels

Energy can change its form from one type to another. This happens because energy cannot be created or it can neither be destroyed.Thus, we cannot produce energy to do certain work. Therefore, we use certain substances which help us transform one form of energy into another form.

For example, when we burn the paper with a matchstick, light is produced by the flame. This shows that energy is not created by matchstick only heat present in the match stick resulted in light energy on striking. Thus, we always need a certain substance to convert one form of energy into another form to complete various tasks.

Fuels also produce energy on healing or burnt.These substances which produce energy are called fuels.

Such Materials can Further be Classified into:

•  Renewable Source of Energy: inexhaustible one. Example: Solar energy.

•  Non-Renewable Source of Energy: exhaustible one. Example: Fossil Fuels.

Now, the energy produced by burning paper is not sufficient to run cars but the energy produced by burning petrol is enough to do so. Thus, each fuel releases its own set of energy i.e. all of them do not release the same amount of energy.  The energy produced by the combustion of one kg of fuel is known as its calorific value.

Thus, we can differentiate different fuels based on their calorific value for their efficient usage. Furthermore, each of them has a different cost concerning another. Some are cheaper while others are more expensive. 

Different Types of Fuels

Fuels are denoted  into two factors:

1. Based on their Fuels State:

• Solid Fuels

• Liquid Fuels

• Gaseous Fuels

2. Based on Their Occurrence:

• Natural Fuels

• Artificial Fuels

Examples of Fuels

Natural Fuels and Artificial Fuels

• Solid Fuels

• Wood,

• Coal,

• Oil Shale

• Tanbark, Bagasse, Straw, Charcoal

• Briquettes

Liquid Fuels

• Petroleum

• Oils from the distillation of petroleum, Coal Tar, Shale-Oil, Alcohol, etc.

Gaseous Fuels

• Natural Gas

• Coal gas,

• Producer Gas

• Water Gas

• Hydrogen

• Acetylene

• Blast Furnace Gas,

• Oil Gas.