Question

Which one of the following is less polluting fuel?
A.Natural gas
B.Coal
C.Kerosene
D.Petrol

Answer 1

Hint: The most efficient burning or combustible fuel is the one which is a complete hydrocarbon as it will burn with least pollution and would be the one to have least amount of impurities. It should be easily accessible and readily combustible with minimum effect on our environment.

Complete step by step answer:
-Natural gas is more prominently called methane but has some impurities in it. It is the simplest form of hydrocarbon and the cleanest burning fossil fuel with the chemical formula \[C{H_4}\] .
-As we have got our answer that nature gas is the cleanest fuel means it is least polluting fuel as well, let us now focus on the three other options.
1.Coal is known to be a complicated compound having constituents containing carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. There are different grades of coal present and studied. So, the combustion of coal leads to generation of sulphur compounds along with some impurities and thus we can say that it is not the fuel with least pollution.
2.Petrol is a refined compound used as fuel in transportation in general. It is obtained through the distillation process of crude oil and it contains a lot of impurities which are required to be purified so as to make it a clean fuel. We are very much aware of the pollution caused by our vehicles and that is all due to petrol and diesel that we use. So, it can never be a clean or less polluting fuel.
3.Although kerosene is one of the safest fuels, yet it has a major impact on climate as it absorbs heat and sunlight from the atmosphere and warms the air around. It is used in many devices but they emit substantial amounts of fine particulates such as carbon monoxide, nitric oxides and sulphur dioxide.

Hence, the correct option is (A).

Note:
The above-mentioned fuels on combustion leads to some amount of pollution. It is the amount of impurities constituting the fuel itself and thus intensifies the magnitude of pollution. Only natural gas is the one with minor impurities and is obtained by extraction from oil wells.