Although fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas are extremely useful important sources of

energy, the environment does pay a price, so it is important to understand the sources and
chemistry of pollution and how its effects can be minimised. Pollutants from burning fossil fuels
(coal, oil, gas etc.) burning in power stations and automobile transport include carbon monoxide,
methods of reducing carbon monoxide pollution are described including catalytic converters.
Introduction via coal combustion, then onto burning hydrocarbons and pollution

Some organic compounds are used as fuels. Other organic compounds, including plastics,
are burned as waste. Burning these organic compounds releases gases into the
atmosphere.
o All organic compounds consist partly of carbon atoms and many contain
hydrogen and other atoms such as oxygen and nitrogen. Coal, crude oil,
natural gas (methane) and wood contain organic compounds

all are used as fuels, either directly like coal or natural gas,

or indirectly as coke from coal or petrol from crude oil etc.,

and apart from wood, they are finite (limited reserve) fossil (from decayed
organic material) fuels.

o Many hydrocarbons are fuels i.e. a substance burned to release heat energy.
o When organic compounds are burned in a plentiful supply of air the carbon
is oxidised to carbon dioxide and the hydrogen is oxidised to water.
o In a limited supply of air incomplete combustion occurs forming carbon
monoxide and/ or carbon.

Carbon monoxide is poisonous because it reduces the capacity of blood to

carry oxygen.

Each fossil fuel has a different cost, efficiency and cleanliness on burning. Generally
speaking in 'cleanliness' the order is methane (natural gas) > alkanes in petrol >
heavy oil and from left to right there is also an increase in C/H atom ratio in the
molecule so more CO2 produced too.

The combustion of plastics (and other organic compounds) which contains chlorine and
nitrogen produce poisonous fumes when burnt e.g. choking hydrogen chloride HCl and
toxic hydrogen cyanide HCN respectively. Especially where there is a limited supply of
air. The combustion products of carbon (toxic CO and CO2) and hydrogen (H2O) are also
formed.

The fuel coal consists mainly of carbon, which, if burned/ignited in excess air, combusts to form
carbon dioxide.

carbon + oxygen ====> carbon dioxide

This is what you expect to happen in an open domestic coal fire.

If not enough air/oxygen is available, coal will only 'half' burn to form the deadly odorless,
colorless and toxic gas carbon monoxide.

2C(s) + O2(g) ====> 2CO(g)

This can happen if organic material, coal or peat is smoldering underground and is
obviously a dangerous situation.

If it was formed in a domestic coal fire it will quite happily burn with a pale blue flame to
form the 'safe' combustion product carbon dioxide gas.

2CO(s) + O2(g) ====> 2CO2(g)

When fossil fuels burn efficiently in an excess of air/oxygen the main products are carbon
dioxide and water e.g.
Examples of complete combustion burning are for example natural gas and petrol

Methane + oxygen ====> water + carbon dioxide

o CH4(g) + 2O2(g) ==> CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)

Power stations burn huge quantities of fossil fuels in the form of mainly coal, but significant
quantities of gas ans some oil. The heat from the very exothermic combustion is used turn water
into steam and steam driven turbines power the electrical generators (very big dynamos!).
If there is not enough oxygen present to completely burn the fuel to carbon dioxide and water
other products may form causing pollution and fuel inefficiency.

This is referred to as incomplete combustion.

Visually, blue flames indicate complete combustion releasing lots of heat energy, but
smoky yellow flames indicate incomplete combustion releasing less energy.

The most common partially burned products are likely to be carbon C (soot) and deadly carbon
monoxide CO.

A simplified word equation covering most possibilities is ...

o hydrocarbon + oxygen (air) ==> carbon (soot) + carbon monoxide + carbon

dioxide + water

Carbon-soot, a fine black powder-dust is potentially harmful and readily formed in

fires i.e. its classically produced by smoky yellow flames and inefficient motor vehicle
engines.
o The soot, like any fine solid 'dust' is harmful when absorbed on the sensitive
tissue of the linings of the nose, throat and lungs.
o Black sooty marks indicate incomplete combustion and soot deposits cause
coughing and sore throat and are ejected from your body through sneezing,
coughing, and nose blowing.
o Coarse particles (10 microns in diameter) are inhaled into your windpipe and
settle there, causing irritation and more coughing.
o Soot is also a 'carrier' of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) on it which
are carcinogenic molecules of general formula CxHy, where x and y are at least 6.

Even very low concentrations of carbon monoxide can be fatal.

o Oxygen is carried around the body by a complicated protein molecule in red
blood cells called haemoglobin.
o The bonding between oxygen and haemoglobin is quite weak to allow easy
oxygen transfer for cell respiration.
o Unfortunately, the bonding between carbon monoxide and haemoglobin is
stronger, so oxygen is replaced by carbon monoxide and blocks normal cell
respiration.
o The consequences are reduced blood oxygen concentration leading to
unconsciousness and eventually death!
o This is why long road tunnels are ventilated and you should never run a car
engine in a closed garage!
It would appear that the hydrogen in the fuel molecules is more easily burned (oxidized) and
usually forms water so the equations for incomplete combustion below show the formation of
carbon-soot and 'deadly' carbon monoxide when there is a lack of oxygen for complete
combustion.

Particulate carbon doesn't get the headlines like acid rain, but it is a serious problem that
you get from burning coal and diesel fuel too.

As mentioned already, soot is obviously a 'dirty' pollutant coating any surface (including
your lungs!) that the soot particles settle on - dark coloration on buildings from the
Industrial Revolution the emergence of steam powered Victorian technology.

Soot particles of carbon also contain unburned carcinogenic hydrocarbons AND carbon
monoxide is involved in the chemistry of photochemical smog - so all in all, inefficient
combustion of fossil-hydrocarbon fuels is very undesirable!

There is also less heat released in incomplete combustion compared to complete combustion
since not all the carbon atoms of the fuel are fully combined with the maximum amount of
oxygen.

e.g. for the incomplete combustion of methane the word and symbol equations are as
follows ...
o methane + oxygen ====> carbon + water
o CH4(g) + O2(g) ====> C(s) + 2H2O(l)

Nitrogen monoxide, NO, is formed by the combination of nitrogen and oxygen at high
temperature in automobile engines (cars, lorries, buses etc. - its all the same!)
N2(g) + O2(g) ====> 2NO(g)
Nitrogen monoxide readily forms nitrogen dioxide by combining with oxygen in air on exit
from the engine exhaust.
2NO(g) + O2(g) ====> 2NO2(g)
Nitrogen dioxide is a lung and eye irritant, and, along with nitrogen monoxide, it is involved in
the complex chemistry of photochemical smogs which can also produce ozone and other harmful
chemicals in the air.
The reduction of fossil fuel burning is the only way to reduce photochemical smog e.g. using
photovoltaic cells to harness solar energy to produce electricity. Using solar power indirectly in
this way to run electric cars is potentially a good partial solution to the problem.