Organic Chemistry and Fossil Fuels - A Research Paper

Arguably, life is based on carbon chemistry. In the contemporary society, organic chemistry is regarded as a vital branch of chemistry that deals with the compounds of carbon, majorly fossil fuels, which are made of hydrocarbons. The discipline majorly involves the synthesis of organic molecules and the study of their reaction paths, applications, and interactions. The field of organic chemistry is associated with the study of carbon compounds. Remarkably, these compounds contain carbon and hydrogen as the major element in their formation. Nevertheless, it is vital to note that some carbon-containing compounds such as Na2CO3, CaCO3, and cyanides such as NaCN, KCN are classified as inorganic compounds (Structureproperty relationships among hydrocarbons 134). By definition, organic compounds are carbon-containing compounds that majorly contain hydrogen and traces of other elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, halogens, phosphorous, and Sulphur. Fossil fuels are among the major compounds that are studied in organic chemistry. Their unique characteristics and diverse uses, majorly as sources of energy, has caused scientists to invest a considerable amount of time and resources in an endeavor to understand and increase the efficiency and usability of these natural sources of energy.

History of Organic Chemistry and its Relation to Extraction of Fossil Fuels

Organic chemistry was conceived during the prehistoric civilization, an era during which many useful chemicals were extracted from plants and animal products. The ancient scientists learnt how to ferment sugars to make wine and how to manufacture soap by heating animal fats with base obtained from wood ashes. During the middle ages, alchemists were able to isolate cholesterol from gallstones, extract drugs such as quinine, brucine, and strychnine, from plants; and extract morphine from opium (Structureproperty relationships among hydrocarbons 141).

Two centuries ago, renowned chemists such as Antoine Lavoisier was able to deduce the elemental composition of many of these compounds. During the experiments, he noted that most of these elements contained carbon and hydrogen and some traces of other elements. Further, the scientist of this aeon was able to classify the two classes of material into mineral type and the organic type. The organic materials could readily undergo combustion to produce carbon while the hydrogen released during the process was tapped and condensed to produce water. Due to limited scientific knowledge, ancient scientist believed that there were some vital forces in living organisms that were necessary to create fossil fuels. The belief was dismissed in 1828 after Friedrich Wohler successfully manufactured urea, a chemical compound contained in the urine of animals, from inorganic Ammonium cyanate (Elemental Analysis of Fossil Fuels and Related Materials 723). Since then, the field of organic chemistry has expanded and includes millions of chemical compounds.

Relationship between Organic Chemistry and Fossil Fuels

Organic chemistry has enhanced scientists comprehension of the structure and constituents of fossil fuels. The relationship between organic chemistry and fossil fuels is majorly due to two major elements that make up the fossil fuels, that is, Carbon (C) and Hydrogen, (H) (Elemental Analysis of Fossil Fuels and Related Materials 711). Considering the millions of all chemical compounds that have been discovered by scientist, more than 95% of these compounds contain elemental carbon. As a result, carbon has been highlighted as an essential element of study in organic chemistry, primarily when addressing fossil fuels. Carbon is contained in fossil fuels due to its unique and remarkable characteristics.

Organic chemistry has enabled scientist to understand the bond formation and bond breaking processes during the combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon atoms in fossil fuels form strong covalent bonds with other carbon atoms (Kaljuvee et al. 119). The bonds are stable, an aspect that enables carbon atoms to develop a long chain. The breakdown of this chains requires high temperatures, and hence the combustion of the fossil fuels releases high amounts of chemical and thermal energy. As a result, the field of organic chemistry has enabled individuals to comprehend the process of combustion and the products yielded by the process. The combustion of a sample fossil fuel, methane, is depicted by the pictogram below,

Conferring to deductions established by scientist specialized in organic chemistry, the combustion reaction of fossil fuels results into oxidation since oxygen is very electronegative (Kaljuvee et al. 126). Moreover, considering that fossil fuels are majorly comprised of hydrocarbons, the carbon molecules are said to be reduced. As a result, during the combustion process, the hydrocarbon molecules are easily converted into carbon dioxide and water, as shown by the equation above.

Organic chemistry has enabled scientist to understand how fossil fuels are made from decaying plant and animal matter. In producing fossil fuels, carbon atoms contained in this decaying substances forms four bonds; as a result, the molecules form long chains that include branches. This attribute explains why carbon compounds exhibit so much isomerism. For instance, a simple compound such as decane (C10H22) has 75 different isomers (Schobert 107). Moreover, carbon atoms can form single, double or triple bonds. Such an attribute is more prevalent in carbon-containing compounds than in any other element. A combination of carbon atoms can lead to the formation of fossils fuels and compounds with rings of different sizes. The rings formed through this process can either be saturated or unsaturated (Schobert 113). For instance, the unsaturated six-membered ring that known as benzene ring is the building block for the subfield of aromatic organic chemistry.

Existence of Organic Chemistry in Fossil Fuels

The process of forming fossil fuels incorporates a wide array various concepts and processes established in organic chemistry. Majorly, the multiple processes and the conditions available during the formation process influence the nomenclature of fossil fuels, their isomers, and other physical and chemical properties of these non-renewable sources of energy. Some reactions involve addition of several molecules while other process entails the decomposition of molecules. Other methods entail substitution of one atom or a group of atoms by another thus resulting in the formation of fossil fuels with complex structures (Zappa 62). The formation of fossil fuels require heat or radiation, and in some special occasions, some reactions require a catalyst to speed up the decaying process. For instance, coal, which is one of the most ancient fossil fuel, is majorly extracted from large swap forests that existed during the Carboniferous period. The fossil fuel is derived primarily from animals and plants that died millions of years ago and were subjected to high temperature and pressures. Since plants contain a vast amount of cellulose due to the linked glucose units manufactured during photosynthesis, coal has a complex structure. For instance, coal has a considerable number of oxygen atoms that join the structure together thus reinforcing the basic carbon framework of carbon-carbon bonds. The resulting structure of cellulose and coal is depicted by the figures below

Cellulose, makes up the coal structure, consists of numerous long chains of cyclic glucose molecules that are linked to each other with hydrogen bonds (Zappa 39). When plants undergo decomposition under high pressure and temperature for a long period, water is released into the environment and bonds are formed between the rings thus producing coal. Conferring to the facts presented above, it is evident that the field of organic chemistry has played a central role in helping scientists to understand the structure of fossil fuels, the process of forming fossil fuels, and the reaction path undergone by fossil fuels during combustion.

Works Cited

Elemental Analysis of Gaseous Fuels. Elemental Analysis of Fossil Fuels and Related Materials, pp. 709732., Doi: 10.1520/mono102012001613.

Kaljuvee, T., et al. "Formation of Volatile Organic Compounds at Thermooxidation of Solid Fossil Fuels." Oil Shale, vol. 24, no. 2, Apr. 2007, pp. 117-133.

Schobert, Harold. Formation of fossil fuels. Chemistry of Fossil Fuels and Biofuels, pp. 103131., doi:10.1017/cbo9780511844188.009.

Schobert, Harold. Structureproperty relationships among hydrocarbons. Chemistry of Fossil Fuels and Biofuels, pp. 132160., doi:10.1017/cbo9780511844188.010.

Zappa, Marcia. Fossil Fuels. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Co, 2011.