One of the most valuable sources of energy for world industry today is solid fossil fuels. Humanity is unlikely to be able to do without them. Among other things, the still brilliant Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev said: "You can also heat bank notes." The scientist implied that it would be more useful to use these resources for the synthesis of substances required by man.
Modern science constantly confirms its correctness. Oddly enough, but in many respects to those riches that lie deep underground, we owe the ancient flora. It was the ancient ferns and trees that formed over time many useful resources. By the way, what minerals were formed from ancient plants? Well, let's find out!
General characteristics of fossil plant fuels
All of these fuels contain a huge amount of carbon. All of them were formed from plant debris, which for millions of years was affected by high blood pressure and high temperature. The age of some types of ancient vegetable fuels significantly exceeds the mark of 650 million years. About 80% of these minerals formed during the Tertiary period. It is to these times that we owe the fact that mineral resources still provide us with everything we need.
The main feature of their formation should be considered the fact that at that time there was still little oxygen on the planet, which currently oxidizes organics very quickly, but a lot of carbon and compounds based on it. Sedimentary rocks quickly preserved huge masses of substances in the earth.
So that you better navigate this issue, we have prepared a table. Minerals are far from unsystematically located in the bowels of the earth.
Location and types of resourcesLandform | The structure of the bark, its age | The main types of minerals | Examples |
Plain | Shields of the times of Archeozoic, Proterozoic | A lot of iron, manganese ores | Baltic shield of the Russian platform |
Plates of ancient platforms, the formation of which took place during the Paleozoic | Oil, gas, coal and other plant minerals | Western Siberia |
The mountains | Young mountains of alpine age | A lot of polymetallic ores | Caucasus |
Old, destroyed mountains of the Mesozoic | They contain almost all types of valuable minerals, including polymetallic ores | Kazakh small hills |
However, among some scientists, the theory of the abiogenic origin of many fossil fuels is popular, which explains their occurrence by a combination of various factors that led to the appearance of complex carbon compounds from simple inorganic substances.
This point of view also has its right to life, but most scientists are still convinced that the overwhelming majority of deposits have precisely the biological nature of their origin. Well, what minerals were formed from ancient plants? We will talk about this now.
Importance for industry and human
As we have already said, many of these substances are a real storehouse for the modern chemical industry. The same coal contains many compounds, which in other cases can be obtained only as a result of complex and expensive synthesis. For example, humic acids, which are not so common in nature and quite difficult for artificial synthesis, are massively obtained from cheap and widespread brown coal.
In principle, economic geography will tell you all about this. Minerals play a crucial role in shaping the normal production economy of any country.
It should be remembered that the full use of many resources of plant origin is possible only if a person is well aware of the nuances of their formation. First, we will consider the coals we have mentioned more than once, since the process of their formation is very interesting. Coals, like other main minerals of plant origin, were formed by various plants during their death.
Characterization of the formation of humus coals
A very long time ago, when giant dinosaurs still roamed on Earth, beautiful lush forests grew on vast expanses. The conditions were ideal for their growth and development: there is a lot of organic matter in the soil, and carbon dioxide prevails in the atmosphere. However, these same conditions contributed to the fact that plants are very rapidly dying. Their parts fell to the ground, where they quickly decomposed, since they were not protected from the oxidative effect of air.
The combination of all these factors led to a very rapid decomposition of cellulose. Giant masses of vegetation turned into a real "cocktail" of humic substances, diluted with insignificant amounts of impurities of resins, waxes and paraffins. However, all this mass was decomposed rather quickly by microorganisms, and therefore there was no particularly rapid accumulation of organic matter at that time. The main mineral reserves appeared somewhat later.
So how was coal formed directly?
By the method described above, the formation of dry peat took place, which even now is enough on the surface of our planet. As a rule, no further metamorphoses occurred with him, since most often he was covered with a layer of sand and earth, reliably preserving the organics from the effects of oxygen and microorganisms. Such a mass was extremely plastic, and therefore no sorting or mixing occurred in the future.
Since there was very little undecomposed organic matter in the thickness of peat, there were no further rotting processes. Thus, the temperature in the thickness of the strata has always remained at the same level.
Pressure and time ...
However, over time, the layers gradually compacted due to caking. Humic acids gradually turned into humites, resins underwent decarboxylation, and only waxes remained unchanged for millennia. This is how the formation of brown humus coals took place. Especially a lot of them in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. These are the most common mineral resources of the region (and an important source of income, of course).
Under the influence of a whole range of environmental factors, their gradual metamorphosis occurred, resulting in stone humus coals. The main role in this process belongs to high pressure and no less high temperature. Under these conditions, humic acids began to decompose rapidly, resins and waxes underwent natural polymerization.
All this led to the synthesis of non-melting, completely insoluble compounds. Thanks to them, this grade of coal has survived to the present day. It lies at relatively shallow depths, and therefore, subject to several other physical and chemical properties, it would inevitably be washed out. And what minerals were formed from ancient plants, in addition to the humus coal described above?
On the process of formation of a mixed type of coal
It should be noted that in nature the process of formation of pure humic compounds proceeded extremely rarely. Where more often the mixed process took place. Scientists suggest that he was walking in several directions at once. As a rule, all this happened at the bottom of ancient reservoirs, on the site of which mineral deposits are now located.
Humic substances were gradually brought there with rainwater and slowly, over the centuries, settled at the bottom. Plankton, which actively developed with such an abundance of organic substances, gradually mixed with all this mass. But it could have been completely different.
After powerful hurricanes and torrential rains hit the land, a huge amount of humic substances and various mineral compounds fell into the water bodies. At first, it was heavy minerals that settled on the bottom, and even humic acids acted on them as powerful oxidizing agents. Gradually, all this mass was polymerized. Since there was very little oxygen at the bottom of the reservoirs, the substances eventually came under the influence of the dehydration process. This is how coal of mixed composition was formed.
These minerals of Russia are extremely common in the eastern part of our country.
On the chemical composition of coal
In general, their composition is not very diverse: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. The difference is only in the mass fraction of all these substances, since it is precisely by their percentage that we can confidently determine not only the type of fossil vegetable fuel, but even the region of its origin and production. So that you have at least an approximate idea of this issue, we will analyze the composition of the average brown humus coal.
Coal classification
The most typical substances that make up any of its varieties are called coal-forming agents. Here is a complete list of them:
- Oddly enough, squirrels. When hydrolyzing coal, scientists noticed that the resulting mixture has a certain amount of amino acids. The presence of these substances in the thickness of the strata of fossil fuels is explained quite simply: these are the simplest preserved in ancient times, as well as the remains of more advanced organisms. In any case, many mineral deposits often boast a collection worthy of a paleontological museum.
- Of course, cellulose. This complex carbohydrate, which is the main building material of any plant life form, makes up a considerable weight part of both coal and oil shale (we will talk about them below).
- Waxes, which we have repeatedly mentioned. They are esters of some carboxylic acids and aliphatic alcohols.
- Resins This is a very complex mixture of all the same carboxylic acids, as well as saponifiable and unsaponifiable substances. Under certain specific conditions, they are readily decarboxylated and rapidly polymerized. They are a kind of “connecting link” for coal, as it fastens its components on the primary compression process.
It is the almost identical composition of all fossil fuels that speaks of their plant and partially animal origin. Advocates of the abiotic appearance of the same oil are not able to find sufficiently convincing arguments with which to refute these evidence. In any case, any map of minerals (organic) will show that their deposits are mainly located on the sites of ancient seas rich in organic matter.
Coal Mining Basics
The characteristics and methods of this process are fully dependent on the depth of the beds. If this does not exceed one hundred meters, then an open, career-oriented way of development is possible. It often happens that with an increase in the depth of the cut, the mine method becomes economically more expedient.
In our country, the level of the deepest mine is approximately 1200 meters. Any map of minerals in Russia will show that most of them are in Siberia. This land is deservedly considered a real pantry, the granary of nature.
Other important substances
It should be noted that accumulations of substances of enormous industrial value are often found in coal seams. These include some valuable geological rocks (marble, for example), a huge amount of methane, as well as rare, dispersed chemical elements. For example, some varieties of brown coal contain a lot of germanium, without which the modern electronic industry is unthinkable, since it is on its basis that many types of semiconductors are created.
The use of coal in modern industry
Long gone are the days when this type of mineral was used exclusively as fuel. As we have already noted, some rare chemical elements are extracted from it, coal serves as a raw material for the production of many types of plastics. Ever since the Second World War, it is known that artificial gasoline can be made from it.
It is these minerals of Russia that in many respects ensured the intensive growth of industry after the revolution. They also allow you to maintain the economy at a stable high level.
Oil shale
This is a solid fossil fuel of plant origin from the group of solid caustobiolites. The main feature of the shale, which has provided them with such a high popularity in recent years, is the resin included in their composition. It is obtained by distillation. Its value is that in its physicochemical properties it is very close to oil, but the cost of its production is much lower than the oil field.
Differential composition
The main difference between oil shale and all the same coal is that it contains more minerals. Its organic part is kerogen. Only in the highest quality shales does its share reach 70%, while in all other cases the organic content does not exceed 30%. Kerogen is a fossil of the oldest unicellular algae.
The part of them that over the centuries has not lost traces of the cellular structure is thallomoalginite. Accordingly, completely degraded
unicellular algae are called colloalginite. In addition, in shales it is quite often possible to find even parts of higher plants that were on our planet in time immemorial.
Here are some minerals formed from ancient plants. We hope that from this article you have received all the information you are interested in.