10 Examples Of Non-Renewable Resources

Renewable and nonrenewable resources are energy sources that human society uses to function on a daily basis. The difference between these two types of resources is that renewable resources can naturally replenish themselves while nonrenewable resources cannot. This means that nonrenewable resources are limited in supply and cannot be used sustainably.

There are four major types of nonrenewable resources: oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy. Oil, natural gas, and coal are collectively called fossil fuels. Fossil fuels were formed within the Earth from dead plants and animals over millions of years—hence the name “fossil” fuels.

They are found in underground layers of rock and sediment. Pressure and heat worked together to transform the plant and animal remains into crude oil (also known as petroleum), coal, and natural gas.

The plants and animals that became fossil fuels lived in a time called the Carboniferous Period, around 300 to 360 million years ago.

The energy in the plant and animal remains originally came from the sun; through the process of photosynthesis, solar energy is stored in plant tissues, which animals then consume, adding the energy to their own bodies. When fossil fuels are burned, this trapped energy is released.

What are Non-Renewable Resources?

The term nonrenewable resource refers to a natural substance that is not replenished with the speed at which it is consumed. As such, a nonrenewable resource is a finite resource.

Humans constantly draw on the reserves of these substances while the formation of new supplies takes eons.

Examples of nonrenewable resources include fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal. The opposite of a nonrenewable resource is a renewable resource. The supplies of these resources replenish naturally or can be sustained.

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10 Examples of Non-Renewable Resources

Here is a list of 10 examples of non-renewable energy resources available out there in the world.

1. Coal
2. Crude Oil
3. Natural Gas
4. Uranium
5. Fossil fuels
6. Tar Sand
7. Steel
8. Phosphate
9. Aluminum
10. Ground Water

Now let’s have a look at each of these examples of nonrenewable energy in a little more detail.

1. Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Coal is a type of fossil fuel, formed when dead plant matter decays into peat and is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years.

Vast deposits of coal originate in former wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the Earth’s tropical land areas during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian times.

Coal is used primarily as a fuel. While coal has been known and used for thousands of years, its usage was limited until the Industrial Revolution. With the invention of the steam engine, coal consumption increased.

In 2020, coal supplied about a quarter of the world’s primary energy and over a third of its electricity. Some iron and steel-making and other industrial processes burn coal.

The extraction and use of coal causes premature death and illness. The use of coal damages the environment, and it is the largest anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide contributing to climate change.

Fourteen billion tons of carbon dioxide were emitted by burning coal in 2020, which is 40% of the total fossil fuel emissions and over 25% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. As part of the worldwide energy transition, many countries have reduced or eliminated their use of coal power.

2. Crude Oil

Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of main hydrocarbons and is found in geological formations.

The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that consist of refined crude oil.

A fossil fuel, petroleum, is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, mostly zooplankton and algae, are buried underneath sedimentary rock and subjected to both prolonged heat and pressure.

Petroleum is primarily recovered by oil drilling. Drilling is carried out after studies of structural geology, sedimentary basin analysis, and reservoir characterization. Unconventional reserves such as oil sands and oil shale exist.

Once extracted, oil is refined and separated, most easily by distillation, into innumerable products for direct use or use in manufacturing.

Products include fuels such as gasoline (petrol), diesel, kerosene and jet fuel; asphalt and lubricants; chemical reagents used to make plastics; solvents, textiles, refrigerants, paint, synthetic rubber, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and thousands of others.

Petroleum is used in manufacturing a vast variety of materials essential for modern life, and it is estimated that the world consumes about 100 million barrels (16 million cubic meters) each day.

3. Natural gas

Natural gas (also called fossil gas, methane gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and helium are also usually present.

Methane is colorless and odorless, and the second largest greenhouse gas contributor to global climate change after carbon dioxide. Because natural gas is odorless, odorizers such as mercaptan (which smells like sulfur or rotten eggs) are commonly added to it for safety so that leaks can be readily detected.

Natural gas is a fossil fuel and non-renewable resource that is formed when layers of organic matter (primarily marine microorganisms) decompose under anaerobic conditions and are subjected to intense heat and pressure underground over millions of years.

The energy that the decayed organisms originally obtained from the sun via photosynthesis is stored as chemical energy within the molecules of methane and other hydrocarbons.

Natural gas can be burned for heating, cooking, and electricity generation. It is also used as a chemical feedstock in the manufacture of plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals and is less commonly used as a fuel for vehicles.

4. Uranium

Nuclear energy comes from radioactive elements, mainly uranium, which is extracted from mined ore and then refined into fuel.

Uranium is a naturally occurring element found within the Earth’s core. Most uranium deposits occur in small quantities, which miners gather, refine and purify. Once gathered, the uranium is brought together and compounded into rods. The rods are then submerged in tanks of water.

When it reaches critical mass, uranium begins to break down and release energy, which heats the water it is immersed in. The breaking down is known as fission. The heated water then creates pressure. This pressure drives the turbines that generate electricity in nuclear power plants.

5. Fossil Fuels

Why are fossil fuels considered nonrenewable resources. Fossil fuels are the energy generated out of organic matter, which is trapped in between the sediment layers of the earth. These organic matter has been there for millions of years.

As a result, they are compressed and decomposed along with time to give life to the fossil fuel deposits. These deposits are highly combustible. As a result, it is an excellent energy source available out there to consider.

However, it is quite difficult to obtain fossil fuels. In fact, they are retrieved from mining or drilling.

6. Tar sand

Tar sand is coming out from the sedimentary rocks. Even though this is a non-renewable source of energy, it is available in plentiful. As per the current calculations, tar sand supply is available to cater to the requirements that would arise for the next 15 years.

However, you should also keep in mind that extracting tar sand is quite a labor-intensive process.

7. Steel

Steel can also be considered one of the most durable forms of renewable energy sources available out there to consider. Steel is made out of the elements that are extracted from iron cores. However, the supply of iron is limited and it makes steel a non-renewable source of energy available out there in the world.

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8. Phosphate

Phosphate is a natural source of energy available out there to consider. However, phosphate is also being produced in small quantities. Therefore, you can go ahead and add that to the list of non-renewable sources of energy.

9. Aluminum

Most people believe that aluminum is not a source of energy, but it is not. Aluminum’s widely used out there in the world. It plays a major role in the construction industry.

For example, aluminum is widely used for the construction of vehicles. Even aircraft is made out of aluminum. However, the supply of aluminum is limited.

10. Groundwater

Last but not least, you can go ahead and add groundwater to the sources of non-renewable energy. People in today’s world tend to use groundwater for most of their activities.

They include many day-to-day activities as well. In fact, it is essential for their survival as well. However, groundwater available for the consumption of human beings is limited. Due to the same reason, it is called a non-renewable source of energy as well.

As you can see, these energy sources cannot be made from any practical method, within a short period of time. Currently, these energy sources are widely available.

However, it is important for you to go ahead and start consuming them responsibly. That’s because we don’t have any practical method to make those energy sources after we consume all that’s available.

On the other hand, it is better if we can look for the alternatives available for these energy sources and switch to them as well. Then we will not have to worry too much about our consumption or limit our consumption.

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Conclusion

Unfortunately, human society is for the time being dependent on nonrenewable resources as its primary source of energy. Approximately 80 percent of the total amount of energy used globally each year comes from fossil fuels. We depend on fossil fuels because they are energy-rich and relatively cheap to process.

But a major problem with fossil fuels, aside from their being in limited supply, is that burning them releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rising levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main cause of global warming.

Alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, are a possible solution to the depletion of non-renewable resources. Both of these clean energy sources are available in unlimited supply.

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