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What Are Substances That Are Burned to Release Energy?

All living creatures need a source of energy, or fuel, according to the Franklin Institute. Even some inanimate objects, like cars and light bulbs, need energy to work. Energy use is one of the most fundamental and universal aspects of life on Earth. Plants and animals burn several common substances to release energy for growth, mobility and function.

  1. Types of Fuel Sources

    • Animals eat fuel through the consumption of plants, other animals, or a combination of the two. Animals store energy in their livers in the form of glycogen. Plants create energy through photosynthesis, using the energy of sunlight, water and air to create sugar and carbon monoxide. Plants burn this sugar to release energy. Human bodies get energy from the carbohydrates consumed in a meal. Your intestine absorbs carbohydrates from food and transports it to the liver, which converts carbohydrates into a form of energy your body can use: glucose. Your bloodstream transports glucose to the cells throughout your body to use as instant energy and stores excess energy in your body's tissues.

    Respiration

    • One single process releases energy from fuel. This process, known as respiration, releases the energy contained in the food eaten by both plants and animals. This process traps the energy in the chemical form of ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. Your body gets energy from protein and fats, according to Pearson Education, in addition to carbohydrates like sugar and starch. Scientists call the exact process by which cells harvest the energy stored in food "cellular respiration." Individual cells absorb glucose, break it into atoms, then mix these food atoms with oxygen atoms to produce carbon dioxide, water and energy.

    Byproducts

    • The process to burn food to create energy produces two byproducts: carbon dioxide and water. Burning other fuel sources, like wood or coal, also generate these byproducts during the process of burning substances to release energy. Your body eliminates these byproducts when you exhale and urinate. A factory deals with the byproducts of burning substances to release energy through smokestacks and pipes emptying into rivers.

    Other Substances Burned to Release Energy

    • Humankind also depends on burning substances to provide energy for heating and lighting their homes and for fueling vehicles and machinery. Early man burned wood and dried grasses before discovering how to refine coal and oil into energy sources. Later technologies emerged, allowing man to use other renewable energy sources more efficiently. For example; early sugar cane producers quickly learned to burn the waste accumulated from sugar production to fuel machinery. Manufacturers of many modern automobiles design their products to burn ethanol gasoline, blended with corn products.

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