What kind of "fog" could be harvested (and processed) for fuel?

In my setting, a permanent "fog" hangs over the ocean. It is thick, granting low visibility to anyone within it. Instead of water droplets, however, this fog would consist of some substance or combination of substances, that is/are able to be harvested for, and if necessary refined into, fuel (and ideally other materials, such as plastics).

The "fog" should have the following properties:

• It exists as a heavier-than-air gas or cloud of fine droplets at sea level (temperature is open for discussion, but I would prefer an ambient temperature around 5-10°C for the sake of the rest of the worldbuilding);
• It is translucent, granting low visibility, equivalent to or less than that of a thick real-world cloud fog;
• It is usable as a fuel, or can be refined into such a form via relatively simple processes;
• It is plausible for the substance to exist in an earth-like atmosphere/biosphere.

The question: what material would plausibly display these properties? I'm aiming for plausibility - closer to science fiction than science fantasy.

I hope that my question is clear enough, and suits the site!

posted about 5 years ago

fercley‭

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