Using 1 ton of petrol produces 3 tons of carbon(approx) how is this?
Answer:
Looks like Peter got it. I looked at the BP carbon calculator, it says:
Carbon dioxide (CO2) contains 1 atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen .. When one tonne of carbon is combusted in the presence of oxygen it forms approximately 3.7 tonnes of CO2.
So it doesn't create 3.7 tons of carbon, but instead 3.7 tons of carbon dioxide.
Because each carbon atom grabs two oxygens from the air. As oxygen is a bit heavier than carbon it actually becomes more than three times heavier. But it loses hydrogen too so it is near enough 3 times in the end.
i heard this in chemistry a couple of week ago:
millions of years ago the atmosphere was mostly made of carbon. when plants and animals died the carbon was locked up in them. then eventually the atmosphere collected more oxygen due to photosinthesis in trees. the dead plants and animals turned into crude oil which makes petrol.
now that we are burning the petrol we are releasing all the carbon back into the atmosphere.
this is what is causing problems worldwide at the moment.
3 tons of carbon dioxide, this is one third carbon.
It ain't so.
By my calculation 3 tons of carbon will produce 11 tons of carbon dioxide(within 0.01%)
Gasoline (petrol) consists of a mixture of hydrocarbons to form what is called isooctane, which has the approximate composition C8H18. Each molecule of isooctane that burns completely produces 8 molecules of CO2 and 9 molecules of H2O so that C8H18 + 12.5 O2 = 8 CO2 + 9 H2O
Since the petrol does not start out as 100% carbon, it will not produce CO2 on that basis. The by -weight portion of petrol that is carbon is 8(12) / [8(12) +18(1)] = 96/114 or 84%
The ratio of CO2 formed from one unit weight of petrol will be
8(12 +16+16) / 114 = 352/114 or slightly over 3:1
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