3 ms·
"Burning a gallon of gasoline releases almost 10 kgs of CO2 into the atmosphere" I am not sure I understand the math here. 1 gallon of gasoline weights about 5
by piokoch 5y ago
"Burning a gallon of gasoline releases almost 10 kgs of CO2 into the atmosphere"
I am not sure I understand the math here. 1 gallon of gasoline weights about 5kg, so how is that 10 kg of CO2 are released? Looks like mass will not be conserved in such a process. Am I missing something?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- ethangk 5y agoIt’s burnt with oxygen in the air to form CO2. The oxygen in the air is where the additional mass comes from
- microtonal 5y agoI haven't checked the math, but carbon from the fuel binds with oxygen from the air. CO2 consists of one carbon atom (12g/mol), two oxygen atoms (16g/mol). So, most of the weight comes from the oxygen from the air, rather than the fuel itself.
- nix23 5y ago>I am not sure I understand the math here. https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=82&t=11 https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=82&t=11