3 ms·

In a personal car sized vehicle it's probably less than 1 kg, circulating in a closed system. The only time it will enter the atmosphere is in case of a leak, o

by jabl 3y ago

In a personal car sized vehicle it's probably less than 1 kg, circulating in a closed system. The only time it will enter the atmosphere is in case of a leak, or when doing some service on the AC unit where the refrigerant parts need to be opened. I would guess that as opposed to the fluorocarbon refrigerants there is no need to capture the gas, as there's already plenty of CO2 in the atmosphere? Might need to ensure proper ventilation though, 1 kg of CO2 in an enclosed garage might increase the CO2 level uncomfortably high..

jaggederest 3y ago
Through the magic of dimensional analysis we can see that 1kg of CO2 is approximately 22.7 moles. Coincidentally, 1 mole of gas at STP is 22.7 liters. So 515 liters of CO2, which is a fair volume - half a cubic meter. Not enough to raise the CO2 level of a garage dangerously (assuming a standard garage is 4m by 7m by 3m) but a substantial jump - 1% or so, so you'd notice it. The other nice thing is that it's rare to have people suffocate due to high CO2 levels - it quickly becomes uncomfortable and people move to fresh air, unlike e.g. pure nitrogen, because the body is adapted to detect and alleviate high CO2 levels as a proxy for low O2 levels.
- tehbeard 3y ago
  So a leak overnight in the garage would be ok... what about when using the car with the leak entering the passenger area?
  - seszett 3y ago
    You would be uncomfortable to the point you feel to have to open a window to get fresh air, and after a few seconds the CO2 would be vented outside.
  - jaggederest 3y ago
    Another fun fact - an average human produces about a kilo of CO2 per day through respiration! So no, unlikely to be a problem at all.
gruturo 3y ago
Fortunately our bodies are very well equipped to detect high CO2 concentrations (in our bloodstream - but that tracks outside concentration pretty reliably) - you will feel like you're suffocating and have an irresistible urge to move to fresh air. Unlike other gases (CO (without the 2), helium, argon, even nitrogen) that we don't "feel" at all, so they can displace oxygen and cause us to lose consciousness or even die, without much warning from our bodies.

by jabl 3y ago

jaggederest 3y ago

Through the magic of dimensional analysis we can see that 1kg of CO2 is approximately 22.7 moles. Coincidentally, 1 mole of gas at STP is 22.7 liters. So 515 liters of CO2, which is a fair volume - half a cubic meter. Not enough to raise the CO2 level of a garage dangerously (assuming a standard garage is 4m by 7m by 3m) but a substantial jump - 1% or so, so you'd notice it. The other nice thing is that it's rare to have people suffocate due to high CO2 levels - it quickly becomes uncomfortable and people move to fresh air, unlike e.g. pure nitrogen, because the body is adapted to detect and alleviate high CO2 levels as a proxy for low O2 levels.

tehbeard 3y ago
So a leak overnight in the garage would be ok... what about when using the car with the leak entering the passenger area?
- seszett 3y ago
  You would be uncomfortable to the point you feel to have to open a window to get fresh air, and after a few seconds the CO2 would be vented outside.
- jaggederest 3y ago
  Another fun fact - an average human produces about a kilo of CO2 per day through respiration! So no, unlikely to be a problem at all.

gruturo 3y ago

Fortunately our bodies are very well equipped to detect high CO2 concentrations (in our bloodstream - but that tracks outside concentration pretty reliably) - you will feel like you're suffocating and have an irresistible urge to move to fresh air. Unlike other gases (CO (without the 2), helium, argon, even nitrogen) that we don't "feel" at all, so they can displace oxygen and cause us to lose consciousness or even die, without much warning from our bodies.