3 ms·
How does 6lb of gas release 20lbs of CO2? I found this[1] link from the EPA with a number similar to yours, 8.8kg per gallon of gas, but they say it "creates"
by jhardcastle 3y ago
How does 6lb of gas release 20lbs of CO2?
I found this[1] link from the EPA with a number similar to yours, 8.8kg per gallon of gas, but they say it "creates" rather than "emits." I'm still struggling with this creation of mass out of thin air...
[1] https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-t...
- jakobnissen 3y agoIt's because the majority of the mass of CO2 comes from the oxygen from the air used to burn the carbon. So in this case, it's quite literally creating mass out of thin air.
- kbelder 3y agoSpecifically, the atomic mass of carbon is 12 and oxygen is 16. So for CO2, 12/44 of the mass is carbon, or about 27%. So of that 20 pounds of CO2, about 5 1/2 pounds are carbon, the other 15 pounds is oxygen sucked out of the atmosphere.
- philipkglass 3y ago"Out of thin air" is right :-) The CO2 contains mass from the atmospheric oxygen consumed during combustion. 12 grams of carbon becomes roughly 44 grams of carbon dioxide when it burns.
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- lostapathy 3y ago"produce" is probably a better verb than "release" in this case, for the common person to understand what's going on.