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The article suggests that the fuel is made completely on site (on the roof of the vehicle) from discarded plastic chips from a neighbor's business. But some num

The article suggests that the fuel is made completely on site (on the roof of the vehicle) from discarded plastic chips from a neighbor's business. But some numbers do not add up. > Making 1 liter of diesel requires burning 1 kg of plastic, which results in 2-2.7 kg of carbon emissions. Does that number (1 kg) include the plastic consumed in the burning process, whose heat is then used to define (opposite of refine) the plastic back to liquid? How does 1 kg of plastic contain 2 kg of carbon? Or is the O2 in CO2 so heavy that "carbon emissions" weigh significantly more than the source hydrocarbon? > Second, there is the combustion of diesel fuel while driving, which emits 2.7 kg of carbon dioxide per liter. Same question.

wlesieutre 3y ago
The carbon atom has an atomic weight of 12, while each oxygen is 16, so you have 32 weight of oxygen per 12 carbon. The hydrogen in hydrocarbons on the other hand, doesn’t weigh much at all. Atomic weight of 1. But with a high school knowledge of chemistry I couldn’t tell you what all is in those plastics.
bruce343434 3y ago
Atomic weight of C is ~12. Atomic weight of O is ~16. C : CO2 12 : (12+16+16) 12 : 44 1 : 3.666 so turning 1kg of pure C into pure CO2 by pulling O2 from the surrounding air creates 3.666kg CO2 Plastic also contains some H (weight ~1). Depends on the kind of plastic. Assuming water bottle plastic, AKA PET, AKA Polyethylene terephthalate, Its molecular formula is (C10H8O4)n. So starting weight of 10x12+8x1+4x16=192, and we assume complete burning so CO2 + H2O end products. 1 C10H8O4 + 10 O2 = 10 CO2 + 4 H2O 1x192 : 10x44 192 : 440 1 : 2.29 perfectly burning 1kg of PET produces 2.29kg of CO2
fatuna 3y ago
Fair question! Carbon had an atomic weight of ~12, oxygen has an atomic weight of ~16. So carbon is responsible for 12/44 part of the weight of CO2. If we assume plastic to be 80% carbon, then 1kg of plastic would produce (0,8*44)/12~= 2,9 kg of plastic. So probably plastic is less than 80% plastic :). But then number makes sense, similarly for diesel.
pard68 3y ago
Oxygen in the air is the extra weight.

wlesieutre 3y ago

The carbon atom has an atomic weight of 12, while each oxygen is 16, so you have 32 weight of oxygen per 12 carbon. The hydrogen in hydrocarbons on the other hand, doesn’t weigh much at all. Atomic weight of 1. But with a high school knowledge of chemistry I couldn’t tell you what all is in those plastics.

bruce343434 3y ago

Atomic weight of C is ~12. Atomic weight of O is ~16. C : CO2 12 : (12+16+16) 12 : 44 1 : 3.666 so turning 1kg of pure C into pure CO2 by pulling O2 from the surrounding air creates 3.666kg CO2 Plastic also contains some H (weight ~1). Depends on the kind of plastic. Assuming water bottle plastic, AKA PET, AKA Polyethylene terephthalate, Its molecular formula is (C10H8O4)n. So starting weight of 10x12+8x1+4x16=192, and we assume complete burning so CO2 + H2O end products. 1 C10H8O4 + 10 O2 = 10 CO2 + 4 H2O 1x192 : 10x44 192 : 440 1 : 2.29 perfectly burning 1kg of PET produces 2.29kg of CO2

fatuna 3y ago

Fair question! Carbon had an atomic weight of ~12, oxygen has an atomic weight of ~16. So carbon is responsible for 12/44 part of the weight of CO2. If we assume plastic to be 80% carbon, then 1kg of plastic would produce (0,8*44)/12~= 2,9 kg of plastic. So probably plastic is less than 80% plastic :). But then number makes sense, similarly for diesel.

pard68 3y ago

Oxygen in the air is the extra weight.