The world burns approx. 3.5 * 10^12 kg of fossil fuels per year. Use the combust

Question

The world burns approx. 3.5 * 10^12 kg of fossil fuels per year. Use the combustion of octane as the representative reaction and determine the mass of carbon dioxide produced per year. The current concentration of carbon dioxide is approximately 387 ppm (by volume). By what percentage does the concentration increase each year due to fossil fuel consumption? Assume that the atmosphere extends from sea level to 15 km and that is has an average pressure of 381 torr and average temperature of 275 K. Assume Earth is a perfect sphere with a radius of 6371 km.

Explanation / Answer

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First problem:

2C_8H_18 + 25O_2 -> 16CO_2 + H_2O

so 9E15 g Octane -> 7.89E13 mol Octane -> 2.779E16 g CO_2 per year

calculating volume of the atmosphere:

V = 4/3*pi[(6371+15)^3-6371^3] = 7.669E15 m^3

so

387 g/m^3 : 2.779E16/7.669E15 g/m^3

x387 g/m^3 = 3.6237 g/m^3

x = .9%

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