The world burns approximately 3.9×1012 kg of fossil fuel per year. A) Use the co

Question

The world burns approximately 3.9×1012 kg of fossil fuel per year.

A) Use the combustion of octane as the representative reaction and determine the mass of carbon dioxide (the most significant greenhouse gas) formed per year.

B) The current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is approximately 372 ppm (by volume). By what percentage does the concentration increase each year due to fossil fuel combustion? Approximate the average properties of the entire atmosphere by assuming that the atmosphere extends from sea level to 15 km and that it 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

Equation for combustion of octane or fossil is following:

2C8H18 +25O2 ----->16CO2+H20

Moles of fossil fule (octane) = 3.9 * 10^12 kg * (10^3 g / 1 kg) * ( 1 mole / 114.23 g)

= 3.4 *10^13 mol

Now number of moles of CO2 :
Moles of CO2 produced = moles of octane * (16 mole CO2 / 2 mole octane)

Moles of CO2 produced = 3.4 *10^13 mol octane * (16 mole CO2 / 2 mole octane)

Moles of CO2 produced = 2.73*10^14 mol CO2

Now calculate the mass CO2 produced = 2.73*10^14 mol CO2 * molar mass of CO2 ; 44.01 = 1.20*10^16 g or 1.20*10^13 kg

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