Ok, I want to know how much and what percent (by volume at STP) c02 is produced in the combustion of gasoline

I've got 2C8H18 +25O2 -> 16CO2 + 18H20 for ideal combustion of octane, but I need real world approximations.

6/11/2009 11:20:51 PM

i've always been told that burning a gallon of gasoline produces 19-20 lbs of CO2

use density at STP to convert that to volume i guess

[Edited on June 12, 2009 at 7:43 AM. Reason : or do you wanna know how to find the number from that balanced equation?]

this is straight off yahoo answers because i didn't feel like typing it out:

1 gallon = 3785.3 mL
3785.3 mL x 0.78 g = 2950 g
2950 g C8H18 / 114.2 g/mol = 25.8 moles
2C8H18 + 25O2 --> 16CO2 + 18H2O
25.8 moles x (16/2) = 206 moles CO2
206 moles CO2 x 44.01 g/mol = 9066 g
9066 g / 453.6 g/lb = 20 lbs CO2

[Edited on June 12, 2009 at 7:45 AM. Reason : that's lbs of CO2 produced per gallon of gasoline burned]

6/12/2009 7:42:29 AM

^ is right under completely ideal conditions.

That assumes the reaction goes to completion, O2 is in abundance, there are no other byproducts or reactions...For real world approximations you'd need more than the info you gave....the kinetics can get quite tricky when you move into series of chemical equations.

Regardless of all this, you can be assured that the maximum produced will be 20lbs CO2/1gal Gasoline.

6/12/2009 4:55:41 PM