Internal combustion engines burn carbon-based fuels and produce carbon dioxide as a waste.
Internal combustion engines on cars and other vehicles burn carbon-based fuels in order to produce the energy required for movement. Carbon dioxide is one of the emissions from this process.
Oxidation
The chemical process that enables fuel to be burned to release energy is called oxidation. The fuel chemically combines with oxygen, releasing excess energy that drives the engine.
Chemical Equation
Fossil fuels are typically complex mixtures of different compounds, but are comprised mainly of carbon and hydrogen, so we can represent them in an equation as "CH," Given this, an idealized equation showing the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) is as follows: 4CH + 5O2 ==> 4CO2 + 2H20. In words, four "units" of fuel combine with five oxygen molecules to produce four carbon dioxide molecules and two water molecules.
Other Products
In practice, there is not always enough oxygen to convert all the fuel to carbon dioxide. In that case, the reaction also produces carbon monoxide (CO) and pure carbon (soot and smoke).
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