Carbon dioxide

views updated May 29 2018

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a heavy, odorless, colorless, faintly acid-tasting, and non-flammable gas (at room temperature) that is released during respiration, combustion, and by the decomposition of organic substances, which is then mostly absorbed from the air by plants in the process called photosynthesis. Sometimes called carbonic acid gas, its molecular makeup consists of one atom of carbon (C) attached to two atoms of oxygen (O): CO2. Carbon dioxide was the first gas to be distinguished from ordinary air, perhaps because it is so intimately connected with the cycles of plant and animal life. When humans breathe air or when wood and other fuels are burned, carbon dioxide is released; when plants store energy in the form of food, they use up carbon dioxide. Early scientists were able to observe the effects of carbon dioxide long before they knew exactly what it was.

Around 1630, Flemish scientist Jan van Helmont (15801644) discovered that certain vapors differed from air, which at the time was thought to be a single substance or element. Van Helmont coined the term gas to describe these vapors and collected the gas given off by burning wood, calling it gas sylvestre. Today, this gas is known as carbon dioxide. Van Helmont is credited with its discovery. He also recognized that carbon dioxide was produced by the fermentation of wine and from other natural processes. Before long, other scientists began to notice similarities between the processes of respiration and combustion, both of which used up and gave off carbon dioxide. For example, they discovered that a candle flame will eventually be extinguished when enclosed in a jar with a limited supply of air, as will the life of a bird or small animal.

Then in 1756, Scottish chemist Joseph Black (17281799) proved that carbon dioxide, which he called fixed air, is present in the atmosphere and that it combines with other chemicals to form new compounds. Black also identified carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, determined that the gas is heavier than air, and characterized its chemical behavior as that of a weak acid. The pioneering work of van Helmont and Black soon led to the discovery of other gases by English chemist and physicist Henry Cavendish (17311810), French chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (17431794), Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (17421786), and other chemists. As a result, scientists began to realize that gases must be weighed and accounted for in the analysis of chemical compounds, just like solids and liquids.

The first practical use for carbon dioxide was invented by English chemist Joseph Priestley (17331804) in the mid-1700s. Priestley had duplicated Blacks experiments using a gas produced by fermenting grain and showed that it had the same properties as Blacks fixed air, or carbon dioxide. When Priestley dissolved the gas in water, he found that it created a refreshing drink with a slightly tart flavor. This was the first artificially carbonated water, known as soda water or seltzer. Carbon dioxide is still used today to make colas and other soft drinks. In addition to supplying bubbles and zest, the gas acts as a preservative.

The early study of carbon dioxide also gave rise to the expression to be a guinea pig, meaning to subject oneself to an experiment. In 1783, French mathematician, Pierre Simon de Laplace (17491827) used a guinea pig to demonstrate quantitatively that oxygen from the air is used to burn carbon stored in the body and produce carbon dioxide in exhaled breath. Around the same time, chemists began drawing the connection between carbon dioxide and plant life. Like animals, plants breathe, using up oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. However, plants also have the unique ability to store energy in the form of carbohydrates, the human bodys primary source of food. This energy-storing process, called photosynthesis, is essentially the reverse of respiration. It uses up carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in a complex series of reactions that also require sunlight and chlorophyll (the green substance that gives plants their color). In the 1770s, Dutch physiologist Jan Ingen-Housz (17301799) established the principles of photosynthesis that helped explain the age-old superstition that plants purify air during the day and poison it at night.

Since these early discoveries, chemists have learned much more about carbon dioxide. English chemist John Dalton (17661844) guessed in 1803 that the molecule contains one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms (CO2); this was later proved to be true. The decay of all organic materials produces carbon dioxide very slowly, and Earths atmosphere contains a small amount of the gas (about 0.033%). Spectroscopic analysis has shown that in the solar system, the planets of Venus and Mars have atmospheres very rich in carbon dioxide, both with atmospheres of over 95%. The gas also exists in ocean water, where it plays a vital role in marine plant photosynthesis.

In modern life, carbon dioxide has many practical applications. For example, fire extinguishers use CO 2 to control electrical and oil fires that cannot be put out with water. Because carbon dioxide is heavier than air, it spreads into a blanket and smothers the flames. Carbon dioxide is also a very effective refrigerant. In its solid form, known as dry ice, it is used to chill perishable food during transport. Many industrial processes are also cooled by carbon dioxide, which allows faster production rates. For these commercial purposes, carbon dioxide can be obtained from either natural gas wells, fermentation of organic material, or combustion of fossil fuels.

Recently, carbon dioxide has received negative attention as a greenhouse gas. When it accumulates in the upper atmosphere, it traps the Earths heat, eventually causing global warming. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1800s, factories and power plants have significantly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by burning coal and other fossil fuels. This effect was first predicted by Swedish physicist Svante August Arrhenius (18591927) in the 1880s. Then in 1938, British physicist G. S. Callendar (18981964) suggested that higher CO2 levels had caused the warmer temperatures observed in America and Europe since Arrhenius day. Modern scientists have confirmed these views and identified other causes of increasing carbon dioxide levels, such as the clearing of the worlds forests. Because trees extract CO2 from the air, their depletion has contributed to upsetting the delicate balance of gases in the atmosphere.

In very rare circumstances, carbon dioxide can endanger life. In 1986, a huge cloud of the gas exploded from Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake in northwestern Cameroon, and quickly suffocated more than 1, 700 people and 8, 000 animals. Scientists have attempted to control this phenomenon by slowly pumping the gas up from the bottom of the lake.

See also Air pollution; Carbon cycle; Planetary atmospheres.

Carbon Dioxide

views updated Jun 27 2018

Carbon Dioxide

OVERVIEW

Carbon dioxide (KAR-bun dye-OK-side) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-combustible gas that can also exist under pressure as a clear, colorless, odorless, tasteless liquid and as a white, snow-like solid commonly known as dry ice. When dry ice is warmed it sublimes (passes directly from the solid to the gaseous state without first melting) at −78.4°C (−109°F).

KEY FACTS

OTHER NAMES:

Carbonic anhydride; carbonic acid gas

FORMULA:

CO2

ELEMENTS:

Carbon, oxygen

COMPOUND TYPE:

Nonmetallic oxide

STATE:

Gas

MOLECULAR WEIGHT:

44.01 g/mol

MELTING POINT:

Not applicable; liquefies under pressure at −56.56°C (−69.81°F)

BOILING POINT:

Sublimes at −78.4°C (−109°F)

SOLUBILITY:

Soluble in water; slightly soluble in alcohol and some other organic solvents

The true nature of carbon dioxide was discovered over an extended period of time beginning with the research of the Flemish physician and chemist Jan Baptista van Helmont (1580–1635?). In about 1603, van Helmont isolated a gas produced during the combustion of wood and proved that it was distinct from air. At the time, air was generally regarded as an element that could not be divided into separate components. Van Helmont called the gas gas sylvestre ("wood gas"), a substance we now know to be carbon dioxide. Credit for understanding the true nature of carbon dioxide also goes to the Scottish chemist Joseph Black (1728–1799) who produced carbon dioxide by heating calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Black called the gas fixed air and conducted the first extensive studies of its properties.

The first practical use for carbon dioxide was discovered in the mid-eighteenth century by the English chemist Joseph Priestley (1733–1804). Priestley found that passing carbon dioxide into water produced a sparkling, refreshing drink that he predicted would one day become a great commercial success. He was, of course, correct, since water containing carbon dioxide is the basic component of which all soda drinks are made.

HOW IT IS MADE

Carbon dioxide is produced in nature by a number of reactions. Among the most common is the combustion (burning) of the fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). The gas is also produced during the decay of organic material, the fermentation of carbohydrates by yeast, and the respiration of animals. In the laboratory, the simplest and most direct method of preparation is to treat a carbonate, such as calcium carbonate, with an acid, such as hydrochloric acid (HCl).

Carbon dioxide is obtained commercially as the by-product of a number of industrial reactions. For example, when calcium carbonate is heated to produce lime (CaO), carbon dioxide is released and captured as a by-product. The steam reforming (refining) of petroleum results in the production of a mixture of gases known as synthesis gas, consisting of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Carbon dioxide can be separated from the other components of synthesis gas for commercial uses. Carbon dioxide also produces as a by-product of the manufacture of ammonia (NH3) by the Haber-Bosch process.

COMMON USES AND POTENTIAL HAZARDS

Carbon dioxide plays an essential role in most biological processes that take place on Earth's surface. Plants use carbon dioxide as a raw material to make the carbohydrates on which their structures are based. When animals eat plants, those carbohydrates are then used to build and maintain their body structures.

Interesting Facts

  • Carbon dioxide is the fourth most abundant gas in the atmosphere (after nitrogen, oxygen, and argon) with a concentration of about 0.036 percent. Researchers have found that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing at a regular rate for at least the last forty years. They believe that the reason for this increase is the escalating use of fossil fuels by humans to heat homes and offices; drive cars, trucks, trains, and airplanes; and to power industrial operations. They further suspect that an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may have significant long-term effects on the planet's climate.
  • Scientists have become very interested in a form of carbon dioxide known as supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2 or SC-CO2). Under the proper conditions of temperature and pressure, carbon dioxide (as SCCO2) behaves as both a liquid and a gas at the same time. This property has proved to be very valuable in using SCCO2 as a highly efficient solvent that has no environmental disadvantages.

In addition to its role in natural processes, carbon dioxide has many commercial and industrial applications. One of the most important uses is in the carbonation of beverages. Although beers and sparkling wines contain carbon dioxide from natural sources (the fermentation of sugars by yeasts), nearly all carbonated beverages have their carbon dioxide added artificially. The carbon dioxide adds a zesty taste to the beverage and helps to preserve it.

Carbon dioxide is also used as a fire extinguishing agent. Its use for this purpose is based on the facts that it does not burn itself and is heavier than air. Thus, when sprayed on a fire, carbon dioxide settles down on top of the flames and prevents oxygen from reaching the burning material. The carbon dioxide can be supplied in a variety of ways in a fire extinguisher. In some devices, carbon dioxide gas is produced as the result of a chemical reaction that occurs within the fire extinguisher. In other devices, liquid carbon dioxide is released from the extinguisher.

Carbon dioxide is also used in gaseous, liquid, or solid form as a refrigerant. As a gas, it is used as the "working fluid" in refrigerators, the fluid that circulates through the refrigerator changing back and forth from gas to liquid, absorbing heat in the process. In the form of dry ice, carbon dioxide is a very efficient and convenient method for cooling objects to very low temperatures (close to the sublimation point of carbon dioxide, about −78.4°C (−109°F).

Words to Know

SUBLIME
Changing of states from solid to gas without becoming liquid first.
SYNTHESIS GAS
A mixture of several gases, such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen, used to produce compounds such as methanol and ammonia that can be separated out from the synthesis gas.

Some other uses of carbon dioxide include the following:

  • As an aerosol propellant;
  • To provide an oxygen-free atmosphere in which to conduct welding and other operations with flammable materials;
  • In the industrial manufacture of carbonates;
  • For cloud seeding to promote modifications in the weather (increases or decreases in rain fall);
  • In the fumigation of rice to preserve the product for extended periods of time;
  • As an artificial smoke in theater productions;
  • As a moderator to slow down the speed of neutrons traveling in a nuclear power plant;
  • In the frozen food industry;
  • To enrich the air in a greenhouse, providing additional carbon dioxide to promote plant growth; and
  • For the hardening of foundry molds and cores.

In general, carbon dioxide poses little or not threat to humans in concentrations to which one is normally exposed. Dry ice may pose a hazard if not handled carefully as its very low temperature can cause damage to the skin.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

"Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Applications and Uses." Universal Industrial Gases, Inc. http://www.uigi.com/carbondioxide.html (accessed on September 29, 2005).

"Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen, and the Air." Skool.ie. http://www.skoool.ie/skoool/examcentre_jc.asp?id=1980 (accessed on September 29, 2005).

"Chemical of the Week: Carbon Dioxide." http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/CO2/CO2.html (accessed on September 29, 2005).

See AlsoCalcium Carbonate; Calcium Oxide

Carbon Dioxide

views updated Jun 08 2018

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide was the first gas to be distinguished from ordinary air, perhaps because it is so intimately connected with the cycles of plant and animal life. When we breathe air or when we burn wood and other fuels, carbon dioxide is released; when plants store energy in the form of food, they use up carbon dioxide. Early scientists were able to observe the effects of carbon dioxide long before they knew exactly what it was.

Around 1630, Flemish scientist Jan van Helmont discovered that certain vapors differed from air, which was then thought to be a single substance or element. Van Helmont coined the term gas to describe these vapors and collected the gas given off by burning wood, calling it gas sylvestre. Today we know this gas to be carbon dioxide, and van Helmont is credited with its discovery. He also recognized that carbon dioxide was produced by the fermentation of wine and from other natural processes. Before long, other scientists began to notice similarities between the processes of breathing (respiration ) and burning (combustion ), both of which use up and give off carbon dioxide. For example, a candle flame will eventually be extinguished when enclosed in a jar with a limited supply of air, as will the life of a bird or small animal.

Then in 1756, Joseph Black proved that carbon dioxide, which he called fixed air, is present in the atmosphere and that it combines with other chemicals to form new compounds. Black also identified carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, determined that the gas is heavier than air, and characterized its chemical behavior as that of a weak acid. The pioneering work of van Helmont and Black soon led to the discovery of other gases by Henry Cavendish, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and other chemists. As a result, scientists began to realize that gases must be weighed and accounted for in the analysis of chemical compounds, just like solids and liquids.

The first practical use for carbon dioxide was invented by Joseph Priestley, an English chemist, in the mid 1700s. Priestley had duplicated Black's experiments using a gas produced by fermenting grain and showed that it had the same properties as Black's fixed air, or carbon dioxide. When he dissolved the gas in water , he found that it created a refreshing drink with a slightly tart flavor. This was the first artificially carbonated water, known as soda water or seltzer. Carbon dioxide is still used today to make colas and other soft drinks. In addition to supplying bubbles and zest, the gas acts as a preservative.

The early study of carbon dioxide also gave rise to the expression to be a guinea pig, meaning to subject oneself to an experiment. In 1783, French physicist Pierre Laplace used a guinea pig to demonstrate quantitatively that oxygen from the air is used to burn carbon stored in the body and produce carbon dioxide in exhaled breath. Around the same time, chemists began drawing the connection between carbon dioxide and plant life. Like animals, plants breathe, using up oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. But plants also have the unique ability to store energy in the form of carbohydrates, our primary source of food. This energy-storing process, called photosynthesis , is essentially the reverse of respiration. It uses up carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in a complex series of reactions that also require sunlight and chlorophyll (the green substance that gives plants their color ). In the 1770s, Dutch physiologist Jan Ingen Housz established the principles of photosynthesis, which helped explain the age-old superstition that plants purify air during the day and poison it at night.

Since these early discoveries, chemists have learned much more about carbon dioxide. English chemist John Dalton guessed in 1803 that the molecule contains one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms (CO2); this was later proved to be true. The decay of all organic materials produces carbon dioxide very slowly, and the earth's atmosphere contains a small amount of the gas (about 0.033%). Spectroscopic analysis has shown that in our solar system , the planets of Venus and Mars have atmospheres very rich in carbon dioxide. The gas also exists in ocean water, where it plays a vital role in marine plant photosynthesis.

In modern life, carbon dioxide has many practical applications. For example, fire extinguishers use CO2 to control electrical and oil fires, which cannot be put out with water. Because carbon dioxide is heavier than air, it spreads into a blanket and smothers the flames. Carbon dioxide is also a very effective refrigerant. In its solid form, known as dry ice , it is used to chill perishable food during transport. Many industrial processes are also cooled by carbon dioxide, which allows faster production rates. For these commercial purposes, carbon dioxide can be obtained from either natural gas wells, fermentation of organic material, or combustion of fossil fuels .

Recently, carbon dioxide has received negative attention as a greenhouse effect gas. When it accumulates in the upper atmosphere, it traps the earth's heat , which could eventually cause global warming . Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1800s, factories and power plants have significantly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by burning coal and other fossil fuels. This effect was first predicted by Svante August Arrhenius, a Swedish physicist, in the 1880s. Then in 1938, British physicist G. S. Callendar suggested that higher CO2 levels had caused the warmer temperatures observed in America and Europe since Arrhenius's day. Modern scientists have confirmed these views and identified other causes of increasing carbon dioxide levels, such as the clearing of the world's forests . Because trees extract CO2 from the air, their depletion has contributed to upsetting the delicate balance of gases in the atmosphere.

In very rare circumstances, carbon dioxide can endanger life. In 1986, a huge cloud of the gas exploded from Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake in northwestern Cameroon, and quickly suffocated more than 1,700 people and 8,000 animals. Scientists have attempted to control this phenomenon by slowly pumping the gas up from the bottom of the lake.

See also Air pollution; Carbon cycle; Planetary atmospheres.

Carbon Dioxide

views updated May 21 2018

Carbon Dioxide


Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a nontoxic, odorless, and colorless gas present in trace concentrations in the atmosphere. The molecule is linear with a central carbon atom doubly bonded to two oxygen atoms (O=C=O). Natural sources of CO2 include volcanic outgassing, animal respiration, biomass decay, and oceanic evaporation. Removal processes include photosynthesis and dissolution into the oceans .

CO2 is a long-lived gas, with an atmospheric lifetime of more than one hundred years. It is a natural greenhouse gas and plays an important role in regulating Earth's climate. Like water vapor, CO2 traps outgoing infrared radiation emitted by Earth into space. By absorbing this energy, the atmosphere warms the earth, a process known as the natural greenhouse effect. Without carbon dioxide and water in the atmosphere, the earth's average surface temperature would be below 0°F, turning oceans into ice and dramatically altering life as it is known.

CO2 is also an anthropogenic greenhouse gas, ranked number one for its contributions to global warming. At the beginning of the Industrial Era (around 1750), CO2 concentrations worldwide were approximately 280 parts per million (ppm); by 1999 concentrations reached 367 ppm. (One ppm equals one molecule of CO2 for every million molecules of air, or 0.0001 percent.) CO2 emissions continue to rise; the average rate of increase since 1980 is 0.4 percent per year.

The recent rise in anthropogenic CO2 is attributed largely to fossil fuel combustion (73 percent) and land use conversion resulting from deforestation (25 percent). When oil, coal, or natural gas is burned to generate energy, the by-products are CO2 and water. Due to heavy fossil fuel consumption, the United States leads the world in anthropogenic CO2 emissions (see table). In 1996 the United States contributed more than 50 percent of the 1.027 × 1016 grams of total global CO2 emissions.

As concentrations of CO2 increase in the atmosphere, more outgoing infrared energy is trapped (energy that would have escaped to space), warming the earth's atmosphere and surface. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the global surface temperature has increased by 1.1°F since the late nineteenth century, due to increases in CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

International efforts are underway to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gases. As of December 2001, 186 countries ratified the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 emissions can be reduced by reforestation and afforestation efforts by changing cropland management practices such as tilling, and by reducing the combustion of fossil fuels. The United States did not sign the protocol, but promotes voluntary development of climate-friendly technologies (i.e., renewable energy sources) coupled with changes in land use and forestry practices. Examples of the latter include decreased deforestation, increased reforestation, and agricultural practices designed to increase soil carbon.

see also Electric Power; Emissions Trading; Global Warming; Greenhouse Gases; Petroleum; Vehicular Pollution.

Bibliography

Turco, Richard P. (1997). Earth under Siege: From Air Pollution to Global Change. New York: Oxford University Press.


Internet Resources

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group I. "The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide." In Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Available from http://www.ipcc.ch.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. "Texts of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol." Available from http://unfccc.int/resource.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of the Parties. Fourth session, Buenos Aires, November 213, 1998, Information 9. "Summary Compilation of Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Data from Annex I Parties." Available from FCCC/COP/1998/INF.9.

Marin Sands Robinson

Carbon Dioxide

views updated May 11 2018

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide was the first gas to be distinguished from ordinary air, perhaps because it is so intimately connected with the cycles of plant and animal life. Carbon dioxide is released during respiration and combustion. When plants store energy in the form of food, they use up carbon dioxide. Early scientists were able to observe the effects of carbon dioxide long before they knew its function.

About 1630, Flemish scientist Jan van Helmont discovered that certain vapors differed from air that was then thought to be a single substance or element. Van Helmont coined the term gas to describe these vapors and collected the gas given off by burning wood, calling it gas sylvestre. Today, it is known that this gas is carbon dioxide, and van Helmont is credited with its discovery. In 1756, Joseph Black proved that carbon dioxide, which he called fixed air, is present in the atmosphere and that it combines with other chemicals to form new compounds. Black also identified carbon dioxide in exhaled breath, determined that the gas is heavier than air, and characterized its chemical behavior as that of a weak acid. The pioneering work of van Helmont and Black soon led to the discovery of other gases. As a result, scientists began to realize that gases must be weighed and accounted for in the analysis of chemical compounds, just like solids and liquids.

In 1783, French physicist Pierre Laplace (17491827) used a guinea pig to demonstrate quantitatively that oxygen from the air is used to burn carbon stored in the body and produce carbon dioxide in exhaled breath. Around the same time, chemists began drawing the connection between carbon dioxide and plant life. Like animals, plants breathe using up oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. Plants, however, also have the unique ability to store energy in the form of carbohydrates, our primary source of food. This energy-storing process, called photosynthesis, is essentially the reverse of respiration. It uses up carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in a complex series of reactions that also require sunlight and chlorophyll (the green substance that gives plants their color). In the 1770s, Dutch physiologist Jan Ingen Housz established the principles of photosynthesis.

English chemist John Dalton guessed in 1803 that the molecule contains one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms (CO2); this was later proved correct. The decay of all organic materials produces carbon dioxide slowly, and Earth's atmosphere contains a small amount of the gas (about 0.033%). Spectroscopic analysis has shown that in our solar system , the planets of Venus and Mars have atmospheres rich in carbon dioxide. The gas also exists in ocean water , where it plays a vital role in marine plant photosynthesis.

In modern life, carbon dioxide has many practical applications. For example, fire extinguishers use CO2 to control electrical and oil fires that cannot be put out with water. Because carbon dioxide is heavier than air, it spreads into a blanket and smothers the flames. Carbon dioxide is also an effective refrigerant. In its solid form, known as dry ice , it is used to chill perishable food during transport. Many industrial processes are also cooled by carbon dioxide, which allows faster production rates. For these commercial purposes, carbon dioxide can be obtained from either natural gas wells, fermentation of organic material, or combustion of fossil fuels .

Recently, carbon dioxide has received negative attention as a greenhouse gas. When it accumulates in the upper atmosphere, it traps the Earth's heat, eventually causing global warming . Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid 1800s, factories and power plants have significantly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by burning coal and other fossil fuels. This effect was first predicted by Svante August Arrhenius , a Swedish physicist, in the 1880s. Then in 1938, British physicist G. S. Callendar suggested that higher CO2 levels had caused the warmer temperatures observed in America and Europe since Arrhenius's day. Modern scientists have confirmed these views and identified other causes of increasing carbon dioxide levels, such as the clearing of the world's forests . Because trees extract CO2 from the air, their depletion has contributed to upsetting the delicate balance of gases in the atmosphere.

In rare circumstances, carbon dioxide can endanger life. In 1986, a huge cloud of the gas exploded from Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake in northwestern Cameroon, and quickly suffocated more than 1,700 people and 8,000 animals. Scientists have attempted to control this phenomenon by slowly pumping the gas up from the bottom of the lake.

See also Atmospheric chemistry; Atmospheric composition and structure; Atmospheric pollution; Forests and deforestation; Global warming; Greenhouse gases and greenhouse effect

Carbon Dioxide

views updated Jun 08 2018

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound consisting of one part carbon and two parts oxygen and represented by the chemical formula CO2. For a number of reasons, carbon dioxide is one of the most important gases on Earth. Plants use carbon dioxide to produce carbohydrates (sugars and starches) in the process known as photosynthesis. (In photosynthesis, plants make use of light to break down chemical compounds and produce energy.) Since humans and all other animals depend on plants for their food, photosynthesis is necessary for the survival of all life on Earth.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is also important because it captures heat radiated from Earth's surface. That heat keeps the planet warm enough for plant and animal (including human) life to survive. Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be responsible for long-term changes in Earth's climate. Those changes may have both beneficial and harmful effects on human and other forms of life on the planet.

History

Credit for the discovery of carbon dioxide goes to Flemish scientist Jan Baptista van Helmont (c. 15801644; some sources give death date as 1635). Around 1630, van Helmont identified a gas given off by burning wood and gave it the name gas sylvestre ("wood gas"). Today we know that gas is carbon dioxide. Van Helmont's discovery was important not only because he first recognized carbon dioxide but also because he first understood that air is a combination of gases, not a single gas.

Some of the most complete studies of carbon dioxide were conducted by Scottish chemist Joseph Black (17281799). In 1756, Black proved that carbon dioxide (which was then called "fixed air") occurred in the atmosphere and that it could form other compounds. He also identified carbon dioxide in the breath exhaled by humans.

The first practical use of carbon dioxide can be traced to an invention made by English chemist Joseph Priestley (17331804) in the mid-1700s. Priestley found that by dissolving carbon dioxide in water he could produce a fresh, sparkling beverage with a pleasant flavor. Since Priestley's discovery lacks only sugar and flavoring to make it a modern soda pop or cola drink, he can properly be called the father of the soft drink industry.

Properties and uses

Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless, noncombustible gas with a density about twice that of air. It can be converted to a solid known as dry ice rather easily. Dry ice has the interesting property that it sublimesthat is, changes directly from a solid to a gas without first melting into a liquid. All of these properties explain the most important commercial and industrial uses of carbon dioxide.

Among those uses is the one discovered by Priestley, the manufacture of carbonated ("soft") drinks. The presence of carbon dioxide provides the slightly tart and tingly flavor that makes such beverages so refreshing. Carbon dioxide is also used widely as a coolant, a refrigerant, and an ingredient in the manufacture of frozen foods. Carbon dioxide fire extinguishers are often used to control electrical and oil fires, which cannot be put out with water. Because the gas is more dense than air and does not catch fire, it spreads like a blanket over burning material and smothers the flames. In addition, carbon dioxide is sometimes used as a gaseous blanket to prevent substances from decaying.

In rare circumstances, carbon dioxide can be a threat to life. In 1896, a huge cloud of the gas exploded from Lake Nyos, a volcanic lake in northwestern Cameroon, a nation in western Africa. The cloud spread quickly and suffocated more than 1,700 people and 8,000 animals. Today, scientists are trying to control this phenomenon by slowly pumping carbon dioxide gas from the bottom of the lake.

[See also Carbon family; Combustion; Greenhouse effect; Photosynthesis; Pollution ]

Carbon Dioxide

views updated May 29 2018

Carbon Dioxide


Carbon dioxide (CO2) is, along with oxygen and nitrogen, one of the major atmospheric gases. Although it only makes up .03 percent of the atmosphere, it is vitally important for all living things. A colorless and odorless gas, carbon dioxide is made up of a central carbon atom joined to two oxygen atoms.

Early scientists were able to observe the effects of carbon dioxide long before they knew exactly what it was. At the start of the seventeenth century, the common air humans and animals breathe was thought to be a single substance or element. However, around 1630, a Flemish physician, Jan Baptista van Helmont (1577–1644), became the first to discover that there were other "vapors" that were different from ordinary air. He coined the word "gas" to describe the vapors that were given off when wood was burned (actually carbon dioxide). He also recognized that this same gas was produced by the process of wine fermentation. In 1756, the Scottish chemist, Joseph Black (1728–1799), proved that carbon dioxide is present in the atmosphere and that it combines with other chemicals to form compounds. Black also learned that the gas he called "fixed air" was present in exhaled breath and that it was heavier than ordinary air. It was also known by then that a candle flame would eventually go out when enclosed in a jar with a limited supply of air and that a small bird would die in the same tight jar. Near the end of the eighteenth century, chemists finally began to realize that gases were important and should be weighed and accounted for whenever chemists analyzed chemical compounds, as was done with solids and liquids. This more scientific method and approach would eventually lead to a real understanding of the nature and role of carbon dioxide.

Following the 1771 discovery by English chemist Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) that plants give off oxygen (which he called "dephlogisticated air"), the Dutch physician Jan Ingenhousz (1730–1799) demonstrated in 1779 that during photosynthesis (the plant process that uses sunlight to make food), green plants take in carbon dioxide (as well as give off oxygen). He therefore established the key fact that plants, in the presence of light, consume the carbon dioxide produced by humans and animals and give off the oxygen which is in turn consumed by both humans and animals.

In the bodies of humans and animals that breathe air, carbon dioxide is generated by the cells as a waste product (similar to the release of carbon dioxide when wood burns). The lungs remove it from the body, which received it from the bloodstream. The amount of carbon dioxide in the blood affects how humans and animals breathe; a rise stimulates the rate of breathing and a drop lowers it. When air consists of 3 percent of carbon dioxide, it is difficult to breathe. If the amount goes above 10 percent, a loss of consciousness occurs. At about 18 percent humans and animals suffocate. Although this rarely happens, in 1986 a huge cloud of carbon dioxide suddenly exploded from Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon (Africa) and suffocated more than 1,700 people and 8,000 animals. It was later learned that atmospheric conditions probably caused the colder water at the bottom of the lake to turn over and quickly release a large amount of carbon dioxide at the surface.

Increasingly, we are becoming aware of the critical role carbon dioxide plays in the health of the global environment. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affects our climate since it acts to trap the heat escaping from Earth's surface and reflect it back down. Many scientists argue that when there is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a "greenhouse effect" will occur and cause the planet to overheat. There is no doubt that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have increased over the years as a result of massive amounts of forests that would consume carbon dioxide being destroyed. Also, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has also increased because of the steady burning of fossil fuels (which releases carbon dioxide as a by-product). Fermentation and the breakdown of organic matter also play a role toward increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Many argue that Earth's temperature could be raised by these influences to a level at which all life is threatened.

Despite these dire predictions, recent scientific calculations of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere suggest that there is significantly less than should be expected. So far, scientists have not been able to account for the "missing" carbon dioxide. Many think that we may be underestimating the amount or rate (or both) of photosynthesis that takes place on a global scale. If that is the case, Earth is in better shape than first thought.

[See alsoCarbon Cycle; Carbon Family; Greenhouse Effect; Photosynthesis; Pollution ]

carbon dioxide

views updated May 18 2018

carbon dioxide When the body ‘burns’ food the end products are mainly water and carbon dioxide, together with some nitrogenous chemicals such as urea. The carbon dioxide enters the bloodstream, is carried to the lungs, and is excreted in the expired air of breathing. The atmospheric air we inhale contains virtually no carbon dioxide, whereas there is about 5% in the air we breathe out.

Carbon dioxide reacts in the blood to form carbonic acid and bicarbonate and, if it were allowed to accumulate, would cause acidosis. This condition is particularly harmful to the cells of the brain. Carbon dioxide diffuses into the liquid in the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); any excess makes it more acid, and this in turn stimulates neural receptors in the brain stem that increase breathing. The result is that the carbon dioxide is blown off in the lungs and the acidity of the blood and brain are kept close to normal levels. Carbon dioxide is the main chemical stimulus to breathing, which is regulated primarily to keep blood and brain acidity at healthy values. If the carbon dioxide in the lungs increases by only 0.2%, from a normal level of about 5%, then breathing is doubled. Breathholding accumulates carbon dioxide in the body, which leads to an irrepressible desire to breathe (lack of oxygen is also a stimulus, but far weaker than carbon dioxide). Conversely, if we voluntarily hyperventilate, the level of carbon dioxide in the blood will decrease, and breathing may be inhibited until more carbon dioxide accumulates. Hyperventilation can have harmful effects because of the pronounced reduction in blood and CSF acidity. Since decreases in carbon dioxide and acidity constrict blood vessels, particularly in the brain, one effect is to reduce the blood supply to the brain.

Carbon dioxide was identified, but not understood chemically, in about 1600 ad by van Helmont, who called it ‘gas sylvestre’, the gas produced by combustion. He showed that it would not support life. Later Joseph Black, who had a lifelong interest in chemistry and was Professor of Medicine in Glasgow from 1757 to 1766, called it ‘fixed acid’, because it was absorbed by lime solution, and he showed that it was produced in respiration. The story goes that in 1764 Black climbed to the ceiling of a church in Glasgow, occupied for 10 hours of religious devotions by a congregation of 1500, and measured the ‘fixed acid’ that was exhaled by the diligent and sleepy congregation. But it was Lavoisier (1743–94) who definitely established the excretion of carbon dioxide after its formation in metabolism, although he erroneously believed that it was formed in the lungs. Lavoisier was guillotined, and it was said that ‘it took but a second to cut off his head; a hundred years will not suffice to produce one like it.’ Lavoisier concluded that any series of lectures in an auditorium extending over 3 hours would leave the audience in a soporific state due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide. In theory he was right. Carbon dioxide in excess can act as an anaesthetic and, in animals, major surgery has been performed under its influence alone. Some human lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis may leave the patient drowsy or even comatose because of the build up of carbon dioxide in the body. It is claimed, probably incorrectly, that in social environments yawning and weariness are due to an accumulation of carbon dioxide. Van Helmont investigated a Grotto del Cane (cave of dogs) in Italy in which it was claimed, rather implausibly, that a tall dog owner would survive while his lowly dog would perish, due to the depressant effect of carbon dioxide, held to the ground because of its greater density than air. Perhaps Black's Glasgow congregation was fortunate.

John Widdicombe


See also acid–base homeostasis; blood; respiration.

carbon dioxide

views updated May 29 2018

carbon dioxide A colourless odourless gas, CO2, which dissolves in water to give carbonic acid. It occurs in the atmosphere (0.04% by volume) but has a short residence time in this phase as it is both consumed by plants during photosynthesis and produced by respiration and by combustion.

The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by some 12% in the last 100 years, mainly because of extensive burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of large areas of rainforest. This has been postulated as the main cause of the average increase of 0.5°C in global temperatures over the same period, through the greenhouse effect. Atmospheric CO2 concentration continues to rise, in spite of some tentative steps to control emissions, giving the prospect of accelerated global warming in the foreseeable future.

carbon dioxide

views updated Jun 27 2018

carbon dioxide(CO2) The product of the complete oxidation of carbon and the compound most involved in the transport of carbon through the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is utilized by autotrophs in the process of photosynthesis. When organic matter decomposes its carbon is oxidized to CO2 and released into the atmosphere. Carbon that enters long-term ‘storage’, as carbonate rocks (e.g. limestone) or fossil fuels, can be oxidized on exposure to oxygen (e.g. when fossil fuels are burned). Apart from water vapour, carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas, absorbing long-wave radiation at wavelengths of about 5 μm and 18 μm.