Combustion Fuels - Carbon Dioxide Emission

Environmental emission of carbon dioxide CO₂ when combustion fuels like coal, oil, natural gas, LPG and bio energy

To calculate the CO₂ emission from a fuel the carbon content of the fuel must be multiplied with the ratio of molecular weight CO₂ (44) to the molecular weight Carbon 12 -> 44 / 12 = 3.7

Carbon Dioxide emission can be calculated as

q_CO2 = c_f / h_f  C_CO2/C_m         (1)

where

q_CO2 = specific CO₂ emission (CO₂/kWh)

c_f = specific carbon content in the fuel (kg_C/kg_fuel)

h_f = specific energy content (kWh/kg_fuel)

C_m = specific mass Carbon (kg/mol Carbon)

C_CO2 = specific  mass Carbon Dioxide (kg/mol CO₂)

Emission of Carbon Dioxide - CO₂ - when combustion some common fuels are indicated in the table below.

¹⁾ Bio Energy is produced from biomass derived from any renewable organic plant, including

• dedicated energy crops and trees
• agricultural food and feed crops
• agricultural crop wastes and residues
• wood wastes
• aquatic plants
• animal wastes
• municipal wastes and other waste materials

Emissions of CO₂ can contribute to climate change. Combustion of bio energy don't add to the total emission of carbon dioxide as long as the burned bio mass don't exceed the renewed production. (Emission of CO₂ when combusting wood is in reality approximately 0.18 kg/kWh)

A variety of bio fuels can be made from biomass resources, including

• ethanol
• methanol
• biodiesel
• Fischer-Tropsch diesel
• gaseous fuels like hydrogen or methane