SOURCES OF CARBON DIOXIDE

1. SOURCES OF CARBON DIOXIDE Introduction: Carbon dioxide consists of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. It is a greenhouse gas. Its concentration in the atmosphere is low almost its concentration in air is 0.04 %. It's a non-pollutant gas. Although it is a minor component of air yet it can change the global climate. Sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are either natural or anthropological. Atmospheric carbon dioxide absorbs infrared radiations and water vapor. These radiations which these gases absorb are partly returned to the earth's surface. This causes heating of the earth's surface and this process is the greenhouse effect. The level of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide has been increasing rapidly during the last few decades. This is due to an increase in industrialization, a decrease in forests, and grasslands. Main Sources of carbon dioxide: Any process or activity which releases a substance into the atmosphere is its source. Following sources produce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere: 1. Natural sources. 2. Human activities. 2700 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is present in the atmosphere. 6600 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is in the biosphere, vegetation, and soil. And oceans contain almost 1,36,000 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. A. Natural sources: In the Atmosphere, natural sources produce 97% of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Natural sources of carbon dioxide production include 1. Respiration by living organisms 2. Volcanic eruptions 3. Released from oceans

2. 4.Decomposition also read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide 1.Respiration by a living organism: We can explain the term respiration in the following two ways: a. External respiration: The exchange of respiratory gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide) between organism and their environment is external respiration. Animals produce Carbon dioxide naturally during the process of breathing. In addition to this trees and plants also produce carbon dioxide during respiration. b. Cellular respiration: Cellular respiration is a process which makes energy available to cells in a step by step breakdown of C chain molecules in cells. Along with water, a byproduct of cellular respiration is carbon dioxide. The process of respiration avails glucose and oxygen and as a result, produces energy. This process takes place in the mitochondria of cells. Carbon present in carbon dioxide comes from glucose. Glucose in presence of oxygen produces carbon dioxide, water, and energy. Produced carbon dioxide dissolves in the bloodstream. Then the blood circulation carries it to the lungs. Lungs exhale this carbon dioxide. Plants make use of the product of respiration in the process of photosynthesis. c. Release of carbon dioxide by soil microorganisms: Due to the rise in temperature and global warming activity of microorganisms in soil has also increased. this results in the additional release of soil carbon into the atmosphere. In soil, there are a set of microorganisms that decompose leaves, roots, humus. This is a natural process. Soil microorganisms become more efficient with an increase in temperature. Therefore when they are active they eat more, so they breathe out more. They expire carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Hence carbon dioxide diffuses from the soil into the air. This is soil respiration. 2. Volcanic eruption: In volcanic eruptions, volcanoes explode with a terrible explosion. It releases dust, rock, lava, and gases. Additionally, volcanic eruptions release gases like carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, water vapors.

3. Carbon dioxide is present in the mantle of the earth's crust in form of salts of carbonic acid, carbonates. It is also present sometimes in form of dissolved gas in liquid rocks. Known 150 degassing volcanoes annually releases about 271 million tons of carbon dioxide. Besides this inactive volcanoes and hydrothermal volcanoes also release carbon dioxide. Mostly carbon dioxide released in volcanic eruptions dissipates in the atmosphere. But sometimes this carbon dioxide settles in the low-lying areas. Hence this makes the air of that area unfit for breathing and dangerous for health. Therefore the gases released during volcanic eruptions cause air pollution, weather changes, depletion of the ozone layer. 3.Oceans as a source of Carbon dioxide: Oceans contain a large number of living organisms such as sponges, fishes, mollusks e.t.c. These organisms respire and contribute to release of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is soluble in cold water. But nowadays due to global warming as the temperature of water increases, it results in the release of carbon dioxide present in oceans. 4.Decomposition as a source of carbon dioxide : Decomposition of dead organisms by decomposers and bacteria releases carbon dioxide. These decomposers break down the dead organic matter. They release carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients. The burning of wood releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In addition to this decomposition of wood also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. B. Human activities: Carbon dioxide produced from human sources include activities like 1.Burning of fossil fuels (natural gas, coal, oil). 2. Industrial processes like Cement production. 3. Deforestation. More than 75 % of human-caused carbon dioxide emission is due to the burning of fossil fuels and global manufacturing of cement. Carbon dioxide emission by fossil fuels burning is 20 billion tonnes per year. Its emission due to deforestation and changes in land use is 5.5 billion tonnes annually. 1.Fossil fuels burning:

4. Fossil fuels comprised of coal, natural gas, petroleum. Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy. They cannot be replaced or recycled naturally at a quick enough pace with its consumption. Their replenishing is difficult. Once used up they will no longer remain. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide. Following sectors involves the use of fossil fuels: Industries as a source of carbon dioxide: Different industries use fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil for producing energy and for running machinery. In boiler and furnaces burning of fossil fuels takes place. Cement industry: The cement industry uses all types of fossil fuels like coal and natural gas as fuels. Steel and iron industry: In the steel and iron industry, we use coal and coke as fuel. Refining and chemical industry: Oil and gas are primary fuels in the refining and chemical industry. Transportation : Almost all means of transports involve the burning of fossil fuels. Cars, buses, trucks, ships e.t.c mostly use petroleum-based fuels like gasoline and diesel. Electricity production: Thermal power stations utilize fossil fuels for power generation. Coal is the dominant fuel in the power industry. The burning of fossil fuels like natural gas, coal produces electricity. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide as a by-product. Along with this fossil fuels burning also produces water vapor, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides as by-products. Consequently, the combustion of these fuels in furnaces generates heat. This heat moreover produces steam at high temperature and pressure. These steam run steam turbines. As a result, these steam turbines produce electricity when connected to generators. Natural gas processing: One of the fuels which we use for heating purposes is natural gas. But natural gas contains carbon dioxide as an impurity. Natural gas processing installation units remove carbon dioxide from natural gas. This makes the heating value of gas better. This also

5. meets the specifications of pipelines. So natural gas processing is also a source of carbon dioxide emission. 2. Cement production: Industrial processes like cement production release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Calcination of calcium carbonate produces cement. It produces calcium oxide along with the release of carbon dioxide. Lime is a prime component of the cement industry. The construction industry widely uses cement all over the world so its demand is very high. In the cement industry burning fossil fuels occurs in heat kiln this also releases carbon dioxide. Most industrial processes involve the burning of fuel. Fuel is mostly made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.For this reason, when this fuel is burnt it releases carbon dioxide and water. 3. Deforestation acting as a source of carbon dioxide: Deforestation is also releasing Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Trees consume the carbon dioxide of air or the environment and they manufacture food in the process of photosynthesis. So if the cutting of trees increases then the number of trees decreases in the environment. Due to which the utilization of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be decreased. This increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in environments. Nowadays the population is increasing rapidly. Improvement in living standards is leading to an increase in urbanization. This deforestation badly affects the carbon dioxide cycle. in the construction industry, furniture making utilizes wood obtained from trees. We also use wood for burning so this excessive tree-cutting hence it also leads to an increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. also read: https://chemotech.info/the-second-world-war/