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Is carbon found in fossil fuel?

Updated: 8/10/2023
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12y ago

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Carbon monoxide is not a fossile fuel. CO can result from incomplete combustion of a fossil fuel. Incomplete combustion will only occur when there isn't enough oxygen to allow the fuel to react completely to produce carbon dioxide and water. It also happens when the combustion is quenched by a heat sink such as a solid surface or flame trap.

For most fuels, such as diesel oil, coal or wood, pyrolysis occurs before combustion. In incomplete combustion, products of pyrolysis remain unburnt and contaminate the smoke with noxious particulate matter and gases. Partially oxidized compounds are also a concern; partial oxidation of ethanol can produce harmful acetaldehyde, and carbon can produce toxic carbon monoxide.

The quality of combustion can be improved by design of combustion devices, such as burners and internal combustion engines. Further improvements are achievable by catalytic after-burning devices (such as catalytic converters) or by the simple partial return of the exhaust gases into the combustion process. Such devices are required by environmental legislation for cars in most countries, and may be necessary in large combustion devices, such as thermal power plants, to reach legalemission standards.

The degree of combustion can be measured and analyzed, with test equipment. HVAC contractors, firemen and engineers use combustion analyzers to test the efficiency of a burner during the combustion process. In addition, the efficiency of an internal combustion engine can be measured in this way, and some states and local municipalities are using combustion analysis to define and rate the efficiency of vehicles on the road today.

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12y ago
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13y ago

No, carbon dioxide COMES FROM a fossil fuel when it is burned. Like coal, oil or natural gas.

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13y ago

No, it is the product of burning fossil fuels.

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12y ago

yes, fossil fuel is the decomposed remnants of once living things. All living things contain carbon, so basically fossil fuel is just mostly carbon.

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12y ago

Yes

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Q: Is carbon found in fossil fuel?
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