0
Why is carbon monoxide bad when it's so similar to carbon dioxide?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Carbon dioxide (CO2) in large quantities is also poisonous; just not as much so as the much-deadlier carbon monoxide (CO).
CO is easily absorbed by the body, which is just as reluctant to release it. It is also completely undetectable: it is invisible, and has no odor or taste. It binds with the hemoglobin in the blood in preference to oxygen; what's worse, it makes the hemoglobin reluctant to release the oxygen it already has. The combination rapidly leads to oxygen deprivation and potential cell death, and may trigger a possible heart attack.
To make matters even more dangerous, CO can also affect central nervous system function, in part by causing certain fatty compounds in the brain to break down into harmful chemical byproducts.
The body is designed to expel CO2, so it rarely builds up to a level high enough to cause damage. And the amount of CO2 necessary to cause injury is measured in parts per thousand, whereas the amount of harmful levels of CO can be measured in the much-smaller unit of parts per million (ppm).
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoCarbon dioxide bonds with haemoglobin in the blood (forming carbaminohemoglobin) to remove it from the cells when exposed to the higher oxygen content in the lungs. Carbon monoxide forms a much tighter bond with the haemoglobin (carboxyhemoglobin) and is not released to the lungs. This effectively uses up the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood to the detriment of the cells respiration.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Why does carbon monoxide burn and carbon dioxide does not?
Carbon monoxide binds very tightly to heme; carbon dioxide does not. Carbon dioxide is not poisonous per se, but it's not harmless either; concentrations of carbon dioxide above 20% or so are pretty bad for you even if there's also plenty of oxygen to breathe.
Where is the ozone bad?
Bad ozone is the ozone present at the surface of the earth. It is because the ozone at the surface of earth acts as a air pollutant resembling like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide etc.
What Accounts for most of the carbon dioxide emissions for a country?
Cars. Back in 1976 it was mandated that all US cars have catalytic converters to transform the carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2). Was that a good thing or bad?..you decide
What is the atmospheric makeup of Venus'?
The atmosphere of Venus is about 96.5% Carbon dioxide and 3.5% Nitrogen. The rest is trace amounts of really bad things like Sulfur dioxide (0.015%), Argon (0.007%) and Carbon monoxide (0.0017%).
What is carbon for carbon monoxide?
You mean, "What is a solvent for carbon monoxide?" Carbon monoxide will dissolve in just about any common gas that you care to name: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon, neon, helium, hydrogen, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide. How else does carbon monoxide get from here to there? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The solubility of carbon monoxide in liquids is low, for ex. 27.6 mg/liter in water. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In ALL liquids?? Perhaps you need to try hydrocarbons, fats, lipids, liquid nitrogen, liquid carbon dioxide (under pressure), and so forth. If carbon monoxide were not soluble in blood, then it would not be dangerous to human beings, mammals, birds, and reptiles. (We would breathe it in and then right out again.) In any case, a gas can be a solvent just as a liquid can. Try dissolving some sulfur dioxide in some nitrogen gas. It works very well, though we don't like this. Sulfur dioxide in nitrogen causes bad air pollution.
What is solvent for carbon monoxide?
You mean, "What is a solvent for carbon monoxide?" Carbon monoxide will dissolve in just about any common gas that you care to name: nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon, neon, helium, hydrogen, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide. How else does carbon monoxide get from here to there? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The solubility of carbon monoxide in liquids is low, for ex. 27.6 mg/liter in water. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In ALL liquids?? Perhaps you need to try hydrocarbons, fats, lipids, liquid nitrogen, liquid carbon dioxide (under pressure), and so forth. If carbon monoxide were not soluble in blood, then it would not be dangerous to human beings, mammals, birds, and reptiles. (We would breathe it in and then right out again.) In any case, a gas can be a solvent just as a liquid can. Try dissolving some sulfur dioxide in some nitrogen gas. It works very well, though we don't like this. Sulfur dioxide in nitrogen causes bad air pollution.
Does carbon monoxide smell like burn plastic?
Carbon Monoxide is a dangerous gas, so I am assuming it smells very bad. I have never smelled it, however, or I would be dead!
Is it bad if carbon monoxide is lighter than air?
No
Why does your car have bad gas fumes?
it has fumes because when you drive your car is burning the petrol/diesel you fill up with which results in it producing nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides.
Is carbon dioxide a good thing or a bad thing?
Well, carbon dioxide is both good and bad. Carbon dioxide for humans is bad because to much of it for us can be fatal and lead to suffocation. But, it is good for plants.
Is carbon dioxide good or bad for humans?
Its bad
Why are few cars good for the environment?
There are no good or bad cars. Internal combustion engines that use hydrocarbon fuels produce typically carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and water as byproducts along with some minor sulfur and phosphorous and nitrogen oxides. All of these products occur naturally in the atmosphere. Soils need the nitrogen compounds and plants need the carbon dioxide to grow. Phosphorous compounds are frequently fertilizer for marine plants, and carbon monoxide is a very unstable compound and will oxidixe to carbon dioxide given some time and exposure to sunlight.
