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Answer: Carbon compounds are ordinarily converted to CO2 in combustion if there is enough air (oxygen). Carbon monoxide (CO) is formed when carbon compounds are burned in a limited amount of air. Lets picture what a carbon atom looks like. Because of the arrangement of the electron shells a carbon atom looks a lot like a tetrahedron with four corners or a caltrop's four points. When carbon is completely burned two oxygen atoms have each grabbed onto two corners (or points of the carbon atom. One set of two corners fills up (this gives off heat). After all the atoms are satisfied the next set fills up to make carbon dioxide (thhis gives off more heat).

When not enough oxygen is present the atoms essentially share the oxygen so many only get the first set of points filled. This leaves most of the carbon as carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide can be collected as a product and burned again if provided with more oxygen.

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