section_path: Carbon dioxide formation
section_name: Carbon dioxide formation
paragraph_text: Carbon dioxide formation
  
  As a good approximation the chemical formula of diesel is C H. Diesel is a mixture of different molecules. As carbon has a molar mass of 12 g/mol and hydrogen has a molar mass of about 1 g/mol, so the fraction by weight of carbon in EN 590 diesel fuel is roughly 12/14.
  
  The reaction of diesel combustion is given by:
  
  2 C H + 3n O ⇌ 2n CO + 2n H O
  
  Carbon dioxide has a molar mass of 44g/mol as it consists of 2 atoms of oxygen (16 g/mol) and 1 atom of carbon (12 g/mol). So 12 g of carbon yield 44 g of Carbon dioxide.
  
  Diesel has a density of 838 g per liter.
  
  Putting everything together the mass of carbon dioxide that is produced by burning 1 liter of diesel fuel can be calculated as:
  
  0.838 k g / L ⋅ 12 14 ⋅ 44 12 = 2.63 k g / L {\displaystyle 0.838kg/L\cdot {\frac {12}{14}}\cdot {\frac {44}{12}}=2.63kg/L}
  
  The figure obtained with this estimation is close to the values found in the literature.
  
  For gasoline, with a density of 0.75 kg/L and a ratio of carbon to hydrogen atoms of about 6 to 14, the estimated value of carbon emission if 1 liter of gasoline is burnt gives:
  
  0.75 k g / L ⋅ 6 ⋅ 12 6 ⋅ 12 + 14 ⋅ 1 ⋅ 44 12 = 2.3 k g / L {\displaystyle 0.75kg/L\cdot {{\frac {6\cdot 12}{6\cdot 12+14}}\cdot 1}\cdot {\frac {44}{12}}=2.3kg/L}