Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere Atmospheric O levels are decreasing in Earth's atmosphere as it reacts with the carbon in fossil fuels to form . Burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas is the leading cause of increased anthropogenic ; deforestation is the second major cause. In 2010, 9.14 gigatonnes of carbon (GtC, equivalent to 33.5 gigatonnes of or about 4.3 ppm in Earth's atmosphere) were released from fossil fuels and cement production worldwide, compared to 6.15 GtC in 1990. In addition, land use change contributed 0.87 GtC in 2010, compared to 1.45 GtC in 1990. In 1997, human-caused Indonesian peat fires
South African gas-electric locomotive experiment. Combustion gases, rich in carbon monoxide and known variously as water gas, producer gas and mond gas, are generated by passing air and steam through some kind of red-hot burning carbonaceous fuel, usually coal. The gas generator consists of a combustion portion, where the fuel is initially burned to generate the required steam. The steam is then blown through this same burning fuel, taking air with it, and the producer gas is then liberated as a by-product of this combustion. Ordinarily, burning produces carbon dioxide, but by forcing steam through the burn a certain amount of incomplete combustion is