1 ton of CO2 weighs?

Question

When people talk about emmissions of CO2 they often talk about it in tons. Do they actually mean the weight of it or the volume? If they mean the weight, how would they measure Hydrogen or helium?

Answer 1

Yes, they do mean tons, 2000 lb; or in the case of metric tonnes, 1000 kg.

You can still measure hydrogen and helium in tonnes if you wanted to Those gasses are lighter than air, but not lighter than nothing, they still have a mass. Imaging a fish, seeing a boat above. How much does the boat weight? The fact the fish sees the boat float, being lighter than water, does not mean the boat weight nothing.

Now, if you take a cylinder of highly compressed hydrogen or helium and weight it. Then, you open the valve and let all the gas escape, and you weight it again. The tank will now be lighter than when it was full, because gasses can be compressed until they are heavier than air.

But even the now "empty" tank "weights" a bit less than it would if it was weighted in a vacuum, as the air around it provides a little level of buoyancy.

Hydrogen gas should have a mass of about 2 g for 22.5 l, at 0 C and standard atmospheric pressure. 22.5 l of helium, in the same conditions, should have a mass of about 4 g.

Answer 2

1 ton of CO2 weighs 1 ton = 2000 pounds

The weight of gasses is proportional to the molecular weight of the gas. The molecular weight of CO2 is 44. The molecular weight of hydrogen H2 is 2. The molecular weight of helium He is 4. What this means is that given equal volumes of CO2, H2, and He, the CO2 will be 22 times heavier than hydrogen and the CO2 will be 11 times heavier than helium.

Answer 3

Would you believe, one ton? That's a ton mass, not a ton displacement. Elements lighter than air also have mass, which is measurable in a similar fashion: you empty a tank with a vacuum pump, weigh it, fill it to some temperature and pressure with the gas of interest, and weigh it again. The difference is of course the weight of the gas.

Answer 4

1 ton of CO2 weighs 1 ton
1 ton of hydrogen weighs 1 ton
1 ton of helium weighs 1 ton

Answer 5

Technically, weight is a force. If you want to talk about how heavy things are, then you talk in terms of mass. Weight is measured in Newtons while Mass is measured in Kg.

Therefore, a ton of CO2 has a mass of 1000 Kg.

However, note that mass and weight are used interchangeably in many cases. It is only in Physics where weight and mass are distinctly differentiated.

Answer 6

The other 2.66 tons come from the oxygen in the atmosphere. The chemical reaction is: kerosene + oxygen = CO2 + H2O and maybe other nasties if its incomplete Hence the kerosene doesn't just burn itself, it requires oxygen, and burning it makes kerosene bind to oxygen in the atmosphere and covert it to CO2. However, don't be fooled, the mass gained by the reaction is lost by the environment. Hence if you were to burn kerosene in an isolated environment, the mass would remain the same, just less oxygen molecules in the air and more CO2 molecules.

Answer 7

Weight is weight. It relates to volume according to the gas law... the pressure, temperature, and atomic mass of the gas molecules will determine the weight of a specific volume of gas.

Answer 8

1 Ton =1000 kgs

Answer 9

It weighs one ton.