Combustion of Propane: Fun Fact About Barbeque Tanks!

How much carbon dioxide is produced by the complete combustion of propane in a barbeque tank?

A typical propane tank for a barbeque contains approximately 6.80 kg of propane. What mass, in kg, of carbon dioxide, CO2, is produced by the complete combustion of all the propane in such a tank?

Answer:

The mass of carbon dioxide produced by the complete combustion of all the propane in such a tank is approximately 20.36 kg.

Did you know that when propane undergoes complete combustion, it reacts with oxygen gas to produce carbon dioxide and water vapor? The chemical equation for this process is:

C₃H₈ + 5O₂ → 4H₂O + 3CO₂

In the above equation, one mole of propane (C₃H₈) reacts with five moles of oxygen gas (O₂) to produce three moles of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and four moles of water vapor (H₂O).

One mole of propane has a molar mass of 44.1 g/mol and 6.80 kg of propane is present in the tank. Therefore, the number of moles of propane is:

6.80 kg × (1000 g/kg) / 44.1 g/mol = 154.2 mol

By looking at the chemical equation, three moles of carbon dioxide are produced for every mole of propane reacted. Thus, the number of moles of carbon dioxide produced is:

3 mol CO₂/mol C₃H₈ × 154.2 mol C₃H₈ = 462.6 mol CO₂

The molar mass of carbon dioxide is 44.0 g/mol. Therefore, the mass of carbon dioxide produced is:

462.6 mol × 44.0 g/mol = 20,358.4 g or 20.36 kg.

So, the mass of carbon dioxide, in kg, produced by the complete combustion of all the propane in a barbeque tank is 20.36 kg. That's quite a lot of carbon dioxide for a fun barbeque session!