Question

Burning wood to power engines and machines ushered in the Industrial Revolution in 1769.Coal became the major fuel in the early twentieth century and was replaced by petroleum inthe 1950s. Coal (C), natural gas (CH4), and petroleum (mainly octane, C8H18) are themodern-day fossil fuels. Write balanced equations for their reactions with oxygen(combustion) including the amount of heat produced. What is the environmentalsignificance of these changes in sources of energy

Answer 1

Natural gas combustion equation:

CH4 + O2 ==> CO2 + 2 H2O + HEAT

Octane or oil combustion equation:

2C8H18 + 25 O2 ===> 16CO2 + 18 H2O.

If these fuels were replaced by self-sustaining energy sources, the contamination of the environment would be less, since their combustion generates toxic compounds that damage the ozone layer, promoting the greenhouse effect, increasing the Earth's temperature and also promoting the increase in the passage of ultraviolet radiation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The combustion reactions are exothermic, and irreversible, they can be complete and incomplete combustions.

They always consist of oxygen as a reagent and water and carbon dioxide as a product (complete), in the case of the incomplete the difference is that the products vary and there may be waste or chemical compounds that failed to burn.