We explain what carbon dioxide is and why it is important. Carbon cycle. CO2 and climate change. Uses of CO2.
chemical formula: CO2), refers to a colorless gas soluble in Water, whose molecules are made up of a atom carbon and two oxygen, linked by covalent double bonds.![chemical formula](/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/co2-min-e1523637201853.jpg>
<p><img src=//cqlife.net/img/images/qumica/co2-min-e1523637201853.jpg></p></a>Normal levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are increased by industrial activity.
<a id="menu-1"></a><h2>What is carbon dioxide?</h2>
<p>When talking about carbon dioxide, <em>carbon dioxide</em> o CO2 (from your <a href=){kind=link}
CO2 constitutes approximately 0.04% of the gases present in the earth's atmosphere. It is an essential gas for life as we know it and is present in numerous organic compounds, including hydrocarbons (natural gas, Petroleum, etc.) or the air that we exhale living beings aerobic (that is, we breathe).The biological importance of CO2 lies mainly in the fact that plants need it to carry out photosynthesis, as well as certain types of cyanobacteria for their processes of obtaining Energy.
In the presence of a Pressure constant, carbon dioxide is a gas, but it can also be forced to become liquid by increasing the pressure (through the process of liquefaction) or even solid, forming the so-called "dry ice" or dry ice.
The highest concentration of this gas on the planet is, however, in the atmosphere, dissolved among many other gases that make up the air. It is also found in hot springs, volcanoes and carbonate rocks, which when diluted in water or some acids they release this gas. It is produced daily as a by-product of natural processes, such as breathing, the decomposition of the organic material wave combustion (for example, in forest fires) and in the fermentation of sugars. It is also generated artificially, through the burning of fossil fuels and numerous industrial processes.
CO2 can also be found outside our planet: the atmospheres of Venus and Mars have shown abundant presence of this gas, which makes up 95% of them.
Uses of CO2
In principle, carbon dioxide is an extremely useful substance for man, who has known how to give it the following uses:
- In the food industry, is injected into drinks (sodas) to give effervescence.
- It is part of the compounds present in fire extinguishers, since CO2 is not combustible.
- It is frequently used as a refrigerant (in gas or as ice) and in creating special effects, such as artificial fog.
- It is part of the gases used to form laser rays.
- In medicine, it is used as a contrast agent or as a gas for insufflation in laparoscopies, as well as in aesthetic treatments.
Carbon cycle
photosynthesis at plants, and also to the water when it is diluted in the raindrops that then run off to the ocean, where it forms small amounts of carbonic acid. There the cycles of breathing and microbial decomposition, which release new CO2 in gaseous form into the atmosphere.
![photosynthesis](/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ciclo-del-carbono-min-e1523637460396.jpg>
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<p>The CO2 on our planet is part of a biogeochemical cycle that exchanges carbon between the layers of the atmosphere, the water in the seas and the deposits on land. This allows carbon atoms to be reused and life to be sustainable on the planet.</p>
<p>Thus, the carbon present in methane (CH4) and atmospheric CO2 passes through the <a href=){kind=link}
CO2 and climate change
greenhouse effect. This means that it contributes to the formation of a gaseous layer in the atmosphere that prevents radiation from the heat and the temperature of the planetary surface increases, which leads to climate changes gradual effects whose effects we living beings suffer.
Everything indicates that the increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere, a product of sustained human industrial activity since the seventeenth century (burning of hydrocarbons, metallurgy, mass fermentation, concrete manufacturing, etc.), would have markedly unbalanced the cycle of the carbon, accumulating much more of this gas in the atmosphere than it is possible to get rid of naturally. To get an idea, atmospheric CO2 in 1750 was 0.028%, and at the beginning of the 21st century it is 0.037%.
This increase in gas also slowly increases the temperature of the planet by a few degrees and that, although it may not seem like it, has catastrophic effects on the planet. weather by altering the delicate balance of water cycle, the Ocean currents and heat distribution. This has consequences as serious as the creation of new deserts; the melting of the poles and perennial snows, thus raising the level of the oceans; floods and torrential rains that ruin cities and crops, and cause displacements of Earth; and even more extreme weather seasons: colder winters and summers more intense.
As if that were not enough, the increase in atmospheric CO2 affects the present in the oceans, producing more carbonic acid and modifying the pH of the seas, which gradually become more acidic and less fit for life.
All of these processes and consequences are known as climate change and there is currently a whole debate regarding what measures to take to stop, prevent and even reverse it, which requires a joint effort from the entire community. community international.