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9 And 737: Case Study

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1.2 billion is a large number no matter what context it is used in. 9,737; however, is a bit more manageable, it would seem. 1.2 billion represents the approximate number of vehicles in the world today. 9,737 is the average number of pounds of CO2 produced by one car per year. All of this shows the overall sum of 11.7 trillion, being the number of pounds of CO2 produced every year due to automobile exhaust, a number 1,600 times that of Earth’s entire population. Account for all other burning of fossil fuels, that number increases to about 20 trillion. Take into consideration that ⅔ of this is just from gasoline powered cars, the impact that it has is evident. (Kielinska, 2004) Take a look at diesel fuel however. It only accounts for about 9% …show more content…

In 2012, the amount of petroleum used every day skyrocketed to an all-time high of 88.9 million barrels used per day. (Energy, 2013) With such a huge dependency on fossil fuels today, it is critical that the world finds ways to increase efficiency to a maximum. That is why in most industries, new technology is always being produced that increases the efficiency of the machines, for example the aircraft industry. By simply adding afterburners in a jet turbine, excess jet fuel is not wasted, eliminating byproducts released into the atmosphere while gaining extra …show more content…

(Kielinska, 2004). It weighs about 6 pounds per gallon, but when burned, it releases 17.8 pounds of CO2 because the byproducts bond with the air to create CO2. After combustion, it produces 31.2 megajoules of energy, enough to move an average sedan about 25 miles. Per barrel (42 gallons) of crude oil that is refined, about 19 gallons of it will end up as gasoline. (Strandell, 1994)
Diesel, also a byproduct of crude oil, accounts for about 7-9% of the world's CO2 output. With a much higher density than gasoline, one gallon weighs about 7.5 pounds, and releases 22-23 pounds of CO2 per gallon burned. After combustion, one gallon of diesel produces 38.6 mega joules of energy, enough to move an average sedan about 45 miles. However, because it is so much denser than gasoline, one barrel of crude oil will one result in about 12 gallons of diesel fuel. (Strandell,

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