Carbon dioxide



Carbon dioxide (chemical formula CO2) is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of 2 oxygen atoms each covalently double bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Terra’s atmosphere in this state, as a trace gas at a concentration of 0.04 per cent (400 ppm) by volume.

As part of the carbon cycle, plants, algae, and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water, with oxygen produced as a waste product. However, photosynthesis cannot occur in darkness and at night some carbon dioxide is produced by plants during respiration. It is produced during the respiration of all other aerobic organisms and is exhaled in the breath of air-breathing land animals, including humans. Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in beer and winemaking. It is produced by combustion of wood, carbohydrates and major carbon- and hydrocarbon-rich fossil fuels such as coal, peat, petroleum and natural gas. It is emitted from volcanoes, hot springs and geysers and is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids. CO2 is found in lakes, at depth under the sea and commingled with oil and gas deposits.[4]

The environmental effects of carbon dioxide are of significant interest. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary source of carbon in life on Earth and its concentration in Earth's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian eon was regulated by photosynthetic organisms. Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas and burning of carbon-based fuels since the industrial revolution rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere, leading to global warming. It is also a major source of ocean acidification since it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid.