March 28, 2024, 05:10:48 AM
Forum Rules: Read This Before Posting


Topic: Co2 release  (Read 7807 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

WARRAVEN

  • Guest
Co2 release
« on: December 19, 2004, 09:56:24 PM »
As Everyone knows I write for the paintball magazine "Paintball 2 extremes". I came here once for some help on the air stuff, but I had to scrap my data :( .

My next one is on the environmental impact of the paintball industry, and a question is just bugging me I can't seem to find a good answer on. We use Carbon dioxide as a propellent on some markers, how does the release of that gas affect the environment? It is a 20 oz. counter usually at 850 psi. I'm also not sure on how that compares to other gaseous pollution, because we breath out C02 as well, and there is industrial pollution along those lines as well.

What do you think?

               Raven  8)
P.S. I will mention the forum in the article if I use the info, probably not specific names because I don't like playing favorites...

Offline jdurg

  • Banninator
  • Retired Staff
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1366
  • Mole Snacks: +106/-23
  • Gender: Male
  • I am NOT a freak.
Re:Co2 release
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2004, 10:39:52 PM »
Personally, I believe that the paintballs themselves would have more of an environmental impact, if any at all, than the CO2 cartridges would.  The amount of CO2 in those things is pretty small when compared to the CO2 produced by your car when you're on your way to the paintball meet.  With all the movement and running around, your body will wind up exhaling more CO2 than those cartridges will give out.  

So let's do a quick mathematical calculation of how much CO2 those cartridges will be given out.  First we have to convert the psi into atmospheres.  1 psi contains about 0.068 atm, so the pressure of the cartridges is approximately 57.84 atm.  The 20 ounce cartridges equals ~0.591 L.  Using PV=nRT, we get about 1.39 moles of carbon dioxides which is about 61 grams of the gas.  

To put this in perspective, a human being exhales about 408 L of CO2 per day.  (www.cchem.berkeley.edu/chem1a/fall03/labsamplewrite.htm).  Using a pressure of 1 atm and a temperature equal to normal body temperature, the ideal gas law says that a human being exhales about 16.03 moles of CO2 which is equal to about 705 grams of CO2!  So I would easily be able to conclude that the CO2 cartridges are no more harmful to the environment than a human being is just by breathing.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2004, 10:41:37 PM by jdurg »
"A real fart is beefy, has a density greater than or equal to the air surrounding it, consists

Offline kevins

  • Chemist
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 176
  • Mole Snacks: +17/-6
  • I'm a llama!
Re:Co2 release
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2004, 12:24:10 PM »
I think not only the CO2 gas, how about the organic solvent ?

WARRAVEN

  • Guest
Re:Co2 release
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2004, 03:12:31 PM »
Ah, paintballs however are non-toxic and degrade extremely fast. While the fields and industries and cars and stuff may cause environmental impact, the play themselves does not. The only thing that would occur under digestion is a sickening taste in the mouth and probably odd colored bowels later,lol.

                          Raven  8)

Offline Donaldson Tan

  • Editor, New Asia Republic
  • Retired Staff
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3177
  • Mole Snacks: +261/-13
  • Gender: Male
    • New Asia Republic
Re:Co2 release
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2004, 09:16:43 PM »
it depends how carbon dioxide used for propellent is manufactured. if the Co2 used is actually a byproduct of a chemical process or it's extracted from air, why not? I think carbon dioxide is obtain industrially as the byproduct of cracking ethane and propane for ethene.
"Say you're in a [chemical] plant and there's a snake on the floor. What are you going to do? Call a consultant? Get a meeting together to talk about which color is the snake? Employees should do one thing: walk over there and you step on the friggin� snake." - Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of Glaxosmithkline, June 2006

Sponsored Links