TAILPIPES THAT CAPTURE CO2 - If we're dependent on oil but concerned about carbon dioxide emissions, why don't we just capture the CO2 we emit? Researchers are looking into this right now. The result is aminosilica, a powdery substance that looks like white sand. Within the substance, a number of branches that resemble trees are born from the bonding, hence the name: hyperbranched. At the branches' tips are amino sites that capture CO2. When HAS was combined with sand, the chemists found that the resulting compound was capable of trapping carbon dioxide when flue gasses -- emissions found in smokestacks -- passed through it. The HAS compound not only captures CO2, it hangs onto it. To release the carbon dioxide, the material must be heated, and the CO2 that's released can be captured and stored (either as a gas or cooled into liquid form) in a process called carbon sequestration. Around the world, people are growing increasingly concerned about carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Certainly, climate change skeptics pose reasonable hypotheses that suggest changes in climate are merely a natural, global cycle -- and we humans are just going to have to ride out. But the idea that humans are contributing to climate change is becoming more accepted. In response, scientists are thinking of ways to reduce humans' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. One way is to create fuels that don't produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct, like fossil fuels do.

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Tailpipes That Capture CO₂ 

Can we make tailpipes that capture CO2?

.

If we're dependent on oil but concerned about carbon dioxide emissions, why don't we just capture the CO2 we emit? Researchers are looking into this right now. The result is aminosilica, a powdery substance that looks like white sand. Within the substance, a number of branches that resemble trees are born from the bonding, hence the name: hyperbranched. At the branches' tips are amino sites that capture CO2. When HAS was combined with sand, the chemists found that the resulting compound was capable of trapping carbon dioxide when flue gasses -- emissions found in smokestacks -- passed through it. The HAS compound not only captures CO2, it hangs onto it. To release the carbon dioxide, the material must be heated, and the CO2 that's released can be captured and stored (either as a gas or cooled into liquid form) in a process called carbon sequestration. 

BY JOSH CLARK

Environmental Issues Smog over Beijing, China, in May 2008.  The nation is the
 largest emitter  of carbon dioxide;  the United States is a close second.

Around the world, people are growing increasingly concerned about carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Certainly, climate change skeptics pose reasonable hypotheses that suggest changes in climate are merely a natural, global cycle -- and we humans are just going to have to ride out.

But the idea that humans are contributing to climate change is becoming more accepted.

In response, scientists are thinking of ways to reduce humans' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

One way is to create fuels that don't produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct, like fossil fuels do.

Biofuels like cellulosic ethanol made from corn or switchgrass still emit CO2 when burned for energy, but in far smaller amounts -- as much as 85 percent less.

Burning hydrogen to power a car produces no carbon dioxide; the only byproduct is water.

And electricity produced from renewable resources like wind or solar power doesn't produce any emissions at all.

The problem with these technologies is that they're still being developed.

Researchers are facing obstacles like cost and net energy ratio -- input of energy versus energy output -- that make oil more attractive than alternative fuel sources.

This is significant, because our world is powered by oil.

From the airplanes that make travel possible, to the trucks that transport food and the power plants that produce our electricity, oil dominates the global economy.

It's a pretty good question: If we're dependent on oil but concerned about carbon dioxide emissions, why don't we just capture the CO2 we emit?

Actually, researchers are looking into this right now.

Professor Chris Jones at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and his team have come up with a material called hyperbranched aminosilica (HAS) that captures and stores carbon dioxide emissions.

So, will we soon find tailpipes on cars made of HAS, and what exactly is this material anyway? Find out on the next page.

Hyperbranched Aminosilica

Georgia Tech graduate student Jeffrey Drese displays a tubular reactor
 filled with the HAS adsorbent dispersed in sand.

So, will our cars' tailpipes be made of this stuff called hyperbranched aminosilica (HAS) in the near future?

Dr. Chris Jones says he doesn't think so; storing captured carbon from all those tailpipes would be too costly.

Instead, Jones and his team at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) are focused on an even bigger source of carbon dioxide emissions -- power plants.

You may think of electricity as clean energy. But have you ever considered where electricity comes from?

Since it's an energy carrier, electricity gets its energy from another source.

In the United States the majority of that energy -- 50 percent -- comes from coal.

Electrical power plants worldwide use enough fossil fuels for energy production to account for 26 percent of global CO2 emissions; transportation (including planes, trains and automobiles) account for 13 percent worldwide.

Jones has his sights set on cleaning up smokestacks. HAS can help by adsorbing CO2.

The Georgia Tech researchers used covalent bonding (combining two molecules by joining their electrons) to bind amines -- nitrogen-based organic compounds -- with silica (quartz).

The result is aminosilica, a powdery substance that looks like white sand.

Within the substance, a number of branches that resemble trees are born from the bonding, hence the name: hyperbranched.

At the branches' tips are amino sites that capture CO2.

When HAS was combined with sand, the chemists found that the resulting compound was capable of trapping carbon dioxide when flue gasses -- emissions found in smokestacks -- passed through it.

The HAS compound not only captures CO2, it hangs onto it.

To release the carbon dioxide, the material must be heated, and the CO2 that's released can be captured and stored (either as a gas or cooled into liquid form) in a process called carbon sequestration.

This is actually more exciting than it sounds. Not only will it reduce CO2 emissions, it makes it possible to reuse the captured CO2 to feed biofuel stock.

One company grows algae in Louisiana for use as a biofuel. The algae are fed with captured CO2.

Hyperbranched aminosilica has some advantages over other methods of carbon sequestration.

For one, it's recyclable. HAS can be used over and over again; the Georgia Tech researchers tested one batch 12 times and found that there was no noticeable decrease in adsorption.

And the material also isn't affected by moisture, which is a plus since water vapor is present in flue gases.

It's also low on required energy input; the only energy needed comes from the generation of the heat that releases the CO2.

But there are some challenges that face the project. For one, the CO2/amine reaction that binds the carbon dioxide to the branches generates heat.

The researchers found that the aminosilica captures CO2 best at cool temperatures, so they must figure out how to get rid of the heat that's produced quickly, so the CO2 binds.

Another problem is exactly how to apply the compound. Can it be packed into smoke stacks?

Can the material be produced into removable discs that cover smoke stack openings?

Although HAS may never be found in tailpipes, if the Georgia Tech researchers can lower carbon dioxide emissions from energy production alone, they will have offered one new way to solve our greenhouse gas troubles.

Josh Clark wanted to be a professional writer since his third-grade teacher told him a short story he wrote was kind of good. He's written ever since. He's a former senior writer for HowStuffWorks and current co-host of the Stuff You Should Know podcast. Josh lives with his wife, Umi. The pair really, really enjoys traveling, solving mysteries, having pizza parties and visiting museums (both renowned and obscure). Josh has been to the real-life house that served as the Robin's Nest on "Magnum, P.I." and is on an indefinite hiatus from being a jerk.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/tailpipe-capture-co2.htm

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GREENHOUSE EFFECT - What Is the Greenhouse Effect? - The greenhouse effect is what keeps our planet warm enough to support life. Earth is said to be in a perfect "Goldilocks zone" away from the sun (not too cold, and not too hot), which enables life to thrive on the planet's surface. But Earth's balmy temperatures would not be possible without the greenhouse effect, which traps solar energy on Earth's surface and keeps the planet warm. The greenhouse effect arises from Earth's atmosphere. Visible light from the sun, as well as invisible ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, can penetrate the gaseous layer that blankets our world. Roughly 70% of these energetic rays are absorbed by Earth's oceans, land and atmosphere, while the remaining 30% are immediately reflected back into space. As the planet's surface heats up, it releases some of the infrared energy that it had absorbed, but that energy doesn't make it back out of Earth's gaseous atmosphere. Instead of shooting back out into space, the infrared energy closely hugs our planet and, therefore, raises Earth's overall temperature. This is similar to how a human-built glass greenhouse works, trapping heat from the sun to keep plants warm in the winter. Without an atmosphere, our world would be as cold as the lifeless moon, which has an average temperature of minus 153 degrees Celsius on its far side. Because of the greenhouse effect, Earth maintains an overall average temperature of around 15 C.

 

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Greenhouse Effect

What Is the Greenhouse Effect?

By Adam Mann

 

The greenhouse effect is what keeps our planet warm enough to support life.

Earth is said to be in a perfect "Goldilocks zone" away from the sun (not too cold, and not too hot), which enables life to thrive on the planet's surface.

But Earth's balmy temperatures would not be possible without the greenhouse effect, which traps solar energy on Earth's surface and keeps the planet warm.

The greenhouse effect arises from Earth's atmosphere.

Visible light from the sun, as well as invisible ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, can penetrate the gaseous layer that blankets our world.

Roughly 70% of these energetic rays are absorbed by Earth's oceans, land and atmosphere, while the remaining 30% are immediately reflected back into space, according to NASA Earth Observatory.

Diagram depicting how the greenhouse effect works on Earth.

As the planet's surface heats up, it releases some of the infrared energy that it had absorbed, but that energy doesn't make it back out of Earth's gaseous atmosphere.

Instead of shooting back out into space, the infrared energy closely hugs our planet and, therefore, raises Earth's overall temperature.

This is similar to how a human-built glass greenhouse works, trapping heat from the sun to keep plants warm in the winter.

Without an atmosphere, our world would be as cold as the lifeless moon, which has an average temperature of minus 243 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 153 degrees Celsius) on its far side.

Because of the greenhouse effect, Earth maintains an overall average temperature of around 59 F (15 C).

Greenhouse gases and climate change

Greenhouse gases include several naturally occurring molecules — like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone — as well as several manufactured ones, like chlorofluorocarbons, according to the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy.

Over the past century or so, human activities — such as the burning of fossil fuels, intensive agriculture, livestock raising and land clearing — have dramatically increased the concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, to the point where it's changing our planet's climate.

Factory smoke stacks releasing clouds of greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases produced by human activity are the most significant driver of climate change. 

Since the middle of the 20th century, greenhouse gases produced by humans have become the most significant driver of climate change, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased by more than 40% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, from roughly 280 parts per million (ppm) to more than 400 ppm today. 

Fossils show that forests grew in the Canadian Arctic during the Pliocene, and savannas and woodlands spread over what's now the Sahara desert.

While some people still doubt the reality of human-induced climate change, the evidence for it is overwhelming.

Since the 1850s, the average global surface-air temperature has risen by around 1.4 F (0.8 C), and ocean temperatures are now at the highest levels ever recorded.

Increases in greenhouse gases in the coming decades are expected to harm human health, increase droughts, contribute to sea level rise, and decrease national security and economic well-being throughout the world. 

The greenhouse effect on other planets

Because the greenhouse effect is a natural process, it affects other bodies in the solar system, too.

And, in some cases, that provides a warning about how things can go awry.

A perfect example of this is Venus, which is roughly the same size as Earth and not that much closer to the sun. 

Billions of years ago, when the sun was cooler and dimmer, Venus may have had a temperate climate that could have allowed for liquid water oceans on its surface.

Simulations suggest that the planet's average temperatures ranged from a low of 68 F (20 C) to a high of 122 F (50 C) for about 3 billion years, potentially even allowing Venus to support life.

But as the sun aged and grew brighter, excess water vapor would have entered Venus' atmosphere.

This potent greenhouse gas trapped heat and raised the planet's surface temperature, leading to a vicious feedback cycle in which hotter temperatures led to more water vapor in the atmosphere, further heating the world — a process known as the runaway greenhouse effect.

When Venus' oceans vaporized, its planetary plate tectonics would have ground to a halt, as there was no water left to help lubricate the shifting of geological plates.

The increasingly thick atmosphere might have created a drag on Venus' rotation period, leading to its bizarrely slow spin, in which a year goes by with only two days passing.

The dense cloud cover also led to hellish surface temperatures on present-day Venus, with an average of 700 F (370 C) — hot enough to melt lead.

"I think Venus is an important warning: Greenhouse atmospheres are not theoretical," Ellen Stofan, director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and former chief scientist at NASA, previously told Space.com.

On Mars, greenhouse gases such as water and carbon dioxide might have been released during ancient impact events.

Some scientists speculate that such wallops could have raised Mars' overall temperature enough for the planet to have liquid water on its surface for significant lengths of time.

However, because Mars is smaller than Earth, it's gravitational pull is weaker. Therefore, these gases drifted away, and eventually, the Red Planet reverted back to the cold and dry world it is today.

Saturn's distant moon Titan, which has a thick nitrogen atmosphere with about a thousand times greater concentration of methane as Earth, is also subject to the greenhouse effect.

With data from the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, which landed on Titan in 2005, researchers are getting a better understanding of how methane absorbs short-wavelength infrared radiation and are using that information to develop climate change models of our planet.

The greenhouse effect is also expected to warm the worlds of other star systems.

Many astronomers speak of a narrow habitable zone around a star — the area where a planet would be at the perfect distance to maintain liquid water on its surface, between 0.95 and 1.4 times the Earth-sun distance.

However, others have argued that such models need to be broadened.

A thick atmosphere of molecular hydrogen, which is a potent greenhouse gas, could potentially give a world clement temperatures even if it were 15 times farther from the sun than Earth is.

Adam Mann is a journalist specializing in astronomy and physics stories. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Nature, Science, New Scientist, and many other places. He lives in Oakland, California, where he enjoys riding his bike. Follow him on Twitter @adamspacemann.

https://www.space.com/greenhouse-effect.html

THE YELLOWSTONE SUPERVOLCANO - There's a powerful and violent menace lurking under northwestern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. It's called the Yellowstone Supervolcano and the resulting geysers, bubbling mudpots, hot springs, and evidence of long-gone volcanoes make Yellowstone National Park a fascinating geologic wonderland. The official name for this region is the "Yellowstone Caldera", and it spans an area about 72 by 55 kilometers in the Rocky Mountains. The caldera has been periodically sending lava and clouds of gas and dust into the atmosphere, and reshaping the landscape for hundreds of kilometers. Yellowstone Caldera is among the world's largest such calderas. The caldera, its supervolcano, and the underlying magma chamber help geologists understand volcanism and is a prime place to study first-hand the effects of hot-spot geology on the Earth's surface. The Yellowstone Caldera is really the "vent" for a large plume of hot material that extends hundreds of kilometers down through Earth's crust. The plume has remained relatively stable while the North American continent has passed over it. Geologists track a series of calderas created by the plume. These calderas run from the east to northeast and follow the motion of the plate moves to the southwest. Yellowstone Park lies right in the middle of the modern caldera.

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Exploring the Yellowstone Supervolcano

By Carolyn Collins Petersen

There's a powerful and violent menace lurking under northwestern Wyoming and southeastern Montana, one that has reshaped the landscape several times over the last several million years.

It's called the Yellowstone Supervolcano and the resulting geysers, bubbling mudpots, hot springs, and evidence of long-gone volcanoes make Yellowstone National Park a fascinating geologic wonderland.

The official name for this region is the "Yellowstone Caldera", and it spans an area about 72 by 55 kilometers (35 to 44 miles) in the Rocky Mountains.

The caldera has been geologically active for 2.1 million years, periodically sending lava and clouds of gas and dust into the atmosphere, and reshaping the landscape for hundreds of kilometers. 

Yellowstone Caldera is among the world's largest such calderas.

The caldera, its supervolcano, and the underlying magma chamber help geologists understand volcanism and is a prime place to study first-hand the effects of hot-spot geology on the Earth's surface.

The History and Migration of the Yellowstone Caldera

The Yellowstone Caldera is really the "vent" for a large plume of hot material that extends hundreds of kilometers down through Earth's crust.

The plume has persisted for at least 18 million years and is a region where molten rock from Earth's mantle rises to the surface.

The plume has remained relatively stable while the North American continent has passed over it. Geologists track a series of calderas created by the plume.

These calderas run from the east to northeast and follow the motion of the plate moves to the southwest. Yellowstone Park lies right in the middle of the modern caldera.

The caldera experienced "super-eruptions" 2.1 and 1.3 million years ago, and then again about 630,000 years ago.

Super-eruptions are massive ones, spreading clouds of ash and rock over thousands of square kilometers of the landscape.

Compared to those, smaller eruptions and the hot-spot activity Yellowstone exhibits today are relatively minor.

The Yellowstone Caldera Magma Chamber

The plume that feeds the Yellowstone Caldera moves through a magma chamber some 80 kilometers (47 miles) long and 20 km (12 miles) wide.

It is filled with molten rock that, for the moment, lies fairly quietly below Earth's surface, although from time to time, the movement of the lava inside the chamber triggers earthquakes.

Heat from the plume creates the geysers (which shoot superheated water into the air from underground), hot springs, and mudpots scattered throughout the region.

Heat and pressure from the magma chamber is slowly increasing the height of the Yellowstone Plateau, which has been rising more rapidly in recent times.

So far, however, there is no indication that a volcanic eruption is about to occur.

Of more concern to scientists studying the region is the danger of hydrothermal explosions in between major super-eruptions.

These are outbursts caused when underground systems of superheated water are disturbed by earthquakes. Even earthquakes at a great distance can affect the magma chamber. 

Will Yellowstone Erupt Again?

Sensational stories crop up every few years suggesting that Yellowstone is about to blow again.

Based on detailed observations of the earthquakes that occur locally, geologists are sure that it will erupt again, but probably not anytime soon.

But make no mistake about it, a Yellowstone super-eruption will happen again, and when it does, it will be a catastrophic mess.

What Happens During a Super-Eruption?

Within the park itself, lava flows from one or more volcanic sites would likely cover much of the landscape, but the bigger worry is ash clouds blowing away from the site of the eruption.

Wind would blow the ash as far as 800 kilometers (497 miles), eventually blanketing the mid-section of the U.S. with layers of ash and devastating the nation's central breadbasket region.

Other states would see a dusting of ash, depending on their proximity to the eruption.

While it's not likely that all life on earth would be destroyed, it would definitely be affected by the clouds of ash and the massive release of greenhouse gases. 
.
On a planet where the climate is already altering rapidly, a additional discharge would likely change growing patterns, shorten growing seasons, and lead to fewer sources of food for all of Earth's life.

The U.S. Geological Survey maintains a close watch on the Yellowstone Caldera.

Earthquakes, small hydrothermal events, even a slight change in the eruptions of Old Faithful (Yellowstone's famous geyser), provide clues to changes deep underground.

If magma starts to move in ways that indicate an eruption, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory will be the first to alert surrounding populations. 

Carolyn Collins Petersen

Astronomy Expert

Education

M.S., Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Colorado - Boulder

B.S., Education, University of Colorado

Introduction

Author/co-author of seven books on astronomy and planetary science, including Astronomy 101 and Space Exploration: Past, Present, Future

CEO of Loch Ness Productions, a production company specializing in educational materials for planetariums and science centers

Member of the American Astronomical Society and International Planetarium Society

Experience

Carolyn Collins Petersen is a science writer, producer, and former research astronomer. She is the CEO of Loch Ness Productions, a production company specializing educational documentary shows for planetariums and science centers. She has published 7 books on astronomy and planetary science, including Astronomy 101, Space Exploration: Past, Present, Future, and Hubble Vision. 

In addition to her own books and articles on astronomy, Carolyn has written exhibition texts for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Previously, Carolyn worked on a Hubble Space Telescope instrument team and served as an editor for Sky Publishing, which publishes Sky & Telescope and Skywatch. Carolyn has written more than 40 documentaries and several webcasts on space science, and she regularly gives public presentations and lectures on topics in astronomy.

Education

Carolyn earned a master's degree from the University of Colorado – Boulder, where she studied astronomy, astrophysics, and science communication. She also received her B.S. from the University of Colorado.

Publications

Space Exploration: Past, Present, Future, 2017, Amberley Books

Astronomy 101: From the Sun and Moon to Wormholes and Warp Drive, Key Theories, Discoveries, and Facts about the Universe, 2013, Adams Media

Visions of the Cosmos (with J.C. Brandt), 2005, Cambridge University Press

Hubble Vision (with J.C. Brandt), 2003, Cambridge University Press (two editions)

The New Solar System (editor, with K. Beatty and A.C. Chaikin), 1999, Cambridge University Press and Sky Publishing

Jupiter! 1989, Facts on File.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/yellowstone-supervolcano-4160977

CARBON DIOXIDE TOXICITY - Ordinarily, carbon dioxide is not poisonous. It diffuses from your cells into your bloodstream and from there out via your lungs, yet it is always present throughout your body. Carbon dioxide serves important physiological functions. As its level rises in the bloodstream, it stimulates the impulse to breathe. Carbon dioxide is essential for hemoglobin function. Carbon dioxide and oxygen bind at different sites on the hemoglobin molecule, but the binding of CO2 changes hemoglobin conformation. However, if you breathe high concentrations of carbon dioxide or re-breathe air (such as from a plastic bag or tent), you may be at risk for carbon dioxide intoxication or even carbon dioxide poisoning. Carbon dioxide intoxication and carbon dioxide poisoning are independent of oxygen concentration, so you may have enough oxygen present to support life, yet still suffer from the effects of rising carbon dioxide concentration in your blood and tissues.

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Carbon Dioxide

Is Carbon Dioxide Poisonous?

What You Need to Know About Carbon Dioxide Toxicity

by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.  

  

You probably know carbon dioxide is a gas that is present in the air you breathe. Plants "breathe" it in order to make glucose.

You exhale carbon dioxide gas as a by-product of respiration.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the greenhouse gases.

You find it added to soda, naturally occurring in beer, and in its solid form as dry ice.

Based on what you know, do you think carbon dioxide is poisonous or is it non-toxic or somewhere in between?

You Need Carbon Dioxide to Live

Ordinarily, carbon dioxide is not poisonous. It diffuses from your cells into your bloodstream and from there out via your lungs, yet it is always present throughout your body.

Carbon dioxide serves important physiological functions. As its level rises in the bloodstream, it stimulates the impulse to breathe.

If the rate of breathing isn't sufficient to maintain the optimal level of CO₂, the respiratory center responds by increasing the rate of breathing. 

Low oxygen levels, in contrast, do not stimulate increased rate or depth of breathing.

Carbon dioxide is essential for hemoglobin function.

Carbon dioxide and oxygen bind at different sites on the hemoglobin molecule, but the binding of CO2 changes hemoglobin conformation.

The Haldane Effect occurs when binding of carbon dioxide decreases the amount of oxygen bound for a particular partial pressure of the gas.

The Bohr Effect occurs when rising CO₂ partial pressure or decreased pH causes hemoglobin to offload oxygen to tissues.

While carbon dioxide is a gas in the lungs, it exists in other forms in the blood.

The enzyme carbonic anhydrase converts about 70% to 80% of carbon dioxide into bicarbonate ions, HCO₃^-.

Between 5% and 10% of carbon dioxide is a dissolved gas in plasma. Another 5% to 10% is bound to hemoglobin as carbamino compounds in red blood cells.

The exact about of carbon dioxide varies according to whether blood is arterial (oxygenated) or venous (deoxygenated).

Too Much Carbon Dioxide Is Toxic

However, if you breathe high concentrations of carbon dioxide or re-breathe air (such as from a plastic bag or tent), you may be at risk for carbon dioxide intoxication or even carbon dioxide poisoning.

Carbon dioxide intoxication and carbon dioxide poisoning are independent of oxygen concentration, so you may have enough oxygen present to support life, yet still suffer from the effects of rising carbon dioxide concentration in your blood and tissues.

The condition of excess carbon dioxide concentration in the blood is called hypercapnia or hypercarbia.

Symptoms of carbon dioxide toxicity include high blood pressure, flushed skin, headache and twitching muscles.

At higher levels, you could experience panic, irregular heartbeat, hallucinations, vomited and potentially unconsciousness or even death.

There are several potential causes of hypercapnia.

It may result from hypoventilation, diminished consciousness, lung disease, rebreathing air, or exposure to an environment high in CO₂ (e.g., near a volcano or geothermal vent or under in some workplaces).

It can also occur when supplemental oxygen is administered to a person with sleep apnea.

Diagnosis of hypercapnia is made by measuring blood carbon dioxide gas pressure or pH.

A blood gas concentration over 45 mmHg carbon dioxide combined with low serum pH indicates hypercarbia.

Fun Facts

·      The average adult human produces about 1 kg (2.3 lbs) of carbon dioxide per day. In other words, a person releases about 290 g (0.63 lbs) of carbon each day.

·     Breathing too quickly depletes carbon dioxide levels, causing hyperventilation. Hyperventilation, in turn, can lead to respiratory alkalosis. In contrast, breathing too shallowly or slowly eventually causes hypoventilation and respiratory acidosis.

·     You can hold your breath longer after hyperventilating than before it. Hyperventilation lowers the carbon dioxide concentration of arterial blood without having a significant impact on blood oxygen levels. The respiratory drive diminishes, so the urge to breathe is reduced. This carries a risk, however, since it's possible to lose consciousness before feeling an overwhelming urge to breathe.

Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville - Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Science educator with experience teaching chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels.

ThoughtCo and About Education chemistry expert since 2001.

Widely-published graphic artist, responsible for printable periodic tables and other illustrations used in science.

Experience

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. has covered chemistry for ThoughtCo and About Education since 2001, and other sciences since 2013. She taught chemistry, biology, astronomy, and physics at the high school, college, and graduate levels. She has worked as a research scientist and also abstracting and indexing diverse scientific literature for the Department of Energy.

In addition to her work as a science writer, Dr. Helmenstine currently serves as a scientific consultant, specializing in problems requiring an interdisciplinary approach. Previously, she worked as a research scientist and college professor. 

Education

Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a B.A. in physics and mathematics with a minor in chemistry from Hastings College. In her doctoral work, Dr. Helmenstine developed ultra-sensitive chemical detection and medical diagnostic tests.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/carbon-dioxide-poisonous-607545

 Each carbon dioxide molecule consists of one carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms. While your body excretes carbon dioxide, too high of a concentration of the compound is toxic.