What Are Carbon Monoxide Emissions?
Carbon monoxide emissions are produced from many different combustion processes and are especially common in automobile exhaust. Carbon monoxide is a scentless, invisible gas that is quite poisonous. It is also known to be a major environmental pollutant. A carbon monoxide molecule is made up of a single carbon atom joined to a single oxygen atom, as opposed to the more common carbon dioxide, which is also produced in combustion reactions and is made up of one carbon atom joined to two oxygen atoms. Carbon monoxide is produced in preference to carbon dioxide in many partial combustion reactions when there is a limited supply of oxygen. Carbon monoxide emissions originate from a wide variety of residential, industrial, and transportation-related sources. Transportation is, by far, the number one source of carbon monoxide emissions. The incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons in internal combustion engines in automobiles is responsible for a significant amount of the carbon monoxide emitte
