The source of oxygen that drives the internal combustion engine in an automobile is air. Air is a mixture of gases, principally N2 (~79%) and O2 (~20%). In the cylinder of an automobile engine, nitrogen can react with oxygen to produce nitric oxide gas, NO. As NO is emitted from the tailpipe of the car, it can react with more oxygen to produce nitrogen dioxide gas.
(a) Write balanced chemical equations for both reactions.
(b) Both nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide are pollutants that can lead to acid rain and global warming; collectively, they are called "NOx" gases. In 2007, the United States emitted an estimated 22 million tons of nitrogen dioxide into the atmosphere. How many grams of nitrogen dioxide is this?
(c) The production of NOx gases is an unwanted side reaction of the main engine combustion process that turns octane, C8H18, into CO2 and water. If 85% of the oxygen in an engine is used to combust octane and the remainder used to produce nitrogen dioxide, calculate how many grams of nitrogen dioxide would be produced during the combustion of 500 grams of octane.