Question

(25 points).The heat is turned on in a building in a cold morning, but the heater does not burnthe natural gas properly and emits carbon monoxide (CO) at 55mg/hr. CO is detrimental tohumans at concentrations of 5 ppm or higher. If the ventilation of the building is refreshing the air(i.e., it brings fresh air from outside that contains no CO at a flow rate of 100 m3/hr, the buildinghas a volume of 500m3, and CO is slowly oxidized in the air to carbon dioxide (CO2) with a rateconstant of kd=0.0001mg.L-1.hr-1, will the COconcentration ever pass the 5ppm limit or not?Atomic weights: C-12, O-16, air-29; 1 mole of gas occupies 22.4L at the conditions of theproblem (1atm, 250C).

Answer 1

Answer: Yes, it will be around 40ppm(at steady state)

Explanation:

The above question can be solved by performing material balance of CO in the building. The material balance equation is given by, Rate of change of CO in the building = Rate of inflow of CO into the  building  - Rate of outflow of CO from the blood