Why is a solution of potassium hydroxide used to absorb carbon dioxide evolved during the estimation of carbon present in an organic compound?

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CO2 is acidic in nature, therefore, it reacts with the strong base KOH to form K2CO3.

2KOH + CO2                  K2CO3 + H2O

The increase in the mass of U-tube containing KOH then gives the mass of CO2 produced and from its mass, the percentage of carbon in the organic compound and can be estimated by using the equation:

% of Carbon = 12/44* Mass of CO2 formed/ Mass of substance formed*100

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