Question

Coal has an energy content of approximately 2.4 x 107 J/kg, and about 4% sulfur content by mass. If coal-fired power plants in the United States produce around 2.6 x 1011 watts of electricity, how many kilograms of sulfur will be emitted from coal plants in two weeks? Note that 1 J = 1 W·sec.

Answer 1

`5.2416* 10^8 kg`kilograms of sulfur will be emitted from coal plants in two weeks

Step-by-step explanation:

Power produced by power plants in the United States :P

P=
`2.6* 10^(11) Watts`

1 Joule = Watts × Seconds

Watts = Joule/Second

P=
`2.6* 10^(11) J/s`

This means that
`2.6* 10^(11)` Joules of enrgy is produced in one second.

So, energy produced in 2 week:

1 week = 7 days

1 day = 24 hours

1 hour = 3600 seconds

2 week = 2 × 7 × 24 × 3600 s=1,209,600 s

Energy produced in 1,209,600 s: E

`E=2.6* 10^(11) J/s* 1,209,600 s`

Coal has an energy content =
`2.4* 10^7 J/Kg`

Mass of coal used while producing E amount of energy: m

`m* 2.4* 10^7 J/Kg=E`

`m=(E)/(2.4* 10^7 J/Kg)`

`m=(2.6* 10^(11) J/s* 1,209,600 s)/(2.4* 10^7 J/Kg)`

`m = 1.3104* 10^(10) kg`

Percentage of sulfur in coal = 4% by mass

Mass of sulfur produced from
`1.3104* 10^(10) kg` in 2 weeks:

`(4)/(100)* 1.3104* 10^(10) kg=5.2416* 10^8 kg`