Question

Terephthalic acid, an important raw material for making Dacron, a synthetic fiber, is made from para-xylene by the following reaction: C8H10+3O2 = C8H6O4+2H2O. a) How much terephthalic acid could be made from 204 grams of para-xylene in miles? b) How much could be made in grams?

Answer 1

The chemical reaction is given as:

C8H10+3O2 = C8H6O4+2H2O

We are given the initial amount of para-xylene for the reaction. We use this amount and the relation of substances from the reaction to obtain the amount of the acid produced.

204 g ( 1 mol / 106.18 g ) ( 1 mol C8H6O4 / 1 mol C8H10 ) ( 166.14 g / mol ) = 319.20 g terephthalic acid