Question

The reform reaction between steam and gaseous methane, CH₄, produces "synthesis gas," a mixture of carbon monoxide gas and dihydrogen gas. Synthesis gas is one of the most widely used industrial chemicals, and is the major industrial source of hydrogen. Suppose a chemical engineer studying a new catalyst for the reform reaction finds that 226 liters per second of methane are consumed when the reaction is run at 234° C and 0.85 atm. Calculate the rate at which dihydrogen is being produced. Give your answer in kilograms per second. Round your answer to 2 significant digits.

Answer 1

The rate at which dihydrogen is being produced can be calculated by multiplying the moles of methane consumed by the stoichiometric coefficient and converting to kilograms per second. In this case, the rate is 0.0606 kg/second.

Step-by-step explanation:

The rate at which dihydrogen is being produced can be calculated using stoichiometry. According to the balanced chemical equation:

CH₄(g) + H₂O(g) → CO(g) + 3H₂(g)

We can see that for every mole of methane consumed, 3 moles of dihydrogen are produced. Therefore, we can calculate the moles of dihydrogen produced by multiplying the moles of methane consumed by the stoichiometric coefficient:

226 liters/second × (1 mol CH₄ / 22.4 liters) × (3 mol H₂ / 1 mol CH₄) = 30.3 mol H₂/second

Next, we need to convert the moles of dihydrogen to kilograms. The molar mass of dihydrogen is 2 g/mol, so:

30.3 mol H₂/second × (2 g H₂ / 1 mol H₂) × (1 kg / 1000 g) = 0.0606 kg/second

Therefore, the rate at which dihydrogen is being produced is 0.0606 kg/second.