Question

In the Haber’s process, 30 L of hydrogen and 30 L of nitrogen were taken for the reaction, which yielded only 50% of the expected product. What will be the composition of the gaseous mixture under the aforementioned condition after reaction is completed?

A. 20 litres ammonia, 20 litres nitrogen, 20 litres hydrogen
B. 10 litres ammonia, 25 litres nitrogen, 15 litres hydrogen
C. 20 litres ammonia, 10 litres nitrogen, 30 litres hydrogen
D. 20 litres ammonia, 25 litres nitrogen, 15 litres hydrogen

Answer 1

In the Haber process with 30 L each of hydrogen and nitrogen and a 50% yield, the gaseous mixture after reaction comprises 10 L ammonia, 25 L nitrogen, and 15 L hydrogen (Option B).

Step-by-step explanation:

In the Haber process, nitrogen (N₂) reacts with hydrogen (H₂) to produce ammonia (NH₃) following the balanced chemical equation: N₂(g) + 3 H₂(g) → 2 NH₃(g).

If 30 L of hydrogen and 30 L of nitrogen react and yield only 50% of the expected product, we can determine the composition of the gaseous mixture after the reaction is completed.

Since the reaction requires 3 volumes of H₂ for every 1 volume of N₂ to produce 2 volumes of NH₃, starting with equal volumes of hydrogen and nitrogen means hydrogen is the limiting reactant. If all 30 L of hydrogen were to react completely, it would produce 20 L of NH₃ (as per the stoichiometry of 3 H₂ → 2 NH₃).

However, since the yield is only 50%, we would actually get 10 L of NH₃.

For every 3 L of hydrogen consumed, 1 L of nitrogen is consumed. Therefore, reacting 30 L of H₂ would normally require 10 L of N₂, but since there's only a 50% yield, only 5 L of nitrogen would have been used, leaving 25 L unreacted.

So we have consumed 15 L of H₂ to produce 10 L of NH₃, leaving 15 L H₂ unreacted. In summary, the gaseous mixture would contain 10 L NH₃, 25 L N₂, and 15 L H₂, which corresponds to option B.