Question

Calculate the amount of sulfur dioxide produced annually by a power plant that burns 7.5 million metric tons (t) of coal over a year. Assume that the coal is 2.4% sulfur by mass. 1 metric ton (t) = 1000 kg.

Answer 1

The coal-burning power plant with 2.4% sulfur by mass would produce 360,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide annually.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question requires us to calculate the amount of sulfur dioxide produced annually by a power plant burning 7.5 million metric tons of coal, given that the coal is 2.4% sulfur by mass. We start by determining the mass of sulfur in the coal:

• Total mass of coal = 7.5 million metric tons = 7,500,000 metric tons
• Mass of sulfur in coal = 2.4% of total coal mass = 0.024 × 7,500,000 metric tons = 180,000 metric tons

Since sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is formed by the combination of sulfur (S) with oxygen (O₂), the corresponding molecular weights must be considered to find the mass of SO₂ produced:

• Molecular weight of sulfur (S) = 32 g/mol
• Molecular weight of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) = 64 g/mol

For every 32 grams of sulfur, 64 grams of sulfur dioxide are produced. This is a 1:2 ratio by mass:

• SO₂ produced from sulfur = 2 × mass of sulfur
• SO₂ produced from 180,000 metric tons of sulfur = 2 × 180,000 metric tons = 360,000 metric tons of SO₂

Therefore, the power plant would produce 360,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide annually.