Question

Citric acid (CHO), a component of fruit drinks, jams, and jellies, is produced using the

following reaction:
C12H22O11 + H₂O + 30₂ → 2C6H₂O₂ + 4H₂O
If a fruit drink manufacturer decides she needs 2.8 x 105 moles of citric acid, what is the
minimum amount of reactants she will need?

Answer 1

To determine the minimum amount of reactants required to produce 2.8 x 10^5 moles of citric acid (C6H8O7), we need to balance the given reaction and use stoichiometry.

The balanced equation is:
C12H22O11 + 12H2O + 11O2 → 24C6H8O7 + 36H2O

From the balanced equation, we can see that 1 mole of C12H22O11 produces 24 moles of C6H8O7. Therefore, we can set up a stoichiometric ratio:

1 mole C12H22O11 : 24 moles C6H8O7

To find the amount of C12H22O11 needed, we can set up the following proportion:

(2.8 x 10^5 moles C6H8O7) / (24 moles C6H8O7) = (x moles C12H22O11) / (1 mole C12H22O11)

Cross-multiplying the equation:

(2.8 x 10^5 moles C6H8O7) × (1 mole C12H22O11) = (24 moles C6H8O7) × (x moles C12H22O11)

x = (2.8 x 10^5 moles C6H8O7) × (1 mole C12H22O11) / (24 moles C6H8O7)

x ≈ 1.167 x 10^4 moles C12H22O11

Therefore, the fruit drink manufacturer will need a minimum of approximately 1.167 x 10^4 moles of C12H22O11 to produce 2.8 x 10^5 moles of citric acid.