Question

A certain amount of charcoal (12C) was burnt to produce CO2. Unfortunately, 10% of the carbon was converted to CO which was unexpected. Find the average molecular weight of the exit gas stream if the required amount of air was supplied. 2.5

Answer 1

Average molecular weight = (Percentage of CO2 × Molecular weight of CO2) + (Percentage of CO × Molecular weight of CO)

Since 90% of the carbon forms CO2 and 10% forms CO:

Average molecular weight = (0.90 × 44 g/mol) + (0.10 × 28 g/mol)
= 39.6 g/mol + 2.8 g/mol
= 42.4 g/mol

So, 42.4g/mol