Nitric acid is a key industrial chemical, largely used to make fertilizers and e

Question

Nitric acid is a key industrial chemical, largely used to make fertilizers and explosives. The first step in its synthesis is the oxidatioon of ammonia. In this reaction, gaseous ammonia reacts with dioxygen gas to produce nitrogen monoxide gas and water. Suppose a chemical engineer studying a new catalyst for the oxidation of ammonia reaction finds that 505. liters per second of dioxygen are consumed when the reaction is run at 201. degreeC and 0.30 atm. Calculate the rate at which nitrogen monoxide is being produced. Give your answer in kilograms per second. Round your answer to 2 significant digits.

Explanation / Answer

The balanced equation is:

4NH3 + 5O2 = 4NO + 6H2O

(1/4) d[NO]/dt = (1/5) d[O2]/dt

d[NO]/dt = (4/5) d[O2]/dt

505 litre of O2 = n moles of O2 = PV/RT = 0.3 atm * 505 L / 0.082 L.atm.mol­-1.K­-1 * 474 K

= 3.8978 moles of O2

= 3.8978 * 0.032 kg of O2

= 0.125 kg

d[NO]/dt

= (4/5) d[O2]/dt

= (4/5) [0.125 kg/1 s ]

= 0.09978 kg.s-1

= 0.10 kg.s-1

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