Most of the sulfur used in the United States is chemically synthesized from hydr

Question

Most of the sulfur used in the United States is chemically synthesized from hydrogen sulfide gas recovered from natural gas wells. In the first step of this synthesis, called the Claus process, hydrogen sulfide gas is reacted with dioxygen gas to produce gaseous sulfur dioxide and water. Suppose a chemical engineer studying a new catalyst for the Claus reaction finds that 834. liters per second of dioxygen are consumed when the reaction is run at 199. degree C and 0.15 atm. Calculate the rate at which sulfur dioxide is being produced. Give your answer in kilograms per second. Round your answer to 2 significant digits.

Explanation / Answer

The balanced reaction is

2H2S + 3O2 --> 2SO2 + 2H2O

from the information gives moles of dioxygen need to be calculated from PV= nRT

Where V= volume in L/s , 834 L/s P= Pressure in atm 0.15atm , n= number of moles, R= 0.08206 L.atm/mole.K T= Temperature in K=199+273.15 K=472.15

n= PV/RT= 0.15*834/(0.08206*472.15)=3.23 moles of Dioxygen /s

from the stoichiometry, 3 mole of dioxygen produces 2 mole of SO2

3.23 moles/S of dioxygen produces 3.23*2/3= 2.153 moles/S

molecular weight of SO2= 32+32= 64

Mass of SO2 produces = 2.153*64=137.79 Kg/s

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