Hydrogen Cyanide (boiling temperature 26 degrees Celsius) is an important chemical for the production of nylon and various transparent plastics. It is produced on an industrial scale by the oxidation of methane in the presence of ammonia. The equation below is an unbalanced form of the chemical equation for the reaction to produce hydrogen cyanide.
I need to write a balanced equation for this reaction using the lowest possible whole number coefficients, and I have to include the state of each compound. I may assume that the reaction occurs at a temperature above 100 degrees Celsius.
CH4 + NH3 + O2 (arrow) HCN + H20
can any one help mee...??
To write a balanced equation for the reaction producing hydrogen cyanide (HCN), you need to ensure that the number of atoms of each element is the same on both sides of the chemical equation. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to balance the equation:
1. Start by balancing the elements that appear in the fewest compounds. In this case, we can begin by balancing the carbon (C) atoms.
CH4 + NH3 + O2 → HCN + H2O
2. To balance the carbon atoms, place a coefficient of 1 in front of the CH4 on the left side:
1CH4 + NH3 + O2 → HCN + H2O
3. Next, balance the hydrogen (H) atoms. There are 4 hydrogen atoms on the left side and 2 on the right side, so place a coefficient of 2 in front of H2O:
1CH4 + NH3 + O2 → HCN + 2H2O
4. Now, balance the nitrogen (N) atoms. There is 1 nitrogen atom on the left side and 1 on the right side, so they are already balanced.
1CH4 + NH3 + O2 → HCN + 2H2O
5. Finally, balance the oxygen (O) atoms. There are 2 oxygen atoms on the right side (from 2H2O), so you need to place a coefficient of 5/2 (or 2.5) in front of O2:
1CH4 + NH3 + 2.5O2 → HCN + 2H2O
However, the coefficients in a balanced equation must be whole numbers. To convert 2.5 to a whole number, multiply each coefficient by 2:
2CH4 + 2NH3 + 5O2 → 2HCN + 4H2O
Now, the equation is balanced.
As for the state of each compound, you stated that the reaction occurs at a temperature above 100 degrees Celsius. At temperatures above the boiling point of hydrogen cyanide (26 degrees Celsius), all the compounds are likely to exist in the gas phase. Therefore, you can denote all of them as (g) for gas:
2CH4 (g) + 2NH3 (g) + 5O2 (g) → 2HCN (g) + 4H2O (g)