A reaction creates methanol (CH3OH) from carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen gas (H2). There are 3 moles of CO and 8 moles H2. Which is the limiting reactant?
CO + H2 --> CH3OH
Hint: Solve for the # moles of one of the product with each of the the reactants. Whichever reactant produces less product, is the limiting reactant.
A. H2
B. CO
To determine the limiting reactant, we need to compare the number of moles of methanol produced by each reactant.
From the balanced chemical equation, we can see that 1 mole of CO reacts with 2 moles of H2 to produce 1 mole of CH3OH.
Using the given information, we have 3 moles of CO and 8 moles of H2.
For CO:
Number of moles of CH3OH produced = 3 moles of CO * (1 mole of CH3OH / 1 mole of CO) = 3 moles of CH3OH
For H2:
Number of moles of CH3OH produced = 8 moles of H2 * (1 mole of CH3OH / 2 moles of H2) = 4 moles of CH3OH
Comparing the number of moles of CH3OH produced, we can see that CO produces 3 moles of CH3OH while H2 produces 4 moles of CH3OH. Therefore, the limiting reactant is CO.
Therefore, the limiting reactant is CO.