A particular coal contains 2.55% sulfur by mass. When the coal is burned, it produces SO2 emissions which combine with rainwater to produce sulfuric acid.
Determine how much sulfuric acid (in metric tons) is produced by the combustion of 1.1 metric ton of this coal. (A metric ton is 1000kg .)
1.1 metric tons coal x 0.0255 = metric tons S.
S + O2 ==> SO2
2SO2 + O2 --> 2SO3
SO3 + H2O ==> H2SO4
Using the coefficients in the balanced equation, convert metric tons S to metric tons H2SO4
To determine the amount of sulfuric acid produced by the combustion of 1.1 metric tons of coal, we need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Find the mass of sulfur in 1.1 metric tons of coal:
Using the given information, we know that the coal contains 2.55% sulfur by mass. This means that 1.1 metric tons of coal contains (2.55/100) * 1.1 metric tons of sulfur.
Mass of sulfur = (2.55/100) * 1.1 metric tons = 0.0279 metric tons
Step 2: Calculate the molar mass of sulfuric acid:
Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) contains one sulfur atom (S), two hydrogen atoms (H), and four oxygen atoms (O). To calculate the molar mass, we add up the atomic masses of these elements:
Sulfur (S) = 32.06 g/mol
Hydrogen (H) = 1.008 g/mol (2 atoms in H2SO4)
Oxygen (O) = 16.00 g/mol (4 atoms in H2SO4)
Molar Mass of H2SO4 = (32.06 + (1.008 * 2) + (16.00 * 4)) g/mol = 98.09 g/mol
Step 3: Convert the mass of sulfur to moles:
Since we know the molar mass of sulfuric acid, we can convert the mass of sulfur to moles by dividing it by the molar mass.
Moles of sulfur = Mass of sulfur / Molar Mass of sulfuric acid
Moles of sulfur = 0.0279 metric tons * (1000 kg / 1 metric ton) * (1000 g / 1 kg) / 98.09 g/mol
Step 4: Calculate the moles of sulfuric acid produced:
In the reaction, one mole of sulfur combines with two moles of oxygen to form one mole of sulfuric acid:
2 S + 2 O2 -> 2 SO2
SO2 + H2O -> H2SO4
Since each mole of sulfuric acid is produced by one mole of sulfur, the moles of sulfuric acid produced are the same as the moles of sulfur.
Moles of sulfuric acid = Moles of sulfur
Step 5: Convert moles of sulfuric acid to mass in metric tons:
We can convert the moles of sulfuric acid to mass using its molar mass, and then convert the mass to metric tons.
Mass of sulfuric acid = Moles of sulfuric acid * Molar mass of sulfuric acid
Mass of sulfuric acid = Moles of sulfur * 98.09 g/mol
Finally, we can convert the mass of sulfuric acid to metric tons:
Mass of sulfuric acid (in metric tons) = (Mass of sulfuric acid / 1000 g) / 1000 kg
Calculate the values from the previous steps to find the final answer.