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

406.

liters per second of dioxygen are consumed when the reaction is run at

258.°C

and

0.64atm

. Calculate the rate at which sulfur dioxide is being produced. Give your answer in kilograms per second. Be sure your answer has the correct number of significant digits.

Answer 1

2H2S (g) + 3O2(g) = 2SO2(g) + 2H2O(l) ( balance equation )

Temperature = 258°C = 531.15 K

Moles = PV/RT

= 0.64 * 406 / 0.082*531.15

= 5.966 moles ( this is per second consumption of volume)

Rate = 5.966 moles / sec

Rate of O2 * 1/3 = rate of SO2 * 1/2

5.966 *1/3 * 2 = rate of SO2

Rate of SO2 = 3.98 moles / sec

Mass of SO2 = mole * molar mass

= 3.98 * 64

= 254.54 grams / sec

Or 0.255 kg/sec or 0.26 Kg/sec

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