How many cubic feet of oxygen (O2) are needed to convert......?

Question

100 cubic feet (100cf) of carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2)?


thanks.

Answer 1

You do not state at what temperature and pressure , as this will effect the results.

one little trick I learnt from University is that for an ideal gas law the molar concentration and volume concentration are the same. Idea gas Law = PV=nRT as P, R and T are all constant., we can say V is proportional to n or V= Kn, where K is constant yet to be determined.. If we use standard temperature (273K) and pressure (100,000Pa), then K= 8.314*273/100000= 0.02269722, then V= 0.02269722n.

We can now write the balanced equation

2CO(g) + O2(g) ------> 2CO2(g)

We know that 2 moles of carbon monoxide will react with one mole of oxygen.

100 cubic feet of carbon monoxide is equivalent to 2.8316 cubic metres, which is equivalent to 2.8316/0.02269722 = 124.7553 moles, therefore 62.37768 moles of oxygen is reacted

The volume of gas generated is = 62.37768*0.02269722= 1.4158 m^3= 50ft^3

Answer 2

2CO + O2 = 2CO2.
So, for 100cf CO, you need 50 (=100/2)cf oxygen.