Question

An important reaction that takes place in a blast furnace during the production of iron is the formation of iron metal and CO2 from Fe2O3 and CO. Part A Find the mass of Fe2O3 required to form 930 kg of iron. Express your answer with the appropriate units.

Answer 1

Answer: Mass of $Fe_2O_3$ required to form 930 kg of iron is 1328 kg

Explanation:

To calculate the number of moles, we use the equation:

$\text{Number of moles}=\frac{\text{Given mass}}{\text{Molar mass}}$      .....(1)

For iron:

Given mass of iron = 930 kg = 930000 g  (1kg=1000g)

Molar mass of iron = 56 g/mol

Putting values in equation 1, we get:

$\text{Moles of iron}=\frac{930000g}{56g/mol}=16607mol$

The chemical equation for the  production of iron  follows:

$Fe_2O_3+3CO\rightarrow 2Fe+3CO_2$

By Stoichiometry of the reaction:

2 moles of iron are  produced by =  1 mole of $Fe_2O_3$

So, 16607 moles of iron will be produced by = $\frac{1}{2}\times 16607=8303moles$ of $Fe_2O_3$

Now, calculating the mass of $Fe_2O_3$ from equation 1, we get:

Mass of $Fe_2O_3$ = $moles\times {\text {molar mass}}=8303\times 160=1328480g=1328kg$

Thus mass of $Fe_2O_3$ required to form 930 kg of iron is 1328 kg