Ethylene (CH_CH,) is the starting point for a wide array of industrial chemical syntheses. For example, worldwide about
Posted: Wed May 18, 2022 1:16 pm
Ethylene (CH_CH,) is the starting point for a wide array of industrial chemical syntheses. For example, worldwide about 8.0 x 100 kg of polyethylene are made from ethylene each year, for use in everything from household plumbing to artificial joints. Natural sources of ethylene are entirely inadequate to meet world demand, so ethane (CH, CH3) from natural gas is "cracked" in refineries at high temperature in a kinetically complex reaction that produces ethylene gas and hydrogen gas. Suppose an engineer studying ethane cracking fills a 55.0 L reaction tank with 32.0 atm of ethane gas and raises the temperature to 550. °C. He believes K=0.30 at this temperature. Calculate the percent by mass of ethylene the engineer expects to find in the equilibrium gas mixture. Round your answer to 2 significant digits. Note for advanced students: the engineer may be mistaken about the correct value of K, and the mass percent of ethylene you calculate may not be what he actually observes. 1% Х 5 ?