The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami natural disaster that occurred on 11 March 2011 triggered a tsunami that caused t
Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2022 8:20 pm
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami natural disaster that
occurred on 11 March 2011 triggered a tsunami that caused the
flooding of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The loss of
power to the nuclear reactor cooling system resulted in runaway
nuclear reactions, reactor meltdowns, and hydrogen explosions that
released radioactive material into the environment. At normal
operating temperatures of approximately 300oC, a
zircaloy cladding that protects the fuel rods is inert. However,
above 1,200oC, zirconium metal reacts exothermically
with water to produce hydrogen gas and zirconium oxide.
a) What is the oxidation state of zirconium in zirconium
oxide?
b) The combination of zirconium and water to form zirconium
oxide and hydrogen is an oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction.
Complete the half-reactions describing this redox reaction.
Zr0 - ……. → Z
r4+ (oxidation)
4H+ + ……. →
4H0 (reduction)
c) The hydrogen gas is vented into a headspace measuring 2.5 m ×
2.5 m × 4.0 m. The hydrogen gas pressure measured by pressure
sensors within the headspace was 15,500 atm while the hydrogen gas
temperature was 700o The hydrogen gas reacted
explosively with oxygen forming water. Using this information in
conjunction with the stoichiometric ratios of a fully balanced
chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, calculate the mass
of oxygen (in tonnes) that reacted with the
hydrogen gas. Show all your workings to gain full marks.
occurred on 11 March 2011 triggered a tsunami that caused the
flooding of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The loss of
power to the nuclear reactor cooling system resulted in runaway
nuclear reactions, reactor meltdowns, and hydrogen explosions that
released radioactive material into the environment. At normal
operating temperatures of approximately 300oC, a
zircaloy cladding that protects the fuel rods is inert. However,
above 1,200oC, zirconium metal reacts exothermically
with water to produce hydrogen gas and zirconium oxide.
a) What is the oxidation state of zirconium in zirconium
oxide?
b) The combination of zirconium and water to form zirconium
oxide and hydrogen is an oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction.
Complete the half-reactions describing this redox reaction.
Zr0 - ……. → Z
r4+ (oxidation)
4H+ + ……. →
4H0 (reduction)
c) The hydrogen gas is vented into a headspace measuring 2.5 m ×
2.5 m × 4.0 m. The hydrogen gas pressure measured by pressure
sensors within the headspace was 15,500 atm while the hydrogen gas
temperature was 700o The hydrogen gas reacted
explosively with oxygen forming water. Using this information in
conjunction with the stoichiometric ratios of a fully balanced
chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, calculate the mass
of oxygen (in tonnes) that reacted with the
hydrogen gas. Show all your workings to gain full marks.