Chemistry Question

Question

Potassium nitrate is widely used as a fertilizer because it provides two essential elements, potassium and nitrogen. It is made by mixing potassium chloride and nitric acid in the presence of oxygen according to the equation

4KCl(aq) + 4HNO₃(aq) + O₂(g) --> 4KNO₃(aq) + 2Cl₂(g) + 2H₂O(I)     

How many kilograms of potassium nitrate will be produced from a solution containing 45.2 kg of potassium chloride and one containing 43.1 kg of nitric acid?  

Answer 1

Limiting Reactant Problem. Easiest approach is to grind out stoichiometry in order to find potassium nitrate produced by each reactant. The answer will be the one that gives the smaller result (and that reactant is the LR)

45.2 g KCl (1 mole/74.55 g KCl)( 4 moles KNO₃/4 moles KCl)(101.10 g/mole KNO₃) = kg KNO₃

Note that we could have converted to g and back to kg, but those conversions would cancel.

Do the same type of calculation for HNO₃ and compare results.

Please consider a tutor. Take care.