Question

In a blast furnace, elemental iron is produced from a mixture of coke (c), iron ore (fe3o4), and other reactants. an important reaction sequence is 2c(s) + o2(g) ? 2co(g), fe3o4(s) + 4co(g) ? 3fe(l) + 4co2(g). how many moles of iron can be formed in this sequence when 1.00 mol of carbon, as coke, is consumed?

Answer 1

Reaction sequence:

2c(s) + o2(g) -> 2co(g)

fe3o4(s) + 4co(g) -> 3fe(l) + 4co2(g)

According to first equation, 2 moles of carbon produce 2 moles of carbon monoxide. So 1 mole of carbon will produce 1 mol of carbon monoxide (the same number).

According to the second equation, 4 moles of carbon monoxide produce 3 moles of iron. We should make the cross multiplication with those numbers:

4 moles CO/3 moles iron = 1 mol CO/x

x = 1 mol CO*3 moles iron/4 moles CO = 0.75 moles of iron