Chapter 15: Problem 96
About 75 percent of hydrogen for industrial use is produced by the steam- reforming process. This process is carried out in two stages called primary and secondary reforming. In the primary stage, a mixture of steam and methane at about 30 atm is heated over a nickel catalyst at \(800^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) to give hydrogen and carbon monoxide: \(\mathrm{CH}_{4}(g)+\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}(g) \rightleftarrows \mathrm{CO}(g)+3 \mathrm{H}_{2}(g) \quad \Delta H^{\circ}=206 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol}\) The secondary stage is carried out at about \(1000^{\circ} \mathrm{C},\) in the presence of air, to convert the remaining methane to hydrogen: \(\mathrm{CH}_{4}(g)+\frac{1}{2} \mathrm{O}_{2}(g) \rightleftarrows \mathrm{CO}(g)+2 \mathrm{H}_{2}(g) \quad \Delta H^{\circ}=35.7 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol}\) (a) What conditions of temperature and pressure would favor the formation of products in both the primary and secondary stages? (b) The equilibrium constant \(K_{\mathrm{c}}\) for the primary stage is 18 at \(800^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). (i) Calculate \(K_{P}\) for the reaction. (ii) If the partial pressures of methane and steam were both 15 atm at the start, what are the pressures of all the gases at equilibrium?
Short Answer
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Key Concepts
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