A chlor-alkali plant produces chlorine gas at the anode according to the half-reaction
CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · AP · Chemistry · Thermodynamics and Electrochemistry · Thermodynamics and Electrochemistry
Problem
A chlor-alkali plant produces chlorine gas at the anode according to the half-reaction 2Cl−→Cl2+2e−. Management has committed to delivering 2.00kg of Cl2 to a downstream process in a single 24-hour day. The electrolytic cell operates at a maximum current of 250A, but measurements show that the current efficiency for chlorine generation averages only 92.0\%.
(a) Determine the theoretical electric charge, in coulombs, that would need to pass through the cell to produce 2.00kg of Cl2 if the current efficiency were 100\%.
(b) Taking the 92.0\% current efficiency into account, calculate the actual charge that must be delivered to achieve the production target.
(c) Based on the maximum allowable current of 250A, compute the minimum number of hours the cell must operate during the 24-hour window to meet the goal.
(d) If plant policy mandates an 8-hour maintenance downtime each day, evaluate whether the target can still be met under the current operating constraints. Justify your answer with quantitative reasoning.