Phosphoric acid is produced industrially by hydrating tetraphosphorus decaoxide…
CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · A Level · Chemistry · Amount of substance · Amount of substance
Problem
Phosphoric acid is produced industrially by hydrating tetraphosphorus decaoxide according to
P4O10(s)+6H2O(l)→4H3PO4(aq)
A plant charges a reactor with 125kg of P4O10 and 60.0kg of water. After the reaction and subsequent purification, 96.0kg of H3PO4 is obtained.
(a) Identify the limiting reactant. Support your answer with calculations based on the initial masses.
(b) Calculate the theoretical mass of H3PO4 that could be produced from the given reactant amounts.
(c) Determine the percent yield of H3PO4 for this process.
(d) Compute the mass of water (in kilograms) that remains unreacted once the reaction is complete.
(e) Propose one practical modification to the process that could reduce waste or improve the overall material efficiency, and explain your reasoning in terms of chemical principles.