Methanol is manufactured industrially by reacting carbon monoxide, CO\text{CO}CO, with hydrogen, H2\text{H}_2H2.
The reaction is reversible, exothermic, and occurs in a closed system:
CO(g)+2H2(g)⇌CH3OH(g)ΔH=−91 kJ mol−1 \text{CO(g)} + 2\text{H}_2\text{(g)} \rightleftharpoons \text{CH}_3\text{OH(g)} \quad \Delta H = -91\text{ kJ mol}^{-1} CO(g)+2H2(g)⇌CH3OH(g)ΔH=−91 kJ mol−1Only 10%10\%10% of the reactants are converted into methanol at each pass through the reactor. By cooling the mixture to condense and remove the methanol as a liquid, and then recycling the unreacted gases back into the reactor, it is possible to achieve an overall 95%95\%95% conversion.
The reaction is carried out under the following conditions:
Explain why these conditions and the recycling process are chosen for methanol production, referring to reaction rates, position of equilibrium, and economic factors.
25 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Chemistry Equilibria. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.