Long-term space missions require reclamation of the oxygen in the carbon dioxide

Question

Long-term space missions require reclamation of the oxygen in the carbon dioxide exhaled by the crew. In one method of reclamation, 1.00 mol of carbon dioxide produces 1.00 mol of oxygen and 1.00 mol of methane as a byproduct. The methane is stored in a tank under pressure and is availabe to control the attitude of the spacecraft by controlled venting. A single astronaut exhales 1.09 kg of carbon dioxide each day. If the methane generated in the respiration recycling of three astronauts during one week of flight is stored in an originally empty 135 L tank at -43.0 degrees C, what is the final pressure in the tank in Pa?

Explanation / Answer

moles of carbon dioxide in 1.09 kg = 1090/44 = 24.77

Moles of carbon dioxide by three astronauts in 7 days = 24.77*3*7 = 520.17 moles.

Same number of moles of methane are also produced

PV = nRT

P*135*10-3 = 520.17*8.314*(273-43)

P = 7.367 * 106 Pa

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