Acetic acid, which is used to make many important produced from methanol and car

Question

Acetic acid, which is used to make many important produced from methanol and carbon monoxide (which are themselves both derived 2 from methane in natural gas) by a process called the Monsanto process. The endothermic reaction is run over a rhodium and iodine catalyst at 175 degree C and 1 atm of pressure. Predict whether each of the following changes in the equilibrium system will shift the system to more products, to more reactants, or neither. Explain each answer in two ways, (1) by applying Le Chatelier's principle and (2) by describing the effect of the change on the forward and reverse reaction rates. CH_3OH(g) + CO(g) + 207.9 kJ CH_3CO_2H(g) a. The concentration of CO is increased by the addition of more CO. b. The concentration of CH_3OH is decreased. c. The concentration of CH_3CO_2H(g) is decreased by removing the acetic acid as it forms. d. The temperature is decreased from 300 degree C to 175 degree C. e. The Rh/I_2 catalyst is added to the equilibrium system.

Explanation / Answer

a. The concentration of CO is increased by the addition of more CO. This will shift the system to more products. Explanation: (1) According to Le Chatelier's principle, the system will enact to counteract the increase of concentration of CO by shifting the equilibrium to more products. (2) Increase in concentration of CO will effect in more feasibility of Forward Reaction and this will effect in shifting the system to more products.

b. The concentration of CH3OH is decreased. This will shift the system to more reactants. Explanation: (1) According to Le Chatelier's principle, the system will enact to counteract the decrease of concentration of CH3OH by shifting the equilibrium to more reactants (CH3OH). (2) Decrease in concentration of CH3OH will effect in more feasibility of Reverse Reaction and this will effect in shifting the system to more reactants.

c. The concentration of CH3CO2H (g) is decreased by removing the acetic acid as it forms. This will shift the system to more products. Explanation: (1) According to Le Chatelier's principle, the system will enact to counteract the decrease of concentration of CH3CO2H by shifting the equilibrium to more products. (2) Decrease in concentration of CH3CO2H will effect in more feasibility of Forward Reaction and this will effect in shifting the system to more products.

d. The temperature is decreased from 300 oC to 175 oC. This will shift the system to neither products nor reactants. Explanation: (1) According to Le Chatelier's principle, the system will enact to counteract the change imposed to it. Change in temperature only effects in the rate of a reaction and not on the position of equilibrium. (2) Neither the Forward nor the Reverse reaction will be affected by the change in temperature. Only the reaction will slow down due to the decrease in temperature.

e. The Rh/I2 catalyst is added to the equilibrium system. This will shift the system to neither products nor reactants. Explanation: (1) According to Le Chatelier's principle, the system will enact to counteract the change imposed to it. Rh/I2 catalyst only effects in the rate of a reaction and not on the position of equilibrium. Catalyst is required in small amounts to speed up any reaction. (Excess catalyst effects the product with catalyst contamination.) (2) Neither the Forward nor the Reverse reaction will be affected by the change in concentration of the catalyst. Only the reaction rate will increase due to the presence of small amount of catalyst.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.