Iron (Fe) is produced in a blast furnace by the reaction of hematite (Fe2O3, iron (III) oxide) with carbon monoxide (CO) made by the partial oxidation of carbon. The idealized balanced chemical equations are as follows:

2C(s) + O2(g) -- 2CO(g)
3CO(g) + Fe2O3(s) -- 2Fe(s) + 3CO2(g)

The following chemical equation for the production of iron:
4C(s) + O2(g) + 2FeO3(s) -- 4Fe(s) + 4CO2(g)

How much iron (in kg) can be produced by the reaction of 5000kg of Fe2O3 with 1000kg of C? Please show all work and state the limiting reagent as well.

Could someone walk me through this?

Question

Iron (Fe) is produced in a blast furnace by the reaction of hematite (Fe2O3, iron (III) oxide) with carbon monoxide (CO) made by the partial oxidation of carbon. The idealized balanced chemical equations are as follows: 

2C(s) + O2(g) --> 2CO(g) 
3CO(g) + Fe2O3(s) --> 2Fe(s) + 3CO2(g) 

The following chemical equation for the production of iron: 
4C(s) + O2(g) + 2FeO3(s) --> 4Fe(s) + 4CO2(g) 

How much iron (in kg) can be produced by the reaction of 5000kg of Fe2O3 with 1000kg of C? Please show all work and state the limiting reagent as well.

Could someone walk me through this?

jfraser · Answer

the first two reactions are actually throwaways, you don't need to use them at all. Look at the third reaction.

jfraser · Answer

it shows you that for every 4 moles of C(s) used, 2 moles of $Fe_2O_3$ will also be used.

jfraser · Answer

When you have a limiting reactant problem like this, there are 2 ways to generally solve it. My preferred way is to look at the mole ratio that the balanced reaction tells you HAS to be, and find the mole ratio of the reactants that you're GIVEN and compare the two