Le Châtelier noted that many industrial processes of his

Chapter 10, Problem 86AE

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Problem 86AE

Le Châtelier noted that many industrial processes of his time could be improved by an understanding of chemical equilibria. For example, the reaction of iron oxide with carbon monoxide was used to produce elemental iron and CO2 according to the reaction

Fe2O3(s) + 3 CO(g) ⇌ 2 Fe(s) + 3 CO2(g)

Even in Le Châtelier’s time, it was noted that a great deal of CO was wasted, expelled through the chimneys over the furnaces. Le Châtelier wrote, “Because this incomplete reaction was thought to be due to an insufficiently prolonged contact between carbon monoxide and the iron ore [oxide], the dimensions of the furnaces have been increased. In England, they have been made as high as 30 m. But the proportion of carbon monoxide escaping has not diminished, thus demonstrating, by an experiment costing several hundred thousand francs, that the reduction of iron oxide by carbon monoxide is a limited reaction. Acquaintance with the laws of chemical equilibrium would have permitted the same conclusion to be reached more rapidly and far more economically.” What does this anecdote tell us about the equilibrium constant for this reaction?