During multistage equilibrium conversion of SO2 to SO3 (2SO2 + O2 ⇌ 2SO3), the backward reaction becomes significant at 550° C. How can the fractional equilibrium conversion of SO2 to SO3 be enhanced ?
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Answer: C. Removing some quantity of SO3 during intermediate stage
Explanation
Removing sulfur trioxide intermediate product shifts the reversible equilibrium forward. Le Chatelier principle dictates that extracting a product forces the reaction to generate more. Staged absorption significantly improves total sulfur dioxide conversion efficiency in plants. Sulfur dioxide oxidation is an exothermic equilibrium reaction limited by thermodynamic conversion limits. High temperatures favor the backward reaction requiring intermediate cooling and product removal. Multi-stage catalytic converters utilize inter-stage absorption to maximize overall yield.
Modern sulfuric acid plants implement double absorption systems to meet stringent environmental standards. Chemical plant designers optimize gas flow paths to achieve near complete conversion of raw feed. Process control engineers monitor converter temperatures and gas compositions continuously. Increasing oxygen concentration helps slightly but does not match the effectiveness of product removal. Adding more catalyst accelerates reaction rates but cannot overcome thermodynamic equilibrium limits. Maintaining low temperatures slows down reaction kinetics despite favoring equilibrium conversion.
- Subject
- Engineering
- Category
- Chemical Engineering
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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