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CO2 Calculations
Name: shiva
Status: other
Age: 20s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: Around 1999
Question:
I would like to know how much Vinegar and Baking soda is
required to produce 1 gram of CO2 and how is the answer arrived at. I
have determined that in the total reaction of CH3OOH (vinegar)
+ NaHCO3 (Baking Soda) --> CH3COONa + H2CO3 --> H2O + CO2, CO2
comprises 29,7% of the atomic weight of both initial molecules. The total
atomic weight of both is 74. Baking soda = 42 and vinegar = 32
So my deduction is that to produce 1 gram of CO2 I would mix a total
weight of 3,36 grams of substances being 1,45 grams of vinegar and 1,91
grams of baking soda. Is this assumption correct and does the fact that
the baking soda is in a solid state and vinegar in liquid state influence
my calculations?
Replies:
First of all: baking soda is NaHCO3. Na2CO3 is washing soda. What you
wrote is not a balanced equation. You would need two acetic acids to
neutralize washing soda; baking soda is already half-neutralized washing
soda, so you need only one acetic acid. Second: vinegar is not pure acetic
acid. It's a solution in water, of about 5% acetic acid. So you'd have to
take that into account as well.
The equation is
NaHCO3 + CH3CO2H --> H2O + CO2 + CH3COONa.
Molar mass of CO2: 12 + 32 = 44 g/mol
NaHCO3: 23 + 1 + 12 + 48 = 84 g/mol
CH3CO2H: 12 + 3 + 12 + 32 + 1 = 60 g/mol
So 1 gram of CO2 (mole/44g) = .0227 moles. You need 0.0227 mole of each
baking soda and acetic acid. That's
.0227 (84 g/mol) = 1.91 g baking soda
.0227 (60 g/mol) = 1.36 g acetic acid
You would still need to use the weight percent of acetic acid in vinegar if
you wanted to calculate exactly how much vinegar you needed. Or, if you
knew the concentration (moles/liter) of acetic acid in the vinegar, you
could calculate the necessary volume of vinegar for the reaction.
Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D.
Assistant Director
PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois
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Update: June 2012
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