Question

One of the reactions that takes place in producing steel from iron ore is the reduction of iron (II) oxide by carbon monoxide to give iron metal and CO₂. 

FeO _(s) + CO _(g) Fe _(s) + CO_{2 (g)}; K_p= 0.265 at 1050 K. 

What are the equilibrium partial pressures of CO and CO₂ at 1050 K if the initial partial pressures are: p_CO = 1.4 atm and ₂= 0.80 atm? 

Answer 1

For the given reaction, 

Since , the reaction will proceed in the backward direction. Therefore, we can say that the pressure of CO will increase while the pressure of CO₂ will decrease. 

Now, let the increase in pressure of CO = decrease in pressure of CO₂ be p. Then, 

we can write,