A tanker truck carrying 2.01×10^3kg of concentrated sulfuric acid solution tips over and spills its load. The sulfuic acid is 95.0% H2SO4 by mass and has a density of 1.84g/L.

Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3)is used to neutralize the the sulfuric acid spill. How many kilograms of sodium carbonate must be added to neutralize 2.0*10^3kg of sulfuric acid solution?

5 answers

Good God, what a mess.

Balance the equation, see if it is a 1:1 mole ratio

moles acid= .95*2.01E6g/molmassH2SO4
moles base= mass/molemassNa2CO3

set them equal, solve for mass of sodium carbonate.
H2SO4 + Na2CO3 --> H2O + CO2 + Na2SO4

How much H2SO4 is in the load?
2.01 x 10^6 g x 0.95 = ??g H2SO4 (the remainder is water).
Convert g H2SO4 to moles. moles = grams/molar mass

There is 1 mole Na2CO3 required for each mole H2SO4; therefore, moles Na2CO3 = moles H2SO4.

Convert moles Na2CO3 to grams.
g = mols Na2CO3 x molar mass Na2CO3
7050kg
66.6x10^6
2060 kg