The Grass Doctor

What is the maximum amount of urea that can be produced?

Billions of pounds of urea, CO(NH2)2, are produced annually for use as a fertilizer. The balanced chemical equation for the formation of urea follows. 2NH3 + CO2 ==> CO(NH2)2 + H2O A given large scale reaction mixture has NH3 and CO2 in a 3:1 Molar Ratio. If this reaction mixture contains 27.6 kg of NH3, what is the maximum amount of urea that can be produced?

Public Comments

1. find moles using molar mass: 27.6 kg of NH3@ 1000 g / kg @ 17.031 g/mol = 1621 moles NH3 using the equation: 2NH3 + CO2 ==> CO(NH2)2 + H2O 1621 moles NH3 @ 1 mol urea / 2 mol NH3 = 810 mol urea using molar mass: 810 mol urea @ 60.06 g/mol = 48,700 grams your answers: 810 mol urea, or 48,700 grams urea