If 15.0 tons of coal is burned, how much sulfur is formed in the SO2 produced?

To determine how much sulfur is formed in the SO2 produced when 15.0 tons of coal is burned, one must consider the sulfur content in coal and the stoichiometry of the combustion reaction.

Coal typically contains a certain percentage of sulfur, which varies depending on the type of coal. For the sake of this question, let’s assume that the coal being used has a sulfur content of around 1.5% by weight, which is a common average.

First, we can calculate the amount of sulfur in 15.0 tons of coal:

1. Calculate the mass of sulfur in the coal: [ \text{Mass of sulfur} = 15.0 , \text{tons} \times 0.015 = 0.225 , \text{tons of sulfur} ]

When coal containing sulfur is burned, sulfur reacts with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide (SO2) according to the following reaction: [ \text{S} + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{SO}_2 ] From this equation, it is clear that one atom of sulfur produces one molecule of sulfur dioxide. Therefore, the amount of sulfur that reacts to form SO