Butene reacts with steam to produce butanol - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 5 - 2016 - Paper 1

To determine the maximum mass of butanol produced from 1.4 kg of butene (C₄H₈), we begin by calculating the number of moles of butene.

1. Calculate the number of moles of butene:

   n = rac{mass}{molar , mass} = \frac{1400 , g}{56 , g/mol} = 25 , moles

2. Examine the reaction:

   The reaction between butene and steam to produce butanol can be represented as:

   [ C_4H_8 + H_2O \rightarrow C_4H_{10}O ]

3. From the reaction, observe that 1 mole of butene produces 1 mole of butanol. Therefore, the number of moles of butanol will also be 25 moles.

4. Calculate the mass of butanol produced:

   Molar mass of butanol (C₄H₉OH) = 4(12) + 10(1) + 16 = 74 g/mol

m = n \times M = 25 , moles \times 74 , g/mol = 1850 , g = 1.85 , kg

Thus, the maximum mass of butanol produced is 1.85 kg.