This question is about methanol. In industry, methanol is produced by reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen. The equation for the reaction is: A pressure of 100 atmospheres is used instead of atmospheric pressure. The higher pressure gives a greater yield of methanol and an increased rate of reaction. Explain why. – 6173

One thought on “This question is about methanol. In industry, methanol is produced by reacting carbon monoxide with hydrogen. The equation for the reaction is: A pressure of 100 atmospheres is used instead of atmospheric pressure. The higher pressure gives a greater yield of methanol and an increased rate of reaction. Explain why. – 6173”

1. When pressure is increased, the equilibrium moves to the product side (to the right).
   This is because there are fewer gas molecules on the product side, so the system shifts to reduce the pressure.

   The rate of reaction also increases because there are more collisions per unit time.
   This happens because the particles are closer together (more particles per unit volume), which increases how often they collide.

   Reply