Methanol is made from the reversible reaction between hydrogen and carbon monoxide using a copper catalyst.CO(g) + 2H2(g) ⇌ CH3OH(g)ΔHθ = -91kJmol-1The starting gas mixture is called syngas and is made by reacting methane or propane with steam.A low temperature and high pressure will give the highest yield but a compromise temperature of 500 K and a pressure of 10MPa is used to give a yield of 5-10%.Methanol is used to make plastics such as terylene and perspex. Methanol is used to make formaldehyde which is used to make plastics such as Bakelite.Methanol can be added to petrol as a fuel.
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Specification: AQA Chemistry (7404), AS-level, 3.1.6.1 Chemical equilibria and Le Chatelier's principle. Topic: Equilibria.
Key terms in this lesson
- Catalyst
- A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being used up, by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower activation energy.
More in Equilibria
- Catalysts
- Equilibrium Reactions in Industry
- Ammonia
- Ethanol
- The Equilibrium Constant Kc
- Finding the Value of Kc
- Example Question - 1
- Example Question - 2
All 20 lessons in Equilibria · All AQA AS-level Chemistry topics