How to calculate maximum mass?

Ethanol is the organic acid that contains two carbon atoms. If you go to the website below you will see that the formula is C2H5OH.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol

During this combustion reaction, ethanol reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water. As this reaction occurs, all of carbon becomes carbon dioxide, and all of the hydrogen becomes water.

C2H5OH + O2 → CO2 + H2O

To balance the carbon atoms, make two carbon dioxides. To balance the hydrogen atoms, make three waters.

C2H5OH + O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O

The right side of this equation has seven atoms of oxygen. The left side of the equation has one atom of oxygen in the ethanol. To balance the equation, we need 3 O2.

C2H5OH + 3 O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O

The coefficients in a balanced equation determine the ratio of the moles of the reactants to the moles of the products. For this problem, one of ethanol will produce two moles of carbon dioxide. One tonne is one thousand kilograms. Let’s determine the mass of one mole of ethanol and one mole of carbon dioxide.

For ethanol, mass = 12 * 2 + 5 + 16 + 1 = 46 grams = 0.046 kilograms
For carbon dioxide, mass = 12 + 2 * 16 = 44 grams 0.044 kilograms

To determine the number of moles of ethanol, divide the mass by the mass of one mole.


Now we can determine the number of moles of ethanol.

n = 1,000 ÷ 0.046

The number of moles of ethanol is 21,740. The number of moles of carbon dioxide is twice the number of moles of ethanol.

n = 2,000 ÷ 0.046

To determine the mass of carbon dioxide, multiply the number of moles by the mass of one mole.

For CO2, mass = 0.044 * 2,000 ÷ 0.046

The mass of CO2 is approximately 1,913 kg. To convert to tonnes, divide by 1000. The answer is approximately 1.9 tonne. I go through all of these steps, because I want to be sure that you understand how I solve this type of problem. I hope this is helpful for you

ethanol = C2H6O = 12 x 2 + 6 x 1 + 16 = 46 g/mol
carbon dioxide = CO2 = 12 + 16 x 2 = 44 g/mol

C2H6O + 3 O2 → 2 CO2 + 3 H2O

(1 tonne C2H6O) / (46 g/mol) x (2 mol CO2 / 1 mol C2H6O) x (44 g/mol) = 1.9 tonnes CO2