On Easter Sunday, April 3, nitric acid spilled from a tank car near down town Denver, Colorado. The spill was neutralized with sodium carbonate:
2HNO3(aq) + Na2CO3(s) ----> 2NaNO3(aq) + H2O (l) +CO2(g)
1.Determine ΔH° for this reaction.
Assume that the acid was an aqueous solution containing 65.0% HNO3by mass with a density of 1.42 g/cm3. Approximately 5.0 X104 gal nitric acid was spilled. Discuss how much sodium carbonate (in g) was needed for complete the neutralization of the spill? Discuss how much heat was evolved?
b. Authorities feared that dangerous air pollution might occur during the neutralization according to The Denver Post for April 4, 1983. Determine their major concern, considering the magnitude of ΔH°.