What volume of carbon dioxide will be released when dissolving 0.5 kg of limestone in hydrochloric acid?

The reaction of calcium carbonate with hydrochloric acid synthesizes calcium chloride, water and gaseous carbon dioxide. The reaction is described by the following equation:

CaCO3 + 2HCl = CaCl2 + CO2 ↑ + H2O;

Let’s calculate the molar amount of calcium carbonate. To do this, we divide its weight by its molar mass.

M CaCO3 = 40 + 12 + 16 x 3 = 100 grams / mol; N CaCO3 = 500/100 = 5 mol;

With 5 mol of calcium carbonate, 5 x 2 = 10 mol of hydrochloric acid will react. This will release 5 mol of carbon dioxide.

Let’s find the volume that it occupies. For this purpose, we multiply the amount of substance by the volume of 1 mole of gas (which is 22.4 liters).

V CO2 = 5 x 22.4 = 112 liters;