In a 400
400 liter aquarium, whose bicarbonate level is kept constant, it is initially equal to 122 mg/L122 mg/L and you want to raise the pHpH from 8.38.3 to 8.488.48 . For this, a calcium reactor can be used. This equipment uses a media composed predominantly of calcium carbonate and a carbon dioxide stream confined in a cylinder subjected to a pressure of 4.1 atm4.1 atm . Carbon dioxide serves to create a slightly acidic pHpH , dissolving the calcareous media and producing an aqueous solution of calcium bicarbonate, which is returned to the aquarium. In order to avoid sudden changes in the level of bicarbonate in the system, the aquarist prefers to act within 1010 days, in which the calcium reactor must remain on for 1010 hours a day. Assuming that the partial pressure and solubility of CO2(g)CO2(g) will not be changed during the process, give the approximate value of the correct flow of CO2(g)CO2(g) over the reactor. Given: pKa1=6,pKa2=10,log2=0.3,log3=0.48pKa1=6,pKa2=10,log2=0.3,log3=0.48
Initially, I did
pH=pKa+log[salt][acid]
So, in pH=8.3
[CO2−3][HCO−3]=0.02[HCO−3][H2CO3]=200
In pH=8.48,
[CO2−3][HCO−3]=0.03[HCO−3][H2CO3]=300
The reaction in reactor I think that is
CaCOX3+HX2O+COX2−⇀↽−CaX2++2HCOX3X−
But now I don't know how to proceed to find this CO2 flow. Can someone help me?
The answer is 0,09 L/h