The
balanced reaction is:
2LiOH + CO2 = Li2CO3 + H2O
We
are given the amount of the reactants to be reacted. This will be the starting point of our
calculations. To determine the limiting reactant, we convert the amounts from grams to moles.
1.000 × 10^3 g LiOH (1 mol / 25.95 g) = 38.54 mol LiOH
8.80 × 10^2 g CO2 ( 1mol / 44.01 g) = 20.00 mol CO2
From the balanced reaction, the molar ratio of the reactants is 2:1. This means that every two mole of lithium hydroxide, 1 mole of carbon dioxide is needed. It is clear that, from the given amounts, CO2 is the limiting reactant.
