The three isomers of xylene are o-xylene, m-xylene, and p-xylene (standing for “ortho,” “meta,” and “para”) shown in Figure 15-4. 

Inter-conversions between these isomers can be modeled through these two chemical reactions: 

(R1): o-xylene ↔ m-xylene 

(R2): m-xylene ↔ p-xylene

A. 10 moles of xylene are placed in a vessel that is maintained at T = 100°C and P = 1 atm. Find the amounts of o-, p-, and m-xylene that are present at equilibrium. 

B. 10 moles of xylene are placed in a vessel that is maintained at T = 100°C and has a volume of 600 L. The vessel contains both liquid and vapor. The liquid phase is exposed to a catalyst but the vapor is not; thus we can assume reactions R1 and R2 attain equilibrium in the liquid phase but do not occur at all in the vapor phase. Find the contents of the reactor at equilibrium.  

We will use the following data, which uses T = 25°C and P = 1 atm, rather than P = 1 bar, as a reference state.

Transcribed Image Text:

o-xylene m-xylene p-xylene FIGURE 15-4 The isomers of xylene.