Question

Outline the steps required to convert hydrogen chloride to anhydrous iron (III) chloride. Write the equations for the reactions.

Answer 1

The steps involved in the conversion of hydrogen chloride to anhydrous iron (III) chloride are:

Step I: Concentrated hydrogen chloride is reacted with manganese dioxide. This results in the production of chlorine gas.

${\mathrm{MnO}}_2+4\mathrm{HCl}\to {\mathrm{MnCl}}_2+{\mathrm{Cl}}_2+2{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}$

Step II: The chlorine gas produced is dried by passing it through concentrated sulphuric acid. The dried chlorine gas is then reacted with heated iron to form anhydrous iron (III) chloride.

$2\mathrm{Fe}+3{\mathrm{Cl}}_2\to 2{\mathrm{FeCl}}_3$