In Clark's method for water softening, calculated amounts of slaked lime are added to precipitate te — Hydrogen Chemistry Question
Question
In Clark's method for water softening, calculated amounts of slaked lime are added to precipitate temporary hardness. How many moles of calcium carbonate ($CaCO_3$) will be precipitated when exactly $1\text{ mole}$ of calcium bicarbonate ($Ca(HCO_3)_2$) is treated with the exact stoichiometric amount of calcium hydroxide ($Ca(OH)_2$)?
💡 Solution & Explanation
The balanced chemical equation for Clark's method is: $Ca(HCO_3)_2(aq) + Ca(OH)_2(aq) \rightarrow 2CaCO_3(s) \downarrow + 2H_2O(l)$. Therefore, $1\text{ mole}$ of calcium bicarbonate reacts to yield $2\text{ moles}$ of the calcium carbonate precipitate.