Question

 How will you prepare acetylene from calcium carbide? (Give Balanced chemical equation)

Answer 1

 Hint: Acetylene is formed by any of the three methods that are, hydrolysis of calcium carbide, by passing through an electric arc of a hydrocarbon, or by partial combustion of methane with air or oxygen. Now, try to find out which method is applicable to the given question.

Complete step by step answer:  
Acetylene, also called as “ethyne”, is made of two hydrogen and two carbon atoms and is chemically represented as ${{C}_{2}}{{H}_{2}}$. This hydrocarbon is produced by one of two process, that are: chemical reaction or thermal cracking, using different types of raw materials.
Calcium carbide with chemical formula $Ca{{C}_{2}}$, is the most popular raw material used for the commercial production of acetylene. Calcium carbide is generally by mixing lime and coke in a blast furnace and then the product formed is calcium carbide.
When calcium carbide is reacted with water, it tends to produce acetylene gas and this whole process can be shown by the below balanced chemical equations.
Preparation of acetylene from calcium carbide includes these steps:
- Preparation of quick lime (with chemical formula $CaO$) from calcium carbonate (i.e. $CaC{{O}_{3}}$):
$CaC{{O}_{3}}\to CaO+C{{O}_{2}}$
- Preparation of calcium carbide by heating quick lime ($CaO$) in presence of coke ($C$):
$CaO+3C\to Ca{{C}_{2}}+CO$
- And finally, preparation of acetylene by reacting calcium carbide with water (which we can say as hydrolysis of calcium carbide):
$Ca{{C}_{2}}+2{{H}_{2}}O\to {{C}_{2}}{{H}_{2}}+Ca{{(OH)}_{2}}$

Hence, acetylene can be prepared from calcium carbide by reacting calcium carbide with water and the balanced chemical reaction of this process is given by:
$Ca{{C}_{2}}+2{{H}_{2}}O\to {{C}_{2}}{{H}_{2}}+Ca{{(OH)}_{2}}$

Note:  Calcium carbide is also used as a chemical ripening agent for ripening fruits and it is the main source of acetylene. Also, you should remember that a large amount of carbide is also used for the production of calcium cyanamide by the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen.