Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A.

Khadom

UNIVERSITY OF DAIYLA
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES

For First Year Chemical Engineering Students

By

Assist. Prof. Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Ph.D & Ms.C Chemical Engineering

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Contents
Chapter One
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Dimensions, Units, and Their Conversion.
1.2 Moles, Density, and Concentration.
1.3 Choosing a Basis.
1.4 Temperature.
1.5 Pressure.
Chapter Tow
MATERIAL BALANCES

2.1 Introduction to Material Balance.

2.2 General Strategy for Solving Material Balance Problems.
2.3 Solving Material Balance Problems for Single Units without Reaction.
2.4 The Chemical Equation and Stoichiometry.
2.5 Material Balances for Processes Involving Reaction.
2.6 Material Balance Problems Involving Multiple Units.
2.7 Recycle, Bypass, and Purge and the Industrial Application of Material Balances.

Chapter 3
GASES, VAPORS, LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS
3.1 Ideal Gases
3.2 The Ideal Gas Law
3.3 Ideal Gas Mixtures and Partial Pressure
3.4 Material Balances Involving Ideal Gases

Reference books
1. David M. Himmelblau and James B. Riggs, "Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering",
Seventh Edition, (2004).
2. Richard M. Felder and Ronald W. Rousseau, "Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes", Third Edition,
(1999).
3. David M. Himmelblau, "Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering", Sixth Edition,
(1996).
4. David M. Himmelblau, "Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering", Fifth Edition,
(1989).

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Chapter 1
Dimensions, Units, and Their Conversion
1.1 Units and Dimensions
Dimensions are our basic concepts of measurement such as length, time, mass, temperature, and so on; units
are the means of expressing the dimensions, such as feet or centimeters for length, and hours or seconds for time.
In this lectures you will use the two most commonly used systems of units:
1. SI, formally called Le Systeme Internationale d’Unites, and informally called SI or more often (redundantly)
the SI system of units.
2. AE, or American Engineering system of units.
Dimensions and their respective units are classified as fundamental or derived:

• Fundamental (or basic) dimensions/units are those that can be measured independently and are sufficient to
describe essential physical quantities.

• Derived dimensions/units are those that can be developed in terms of the fundamental dimensions/units.
Tables 1.1 and 1.2 list both basic, derived, and alternative units in the SI and AE systems. Figure 1.1 illustrates the
relation between the basic dimensions and some of the derived dimensions.
One of the best features of the SI system is that (except for time) units and their multiples and submultiples are related
by standard factors designated by the prefix indicated in Table 1.3.
Table 1.1 SI Units

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Table 1.2 American Engineering (AE) System Units

Figure 1.1 Relation between the basic dimensions (in boxes) and various derived dimensions (in ellipses).

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Table 1.3 SI Prefixes

Operations with Units

The rules for handling units are essentially quite simple:
Addition, Subtraction, Equality
You can add, subtract, or equate numerical quantities only if the associated units of the quantities are the same. Thus,
the operation
5 kilograms + 3 joules
Cannot be carried out because the units as well as the dimensions of the two terms are different. The numerical
operation
10 pounds + 5 grams
can be performed (because the dimensions are the same, mass) only after the units are transformed to be the same,
either pounds, grams, or ounces, or some other mass unit.

Multiplication and Division

You can multiply or divide unlike units at will such as
50(kg)(m)/(s)
but you cannot cancel or merge units unless they are identical. Thus, 3 m2/60 cm can be converted to 3 m2/0.6 m, and
then to 5 m, but in m/s2, the units cannot be cancelled or combined.

Example 1
Add the following:
(a) 1 foot + 3 seconds (b) 1 horsepower + 300 watts
Solution
The operation indicated by
1 ft + 3 s
has no meaning since the dimensions of the two terms are not the same. In the case of
1 hp + 300 watts
the dimensions are the same (energy per unit time), but the units are different. You must transform the two quantities
into like units, such as horsepower or watts, before the addition can be carried out. Since 1 hp = 746 watts,
746 watts + 300 watts = 1046 watts

1.1.1 Conversion of Units and Conversion Factors

The procedure for converting one set of units to another is simply to multiply any number and its associated
units by ratios termed conversion factors to arrive at the desired answer and its associated units.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

If a plane travels at twice the speed of sound (assume that the speed of sound is 1100 ft/s), how fast is it going in miles
per hour?
We formulate the conversion as follows

Example 2
(a) Convert 2 km to miles. (b) Convert 400 in.3/day to cm3/min.
Solution
(a) One way to carry out the conversion is to look up a direct conversion factor, namely 1.61 km = 1 mile:

Another way is to use conversion factors you know

In part (b) note that not only are the numbers in the conversion of inches to centimeters raised to a power, but the units
also are raised to the same power.

Example 3
An example of a semiconductor is ZnS with a particle diameter of 1.8 nanometers. Convert this value to (a) dm
(decimeters) and (b) inches.
Solution

In the AE system the conversion of terms involving pound mass and pound force deserve special attention. Let us start
the discussion with Newton’s Law:

Where:
F = force
C = a constant whose numerical value and units depend on those selected for F, m, and a
m = mass
a = acceleration

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

In the SI system in which the unit of force is defined to be the Newton (N) when 1 kg is accelerated at 1 m/s2, a
conversion factor C = 1 N/(Kg)(m)/s2 must be introduced to have the force be 1 N:

Because the numerical value associated with the conversion factor is 1, the conversion factor seems simple, even
nonexistent, and the units are ordinarily ignored.
In the AE system an analogous conversion factor is required. If a mass of 1 1bm is hypothetically accelerated at g ft/s2,
where g is the acceleration that would be caused by gravity (about 32.2 ft/s2 depending on the location of the mass), we
can make the force be 1 1bf by choosing the proper numerical value and units for the conversion factor C:

The inverse of the conversion factor with the numerical value 32.174 included is given the special symbol gc

But never forget that the pound (mass) and pound (force) are not the same units in the AE system.

Example 4
What is the potential energy in (ft)(1bf) of a 100 lb drum hanging 10 ft above the surface of the earth with reference to
the surface of the earth?
Solution
Potential energy = P = m g h
g = acceleration of gravity = 32.2 ft/s2. Figure E1.4 is a sketch of the
system.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Notice that in the ratio of 32.2 ft/s2 divided by 32.174[(ft)(lbm)]/[(s2)(lbf)], the numerical values are almost equal. Many
engineers would solve the problem by saying that 100 lb × 10 ft = 1000 (ft)(1b) without realizing that, in effect, they
are canceling out the numbers in the g/gc ratio, and that the lb in the solution means lbf.
Example 5
In biological systems, production rate of glucose is 0.6 g mol/(mL)(min). Determine the production rate of glucose for
this system in the units of lb mol/(ft3)(day).
Solution

Basis: 1 min

1.4 Dimensional Consistency (Homogeneity)

The concept of dimensional consistency can be illustrated by an equation that represents the
pressure/volume/temperature behavior of a gas, and is known as van der Waals’s equation.

Inspection of the equation shows that the constant a must have the units of [(pressure)(volume)2] for the expression in
the first set of parentheses to be consistent throughout. If the units of pressure are atm and those of volume are cm3, a
will have the units of [(atm)(cm)6]. Similarly, b must have the same units as V, or in this particular case the units of
cm3.
Example 6
Your handbook shows that microchip etching roughly follows the relation

where d is the depth of the etch in microns (micrometers, m) and t is the time of the etch in seconds. What are the units
associated with the numbers 16.2 and 0.021? Convert the relation so that d becomes expressed in inches and t can be
used in minutes.
Solution
Both values of 16.2 must have the associated units of microns ( m). The exponential must be dimensionless so that
0.021 must have the associated units of s−1.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Non dimensional Groups:

As you proceed with the study of chemical engineering, you will find that groups of symbols may be put together, either
by theory or based on experiment, that have no net units. Such collections of variables or parameters are called
dimensionless or nondimensional groups. One example is the Reynolds number (group) arising in fluid mechanics.

where D is the pipe diameter, say in cm; is the fluid velocity, say in cm/s; is the fluid density, say in g/cm3; and is
the viscosity, say in centipoise, units that can be converted to g/(cm)(s). Introducing the consistent set of units for D, ,
, and into D / , you will find that all the units cancel out so that the numerical value of 1 is the result of the
cancellation of the units.

Example 7
Explain without differentiating why the following differentiation cannot be correct:

where x is length and a is a constant.

Solution
• Observe that x and a must have the same units because the ratio x2/a2 must be dimensionless (because 1 is
dimensionless).

• Thus, the left-hand side of the equation has units of 1/x (from d/dx). However, the right-hand side of the
equation has units of x2 (the product of ax).

• Consequently, something is wrong as the equation is not dimensionally consistent.

Questions

1. Which of the following best represents the force needed to lift a heavy suitcase?
a. 25 N b. 25 kN c. 250 N d. 250 kN
2. Pick the correct answer(s); a watt is
a. one joule per second b. equal to 1 (kg)(m2)/s2 c. the unit for all types of power
d. all of the above e. none of the above
3. Is kg/s a basic or derived unit in SI?
4. Answer the following questions yes or no. Can you
a. divide ft by s? b. divide m by cm? c. multiply ft by s? d. divide ft by cm? e. divide m by (deg) K? f. add
ft and s? g. subtract m and (deg) K h. add cm and ft? i. add cm and m2? j. add 1 and 2 cm?
5. Why is it not possible to add 1 ft and 1 ft2?
6. What is gc?
7. Is the ratio of the numerator and denominator in a conversion factor equal to unity?
8. What is the difference, if any, between pound force and pound mass in the AE system?
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9. Could a unit of force in the SI system be kilogram force?

10. Contrast the procedure for converting units within the SI system with that for the AE system.
11. What is the weight of a one pound mass at sea level? Would the mass be the same at the center of Earth?
Would the weight be the same at the center of Earth?
12. What is the mass of an object that weighs 9.80 kN at sea level?
13. Explain what dimensional consistency means in an equation.
14. Explain why the so-called dimensionless group has no net dimensions.
15. If you divide all of a series of terms in an equation by one of the terms, will the resulting series of terms be
dimensionless?
16. How might you make the following variables dimensionless:
a. Length (of a pipe). b. Time (to empty a tank full of water).

Answers:

1. (c)
2. (a)
3. Derived.
4. (a) - (e) yes; (f) and (g) no; (h) and (i) no; (j) no.
5. The dimensions are not the same.
6. A conversion factor in the American Engineering system of units.
7. Yes.
8. lbf is force and lbm is mass, and the dimensions are different.
9. The unit is not legal in SI.
10. In SI the magnitudes of many of the units are scaled on the basis of 10, in AE. Consequently, the units are
often ignored in making conversion in SI.
11. (a) 1 lbf in the AE system of units; (b) yes; (c) no.
12. 1000 kg.
13. All additive terms on the right-hand side of an equation must have the same dimensions as those on the left-
hand side.
14. All of the units cancel out.
15. Yes.
16. (a) Divide by the radius or diameter; (b) divide by the total time to empty the tank, or by a fixed unit of time.

Problems

1. Classify the following units as correct or incorrect units in the SI system:

a. nm b. K c. sec d. N/mm e. kJ/(s)(m3)
2. Add 1 cm and 1 m.
3. Subtract 3 ft from 4 yards.
4. Divide 3 m1.5 by 2 m0.5.
5. Multiply 2 ft by 4 lb.
6. What are the value and units of gc in the SI system?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

7. Electronic communication via radio travels at approximately the speed of light (186,000 miles/second). The
edge of the solar system is roughly at Pluto, which is 3.6 × 109 miles from Earth at its closest approach. How
many hours does it take for a radio signal from Earth to reach Pluto?
8. Determine the kinetic energy of one pound of fluid moving in a pipe at the speed of 3 feet per second.
9. Convert the following from AE to SI units:
a. 4 lbm/ft to kg/m b. 1.00 lbm/(ft3)(s) to kg/(m3)(s)
10. Convert the following 1.57 × 10−2 g/(cm)(s) to lbm/(ft)(s)
11. Convert 1.1 gal to ft3.
12. Convert 1.1 gal to m3.
13. An orifice meter is used to measure the rate of flow of a fluid in pipes. The flow rate is related to the pressure
drop by the following equation

Where u = fluid velocity

∆p = pressure drop 1force per unit area2
= density of the flowing fluid
c = constant
What are the units of c in the SI system of units?
14. The thermal conductivity k of a liquid metal is predicted via the empirical equation

where k is in J/(s)(m)(K) and A and B are constants. What are the units of A and B?

Answers:
1. (a), (d), (e) are correct.
2. Change units to get 101 cm.
3. Change units to get 9 ft.
4. 1.5 m.
5. 8 (ft)(lb).
6. 1, dimensionless.
7. 5.38 hr.
8. 0.14 (ft) (lbf).
9. a. b. 16.0 kg/(m3)(s)
10. 1.06 * 10-3 lbm/(ft)(s)
11. 0.15 ft3
12. 4.16 * 10-3 m3.
13. c is dimensionless
14. A has the same units as k; B has the units of T.

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1.2 Moles, Density and Concentration

1.2.1 Mole
In the SI system a mole is composed of 6.022 x 1023 (Avogadro’s number) molecules. To convert the number
of moles to mass and the mass to moles, we make use of the molecular weight – the mass per mole:
Mass
Molecular Weight (MW) =
Mole
Thus, the calculations you carry out are

and
Mass in g = (MW) (g mol)
Mass in lb = (MW) (lb mol)
For example

The atomic weight of an element is the mass of an atom based on the scale that assigns a mass of exactly 12 to
the carbon isotope 12C.
A compound is composed of more than one atom, and the molecular weight of the compound is nothing more
than the sum of the weights of atoms of which it is composed.

Example 8
What is the molecular weight of the following cell of a superconductor material? (The figure represents one cell of a
larger structure.)

Solution

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

The molecular weight of the cell is 1764.3 g/g mol.

Example 9
If a bucket holds 2.00 lb of NaOH (MW=40), how many
a) Pound moles of NaOH does it contain?
b) Gram moles of NaOH does it contain?
Solution

Example 10
How many pounds of NaOH (MW=40) are in 7.50 g mol of NaOH?

Solution

1.2.2 Density
Density is the ratio of mass per unit volume, as for example, kg/m3 or lb/ft3. Density has both a numerical
value and units. Specific volume is the inverse of density, such as cm3/g or ft3/lb.

For example, given that the density of n-propyl alcohol is 0.804 g/cm3, what would be the volume of 90.0 g of the
alcohol? The calculation is

In a packed bed of solid particles containing void spaces, the bulk density is

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

A homogeneous mixture of two or more components, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, is called a solution.
For some solutions, the density of the solution is

For others you cannot.

Specific Gravity
Specific gravity is commonly thought of as a dimensionless ratio.

♦ The reference substance for liquids and solids normally is water.

♦ The density of water is 1.000 g/cm3, 1000 kg/m3, or 62.43 lb/ft3 at 4°C.
♦ The specific gravity of gases frequently is referred to air, but may be referred to other gases.

For Example If dibromopentane (DBP) has a specific gravity of 1.57, what is the density in (a) g/cm3? (b) lbm/ft3? and
(c) kg/m3?

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Example 11
If a 70% (by weight) solution of glycerol has a specific gravity of 1.184 at 15°C, what is the density of the solution in
(a) g/cm3? (b) lbm/ft3? and (c) kg/m3?
Solution
(a) (1.184 g glycerol/ cm3)/(1 g water/ cm3) * (1 g water/ cm3) = 1.184 g solution/cm3.
(b) (1.184 lb glycerol/ft3)/(1 lb water/ft3) * (62.4 lb water/ft3) = 73.9 lb solution/ft3.
(c) (1.184 kg glycerol/m3)/(1 kg water/m3) * (1000 kg water/m3) = 1.184 * l03 kg solution/m3.

The specific gravity of petroleum products is often reported in terms of a hydrometer scale called °API. The equation
for the API scale is

The volume and therefore the density of petroleum products vary with temperature, and the petroleum industry has
established 60 °F as the standard temperature for volume and API gravity.
Example 12
In the production of a drug having a molecular weight of 192, the exit stream from the reactor flows at a rate of 10.5
L/min. The drug concentration is 41.2% (in water), and the specific gravity of the solution is 1.024. Calculate the
concentration of the drug (in kg/L) in the exit stream, and the flow rate of the drug in kg mol/min.
Solution
Take 1 kg of the exit solution as a basis for convenience.
Basis: 1 kg solution

To get the flow rate, take a different basis, namely 1 minute.

Basis: 1 min = 10.5 L solution

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Flow Rate
For continuous processes the flow rate of a process stream is the rate at which material is transported through
a pipe. The mass flow rate (m) of a process stream is the mass (m) transported through a line per unit time (t).

The volumetric flow rate (F) of a process stream is the volume (V) transported through a line per unit time.

The molar flow (n) rate of a process stream is the number of moles (n) of a substance transported through a line per
unit time.

Mole Fraction and Mass (Weight) Fraction

Mole fraction is simply the number of moles of a particular compound in a mixture or solution divided by the
total number of moles in the mixture or solution.
This definition holds for gases, liquids, and solids.
Similarly, the mass (weight) fraction is nothing more than the mass (weight) of the compound divided by the
total mass (weight) of all of the compounds in the mixture or solution.
Mathematically, these ideas can be expressed as

Mole percent and mass (weight) percent are the respective fractions times 100.

Example 13
An industrial-strength drain cleaner contains 5 kg of water and 5 kg of NaOH. What are the mass (weight) fractions and
mole fractions of each component in the drain cleaner container?
Solution
Basis: 10 kg of total solution

The kilogram moles are calculated as follows:

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Adding these quantities together gives the total kilogram moles.

Example 14
In normal living cells, the nitrogen requirement for the cells is provided from protein metabolism (i.e., consumption of
the protein in the cells). When individual cells are commercially grown, (NH4)2SO4 is usually used as the source of
nitrogen. Determine the amount of (NH4)2SO4 consumed in a fermentation medium in which the final cell concentration
is 35 g/L in a 500 L volume of the fermentation medium. Assume that the cells contain 9 wt. % N, and that (NH4)2SO4
is the only nitrogen source.
Solution
Basis: 500 L solution containing 35 g/L

Analyses of Multi Components Solutions and Mixtures

The composition of gases will always be presumed to be given in mole percent or fraction unless specifically
stated otherwise.
The composition of liquids and solids will be given by mass (weight) percent or fraction unless otherwise
specifically stated.
For Example Table below lists the detailed composition of dry air (composition of air 21% O2 and 79% N2).
Basis 100 mol of air

1.2.3 Concentration
Concentration generally refers to the quantity of some substance per unit volume.
a. Mass per unit volume (lb of solute/ft3 of solution, g of solute/L, lb of solute/barrel, kg of solute/m3).
b. Moles per unit volume (lb mol of solute/ft3 of solution, g mol of solute/L, g mol of solute/cm3).
c. Parts per million (ppm); parts per billion (ppb), a method of expressing the concentration of
extremely dilute solutions; ppm is equivalent to a mass (weight) fraction for solids and liquids
because the total amount of material is of a much higher order of magnitude than the amount of
solute; it is a mole fraction for gases.
d. Parts per million by volume (ppmv) and parts per billion by volume (ppbv)
e. Other methods of expressing concentration with which you may be familiar are molarity (g mol/L),
molality (mole solute/kg solvent), and normality (equivalents/L).
Example 14
The current OSHA 8-hour limit for HCN (MW = 27.03) in air is 10.0 ppm. A lethal dose of HCN in air is (from the
Merck Index) 300 mg/kg of air at room temperature. How many mg HCN/kg air is 10.0 ppm? What fraction of the
lethal dose is 10.0 ppm?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution
Basis: 1 kg mol of the air/HCN mixture

Example 15
A solution of HNO3 in water has a specific gravity of 1.10 at 25°C. The concentration of the HNO3 is 15 g/L of
solution. What is the
a. Mole fraction of HNO3 in the solution?
b. ppm of HNO3 in the solution?
Solution
Basis: 1 L of solution

Basis: 100 g solution

The mass of water in the solution is: 100 - 0.0134 = 99.986 g H2O.

Example 16
To avoid the possibility of explosion in a vessel containing gas having the composition of 40% N2, 45% O2, and 15%
CH4, the recommendation is to dilute the gas mixture by adding an equal amount of pure N2. What is the final mole
fraction of each gas?
Solution

The basis is 100 moles of initial gas

After Addition Final Mixture

Composition Original Mixture mol%
N2 Mole Fraction
N2 40 + 100 140 140/200 = 0.70
O2 45 45 45/200 = 0.23
CH4 15 15 15/200 = 0.07
Total 100 200 1.00

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Questions

1. Answer the following questions true or false:

a. The pound mole is comprised of 2.73 x 1026 molecules
b. The kilogram mole is comprised of 6.022 x 1026 molecules.
c. Molecular weight is the mass of a compound or element per mole.
2. What is the molecular weight of acetic acid (CH3COOH)?
3. For numbers such as 2 mL of water + 2 mL of ethanol, does the sum equal to 4 mL of the solution?
4. Answer the following questions true or false:
a. The inverse of the density is the specific volume.
b. Density of a substance is the mass per unit volume.
c. The density of water is less than the density of mercury.
5. A cubic centimeter of mercury has a mass of 13.6 g at Earth’s surface. What is the density of mercury?
6. What is the approximate density of water at room temperature in kg/m3?
7. For liquid HCN, a handbook gives: sp. gr. 10°C/4°C = 1.2675. What does this statement mean?
8. Answer the following questions true or false:
a. The density and specific gravity of mercury are the same.
b. Specific gravity is the ratio of two densities.
c. If you are given the value of a reference density, you can determine the density of a substance of
interest by multiplying by the specific gravity.
d. The specific gravity is a dimensionless quantity.
9. A mixture is reported as 15% water and 85% ethanol. Should the percentages be deemed to be by mass, mole,
or volume?
10. Answer the following questions true or false:
a) In engineering practice the compositions of liquids and solids are usually denoted in weight (mass)
fraction or percent.
b) In engineering practice the composition of gases is usually denoted in mole fraction or percent.
c) e. A pseudo-average molecular weight can be calculated for a mixture of pure components whether
solid, liquid, or gases.
11. Do parts per million denote a concentration that is a mole ratio?
12. Does the concentration of a component in a mixture depend on the amount of the mixture?
13. Pick the correct answer. How many ppm are there in 1 ppb? (a) 1000, (b) 100, (c) 1, (d) 0.1, (e) 0.01, (f)
0.001?
14. How many ppb are there in 1 ppm?
15. Does 50 ppm represent an increase of five times a value of 10 ppm?
Answers:
1. (a) T; (b) T; (c) T
2. 60.05
3. No
4. (a) T; (b) T; (c) T
5. 13.6 g/cm3
6. 1000 kg/m3

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

7. The statement means that the density at 10°C of liquid HCN is 1.2675 times the density of water at 4°C.
8. (a) F – the units differ; (b) T; (c) T; (d) F.
9. Mass
10. (a) T; (b) T; (c) T
11. For gases but not for liquids or solids.
12. No
13. 0.001
14. 1000
15. No (4 times)
Problems
1. Convert the following:
a) 120 g mol of NaCl to g.
b) 120 g of NaCl to g mol.
c) 120 lb mol of NaCl to lb.
d) 120 lb of NaCl to lb mol.
2. Convert 39.8 kg of NaCl per 100 kg of water to kg mol of NaCl per kg mol of water.
3. How many lb mol of NaNO3 are there in 100 lb?
4. The density of a material is 2 kg/m3. What is its specific volume?
5. An empty 10 gal tank weighs 4.5 lb. What is the total weight of the tank plus the water when it is filled with 5
gal of water?
6. If you add 50 g of sugar to 500 mL of water, how do you calculate the density of the sugar solution?
7. For ethanol, a handbook gives: sp. gr. 60°F = 0.79389. What is the density of ethanol at 60°F?
8. The specific gravity of steel is 7.9. What is the volume in cubic feet of a steel ingot weighing 4000 lb?
9. The specific gravity of a solution is 0.80 at 70°F. How many cubic feet will be occupied by 100 lb of the
solution at 70°F?
10. A solution in water contains 1.704 kg of HNO3/kg H2O, and the solution has a specific gravity of 1.382 at
20°C. What is the mass of HNO3 in kg per cubic meter of solution at 20°C?
11. Forty gal/min of a hydrocarbon fuel having a specific gravity of 0.91 flows into a tank truck with a load limit
of 40,000 lb of fuel. How long will it take to fill the tank in the truck?
12. Pure chlorine enters a process. By measurement it is found that 2.4 kg of chlorine pass into the process every
3.1 minutes. Calculate the molar flow rate of the chlorine in kg mol/hr.
13. Commercial sulfuric acid is 98% H2SO4 and 2% H2O. What is the mole ratio of H2SO4 to H2O?
14. A compound contains 50% sulfur and 50% oxygen by mass. Is the empirical formula of the compound (1) SO,
(2) SO2, (3) SO3, or (4) SO4?
15. How many kg of activated carbon (a substance used in removing trace impurities) must be mixed with 38 kg of
sand so that the final mixture is 28% activated carbon?
16. A gas mixture contains 40 lb of O2, 25 lb of SO2, and 30 lb of SO3. What is the composition of the mixture in
mole fractions?
17. Saccharin, an artificial sweetener that is 3000 times sweeter than sucrose, is composed of 45.90% carbon,
2.73% hydrogen, 26.23% oxygen, 7.65% nitrogen, and 17.49% sulfur. Is the molecular formula of saccharin
(a) C14H10O6N2S2, (b) C5H7O3NS, (c) C8H9O2NS, and (d) C7H5O3NS?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

18. A mixture of gases is analyzed and found to have the following composition: CO2 12.0%, CO 6.0%, CH4
27.3%, H2 9.9% and N2 44.8%. How much will 3 lb mol of this gas weigh?
19. A liquefied mixture of n-butane, n-pentane, and n-hexane has the following composition: n-C4H10 50%,
n-C5H12 30%, and n-C6H14 20%. For this mixture, calculate:
a) The weight fraction of each component.
b) The mole fraction of each component.
c) The mole percent of each component.
d) The average molecular weight of the mixture.
20. How many mg/L is equivalent to a 1.2% solution of a substance in water?
Answers:

1.
2. 0.123 kg mol NaCl/kg mol H2O
3. l.l77 lb mol
4. 0.5 m3/kg
5. 46.2 lb
6. Measure the mass of water (should be about 500g) and add it to 50 g. Measure the volume of the solution (will
not be 450 mL). Divide the mass by the volume.
7. 0.79389 g/cm3 (assuming the density of water is also at 60°F)
8. 8.11 ft3
9. 2 ft3
10. 870 kg HNO3/m3 solution.
11. 132 min
12. 0.654 kg mol/hr
13. 9
14. SO2
15. 14.8 kg
16. O2 2 3 0.19
17. (d)
18. 72.17 lb
19. (a) C4: 0.50, C5: 0.30, C6! "4: 0.57, C5: 0.28, C6! "4: 57, C5: 28, C6! ) 66.4 kg/kg
mol
20. 12000 mg/L .
1.3 Choosing a Basis
A basis is a reference chosen by you for the calculations you plan to make in any particular problem, and a
proper choice of basis frequently makes the problem much easier to solve.
The basis may be a period of time such as hours, or a given mass of material, such as 5 kg of CO2, or some
other convenient quantity.
For liquids and solids in which a mass (weight) analysis applies, a convenient basis is often 1 or 100 lb or kg;
similarly, 1 or 100 moles is often a good choice for a gas.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 17
Gas mixture 10.0% H2, 40.0% CH4, 30.0% CO, and 20.0% CO2, what is the average molecular weight of the gas?
Solution
Basis: 100 kg mol or lb mol of gas

Other Method for Solution:

Average molecular weight = 0.2 * 44 + 0.3 * 28 + 0.4 * 16.04 + 0.1 * 2.02 = 23.8 kg/kg mol
Example 18
A liquefied mixture has the following composition: n-C4H10 50% (MW=58), n-C5H12 30% (MW=72), and n-C6H14 20%
(MW=86). For this mixture, calculate: (a) mole fraction of each component. (b) Average molecular weight of the
mixture.
Solution

Example 19
In a ternary alloy such as Nd4.5Fe77B18.5 the average grain size is about 30 nm. By replacing 0.2 atoms of Fe with atoms
of Cu, the grain size can be reduced (improved) to 17 nm.
(a) What is the molecular formula of the alloy after adding the Cu to replace the Fe?
(b) What is the mass fraction of each atomic species in the improved alloy?
Solution
Basis: 100 g mol (or atoms) of Nd4.5Fe77B18.5
(a) The final alloy is Nd4.5Fe76.8B18.5Cu0.2.
(b) Use a table to calculate the respective mass fractions.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 20
A medium-grade bituminous coal analyzes as follows:

The residuum is C and H, and the mole ratio in the residuum is H/C = 9. Calculate the weight (mass) fraction
composition of the coal with the ash and the moisture omitted (ash – and moisture – free).
Solution
Take as a basis 100 kg of coal because then percent = kilograms.
Basis: 100 kg of coal

The sum of the S + N + O + ash + water is 2 + 1 + 6 + 11 + 3 = 23 kg

We need to determine the individual kg of C and of H in the 77 kg total residuum.

To determine the kilograms of C and H, you have to select a new basis.

Basis: 100 kg mol (Because the H/C ratio is given in terms of moles, not weight)

H: (77kg) (0.43) = 33.15 kg

C: (77kg) (0.57) = 43.85 kg
Finally, we can prepare a table summarizing the results on the basis of 1 kg of the coal ash-free and water-free.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

1.4 Temperature
Temperature is a measure of the energy (mostly kinetic) of the molecules in a system. This definition tells us
about the amount of energy.
Other scientists prefer to say that temperature is a property of the state of thermal equilibrium of the system
with respect to other systems because temperature tells us about the capability of a system to transfer energy
(as heat).
Four types of temperature:
Two based on a relative scale, degrees Fahrenheit (°F) and Celsius (°C), and two based on an absolute scale, degree
Rankine (°R) and Kelvin (K).

Temperature Conversion

Also, the ∆°C is larger than the ∆°F

The proper meaning of the symbols °C, °F, K, and °R, as either the temperature or the unit temperature difference,
must be interpreted from the context of the equation or sentence being examined.
Suppose you have the relation:

What are the units of a and b? The units of a must be °F for consistency. The correct units for b must involve the
conversion factor (1.8 ∆°F\∆
∆°C), the factor that converts the size of a interval on one temperature scale

Unfortunately, the units for b are usually ign # $ % & ' ( ) *

The relations between °C, °F, K, and °R are:

Or T°R = T°F + 460

Or TK = T°C + 273

Or T°F = 1.8 T°C + 32

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 21
Convert 100 °C to (a) K, (b) °F, and (c) °R.
Solution

or with suppression of the ∆ symbol,

or

Example 22
The heat capacity of sulfuric acid has the units J/(g mol)(°C), and is given by the relation
Heat capacity = 139.1 + 1.56 * 10-1 T
where T is expressed in °C. Modify the formula so that the resulting expression has the associated units of Btu/(lb mol)
(°R) and T is in °R.
Solution
T°F = 1.8 T°C + 32 T°C = (T°F – 32)/1.8
T°R = T°F + 460 T°F = T°R – 460
∴ T°C = [T°R – 460 – 32]/1.8

Note the suppression of the ∆ symbol in the conversion between °C and °R.
Problems
1. Complete the following table with the proper equivalent temperatures:

2. The heat capacity of sulfur is Cp = 15.2 + 2.68T, where Cp is in J/(g mol)(K) and T is in K. Convert this
expression so that Cp is in cal/(g mol)(°F) with T in °F.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Answers:
1.

2. Cp =93.2 + 0.186 T°F

1.5 Pressure
Pressure and Its Units
Pressure is defined as “the normal (perpendicular) force per unit area (Figure 5.1). The pressure at the bottom
of the static (nonmoving) column of mercury exerted on the sealing plate is

Where p = pressure at the bottom of the column of the fluid, F = force, A = area, + = density of fluid
g = acceleration of gravity, h = height of the fluid column, and p0 = pressure at the top of the column of fluid

Figure 5.1 Pressure is the normal force per unit area. Arrows show the force exerted on the respective areas

For Example, suppose that the cylinder of fluid in Figure 5.1 is a column of mercury that has an area of 1 cm2 and is 50
cm high. The density of the Hg is 13.55 g/cm3. Thus, the force exerted by the mercury alone on the 1 cm2 section of the
bottom plate by the column of mercury is

The pressure on the section of the plate covered by the mercury is the force per unit area of the mercury plus the
pressure of the atmosphere

If we had started with units in the AE system, the pressure would be computed as [the density of mercury is 845.5
lbm/ft3]

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Measurement of Pressure
Pressure, like temperature, can be expressed using either an absolute or a relative scale.

Relative (Gauge) Absolute

Pressure Pressure

Figure 5.2 (a) Open-end manometer showing a pressure above atmospheric pressure. (b) Manometer measuring an
absolute pressure.

The relationship between relative and absolute pressure is given by the following expression:

Gauge Pressure + Barometer Pressure = Absolute Pressure …5.2

The standard atmosphere is defined as the pressure (in a standard gravitational field) equivalent to 1 atm or
760 mm Hg at 0°C or other equivalent.
The standard atmosphere is equal to
♦ 1.00 atmospheres (atm)
♦ 33.91 feet of water (ft H2O)
♦ 14.7 pounds (force) per square inch absolute (psia)
♦ 29.92 inches of mercury (in. Hg)
♦ 760.0 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg)
♦ 1.013 * 105 pascal (Pa) or newtons per square meter (N/m2 # , -

For Example, convert 35 psia to inches of mercury and kPa.

For Example, What is the equivalent pressure to 1 kg/cm2 (i.e., kgf/cm2) in pascal (g = 9.8 m/s2)
[1 kg/cm2] * [9.8 m/s2] * [(100 cm/1 m)2] = 9.8 * 104 N/m2 (or Pa)
Example 23
What is the equivalent pressure to 60 Gpa (gigapascal) in
(a) atmospheres (b) psia (c) inches of Hg (d) mm of Hg

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution

Example 24
The pressure gauge on a tank of CO2 used to fill soda-water bottles reads 51.0 psi. At the same time the barometer reads
28.0 in. Hg. What is the absolute pressure in the tank in psia? See Figure E5.2.

Solution

The absolute pressure in the tank is

51.0 psia + 13.76 psia = 64.8 psia

Example 25
Small animals such as mice can live (although not comfortably) at reduced air pressures down to 20 kPa absolute. In a
test, a mercury manometer attached to a tank, as shown in Figure E5.3, reads 64.5 cm Hg and the barometer reads 100
kPa. Will the mice survive?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution
You are expected to realize from the figure that the tank is below atmospheric pressure because the left leg of the
manometer is higher than the right leg, which is open to the atmosphere. Consequently, to get the absolute pressure
you subtract the 64.5 cm Hg from the barometer reading.
The absolute pressure in the tank is

The mice probably will not survive.

Differential Pressure Measurements
When the columns of fluids are at equilibrium (see Figure 5.3), the relationship among 1, 2, 3, and the heights of the
various columns of fluid is as follows:

P1 + 1 d1 g = P2 + 2 d2 g + 3 d3 g …5.3

Figure 5.3 Manometer with three fluids.

Note
If fluids 1 and 3 are gases, and fluid 2 is mercury, the density of the gas is so much less than that of mercury that you
can ignore the term involving the gas in Equation (5.3) for practical applications.

Can you show for the case in which 1 = 3 = that the manometer expression reduces to the differential
manometer equation:

P1 – P2 = ( 2 – ) g d2 … 5.4
Example 26
In measuring the flow of fluid in a pipeline as shown in Figure E5.4, a differential manometer was used to determine the
pressure difference across the orifice plate. The flow rate was to be calibrated with the observed pressure drop
(difference). Calculate the pressure drop p1 - p2 in pascals for the manometer reading in Figure E5.4.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution
In this problem you cannot ignore the water density above the manometer fluid.

Example 5.5
Air is flowing through a duct under a draft of 4.0 cm H2O. The barometer indicates that the atmospheric pressure is 730
mm Hg. What is the absolute pressure of the air in inches of mercury? See Figure E5.5

Solution
In this problem you can ignore the gas density above the manometer fluid and the air above the open end of the
manometer.

Next, convert 4.0 cm H2O to in. Hg:

Since the reading is 4.0 cm H2O draft (under atmospheric), the absolute reading in uniform units is

Questions
1. Figure SAT5.1Q2 shows four closed containers completely filled with water. Order the containers from the
one exerting the highest pressure to the lowest on their respective base.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

2. Answer the following questions true or false:

a. Atmospheric pressure is the pressure of the air surrounding us and changes from day to day
b. The standard atmosphere is a constant reference atmosphere equal to 1.000 atm or the equivalent
pressure in other units.
c. Absolute pressure is measured relative to a vacuum.
d. Gauge pressure is measured upward relative to atmospheric pressure.
e. Vacuum and draft pressures are measured downward from atmospheric pressure.
f. You can convert from one type of pressure measurement to another using the standard atmosphere.
g. A manometer measures the pressure difference in terms of the height of fluid (s) in the manometer
tube.
3. What is the equation to convert gauge pressure to absolute pressure?
4. What are the values and units of the standard atmosphere for six different methods of expressing pressure?
5. What is the equation to convert vacuum pressure to absolute pressure?

Answers:
1. , ( ( )# # . # / 0 ( # 1 ( 2 (( # *
dividing the weight of water by the base area.
2. All are true
3. Gauge pressure + barometric pressure = absolute pressure
4. See lectures
5. Barometric pressure - vacuum pressure = absolute pressure

Problems
1. Convert a pressure of 800 mm Hg to the following units:
a. psia b. kPa c. atm d. ft H2O
2. Your textbook lists five types of pressures: atmospheric pressure, barometric pressure, gauge pressure,
absolute pressure, and vacuum pressure.
a. What kind of pressure is measured by the device in Figure SAT5.2P2A?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

b. What kind of pressure is measured by the device in Figure SAT5.2P2B?

c. What would be the reading in Figure SAT5.2P2C assuming that the pressure and temperature inside
and outside the helium tank are the same as in parts (a) and (b)?
3. An evaporator shows a reading of 40 kPa vacuum. What is the absolute pressure in the evaporator in kPa?
4. A U-tube manometer filled with mercury is connected between two points in a pipeline. If the manometer
reading is 26 mm of Hg, calculate the pressure difference in kPa between the points when (a) water is flowing
through the pipeline, and (b) also when air at atmospheric pressure and 20°C with a density of 1.20 kg/m3 is
flowing in the pipeline.
5. A Bourdon gauge and a mercury manometer are connected to a tank of gas, as shown in Figure SAT5.3P2. If
the reading on the pressure gauge is 85 kPa, what is h in centimeters of Hg?

Answers:
1. ,
2. (A) Gauge pr # 3 # #( )# # / )# # " ( 4
3. In the absence of a barometric pressure value, assume 101.3 kPa. The absolute pressure is 61.3 kPa.
4. 2 4 ( ( , - ,1 -
5. 63.8 cm Hg.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Chapter Two
Material Balances

2.1 Introduction to Material Balances

A material balance is nothing more than the application of the law of the conservation of mass: “Matter is neither
created nor destroyed”

Open and Closed Systems

a. System
By system we mean any arbitrary portion of or a whole process that you want to consider for analysis. You
can define a system such as a reactor, a section of a pipe. Or, you can define the limits of the system by drawing the
system boundary, namely a line that encloses the portion of the process that you want to analyze.
b. Closed System
Figure 1 shows a two-dimensional view of a three-dimensional vessel holding 1000 kg of H2O. Note that material
neither enters nor leaves the vessel, that is, no material crosses the system boundary. Changes can take place inside
the system, but for a closed system, no mass exchange occurs with the surroundings.

Figure 1 Closed system.

c. Open System
Figure 2 is an example of an open system (also called a flow system) because material crosses the system boundary.

Figure 2 Open steady – state system.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Steady-State and Unsteady-State Systems

a. Steady – State System
Because the rate of addition of water is equal to the rate of removal, the amount of water in the vessel shown in
Figure 2 remains constant at its original value (1000 kg). We call such a process or system a steady – state
process or a steady – state system because
1. The conditions inside the process (specifically the amount of water in the vessel in Figure 2) remain
unchanged with time, and
2. The conditions of the flowing streams remain constant with time.
Thus, in a steady-state process, by definition all of the conditions in the process (e.g., temperature, pressure,
mass of material, flow rate, etc.) remain constant with time. A continuous process is one in which material
enters and/or leaves the system without interruption.
b. Unsteady – State System
Because the amount of water in the system changes with time (Figure 3), the process and system are deemed
to be an unsteady – state (transient) process.
For an unsteady-state process, not all of the conditions in the process (e.g., temperature, pressure, mass of
material, etc.) remain constant with time, and/or the flows in and out of the system can vary with time.

Figure 3 Initial conditions for an open unsteady – state system with

accumulation.

Figure 4 shows the system after 50 minutes of accumulation (Fifty minutes of accumulation at 10 kg/min
amounts to 500 kg of total accumulation).

Figure 4 The condition of the open unsteady – state system with accumulation after 50 minutes.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Figures 5 and 6 demonstrate negative accumulation.

Note that the amount of water in the system decreases with time at the rate of 10 kg/min. Figure 6.6 shows the
system after 50 minutes of operation.

Figure 5 Initial conditions for an unsteady – state process with negative accumulation.

Figure 6 Condition of the open unsteady – state system with negative accumulation after 50 minutes.

The material balance for a single component process is

Equation 6.1 can apply to moles or any quantity that is conserved. As an example, look at Figure 6.7 in which we
have converted all of the mass quantities in Figure 2 to their equivalent values in moles.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Figure 7 The system in Figure 2 with the flow rates shown in kg mol.
If the process is in the steady state, the accumulation term by definition is zero, and Equation 6.1 simplifies to a
famous truism

What goes in must come out (In = Out) …6.2

If you are analyzing an unsteady-state process, the accumulation term over a time interval can be calculated as

The times you select for the final and initial conditions can be anything, but you usually select an interval such as 1
minute or 1 hour rather than specific times.

When you combine Equations 6.1 and 6.3 you get the general material balance for a component in the
system in the absence of reaction

Example 1
Will you save money if instead of buying premium 89 octane gasoline at $1.269 per gallon that has the octane you
want, you blend sufficient 93 octane supreme gasoline at $l.349 per gallon with 87 octane regular gasoline at $1.149 per
gallon?
Solution
Choose a basis of 1 gallon of 89 octane gasoline, the desired product. The system is the gasoline tank.
• For simplicity, assume that no gasoline exists in the tank at the start of the blending, and one gallon exists in
the tank at the end of the blending.
• This arrangement corresponds to an unsteady-state process. Clearly it is an open system.
The initial number of gallons in the system is zero and the final number of gallons is one.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Let x = the number of gallons of 87 octane gasoline added, and y = the number of gallons of 93 octane added to the
blend. Since x + y = 1 is the total flow into the tank,
∴y=1–x
According to Equation (6.4) the balance on the octane number is

The solution is x = 2/3 gal and thus y = 1 – x = 1/3 gal.

The cost of the blended gasoline is (2/3) ($l.l49) + (1/3) ($l.349) = $ 1.216
A value less than the cost of the 89 octane gasoline ($l.269).
Multiple Component Systems
Suppose the input to a vessel contains more than one component, such as 100 kg/min of a 50% water and
50% sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11, MW = 342.3) mixture (see Figure 8). The mass balances with respect to the sugar and
water, balances that we call component balances.

Figure 8 An open system involving two components.

For Example, look at the mixer shown in Figure 9, an apparatus that mixes two streams to increase the concentration of
NaOH in a dilute solution. The mixer is a steady – state open system. Initially the mixer is empty, and after 1 hour it
is empty again.
Basis = 1 hour for convenience. As an alternate to the basis we selected you could select F1 = 9000 kg/hr as the basis,
or F2 = 1000 kg/hr as the basis; the numbers for this example would not change – just the units would change. Here
are the components and total balances in kg:

We can convert the kg shown in Figure 6.9 to kg moles by dividing each compound by its respective molecular weight
(NaOH = 40 and H2O = 18).

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Then the component and total balances in kg mol are:

Figure 9 Mixing of a dilute stream of NaOH with a concentrated stream of NaOH. Values below the stream arrows are
based on 1 hour of operation.

Example 2
Centrifuges are used to separate particles in the range of 0.1 to 100 m in diameter from a liquid using centrifugal force.
Yeast cells are recovered from a broth (a liquid mixture containing cells) using a tubular centrifuge (a cylindrical
system rotating about a cylindrical axis). Determine the amount of the cell-free discharge per hour if 1000 L/hr is fed to
the centrifuge, the feed contains 500 mg cells/L, and the product stream contains 50 wt.% cells. Assume that the feed
has a density of 1 g/cm3.
Solution
This problem involves a steady state, open (flow) system without reaction.
Basis = 1 hour

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Figure E6.2
M.B. on cells
In (mass) = Out (mass)

P = 1000 g
M.B. on fluid
In (mass) = Out (mass)

D = (106 – 500) g
Accounting for Chemical Reactions in Material Balances
Chemical reaction in a system requires the augmentation of Equation 6.4 to take into account the effects of
the reaction. To illustrate this point, look at Figure 10, which shows a steady – state system in which HC1 reacts with
NaOH by the following reaction:

NaOH + HCl NaC1 + H2O

Figure 10 Reactor for neutralizing HC1 with NaOH.

Equation 4 must be augmented to include terms for the generation and consumption of components by the chemical
reaction in the system as follows

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Material Balances for Batch and Semi-Batch Processes

♦ A batch process is used to process a fixed amount of material each time it is operated. Initially, the material
to be processed is charged into the system. After processing of the material is complete, the products are
removed.
♦ Batch processes are used industrially for speciality processing applications (e.g., producing pharmaceutical
products), which typically operate at relatively low production rates.
♦ Look at Figure11a that illustrates what occurs at the start of a batch process, and after thorough mixing, the
final solution remains in the system (Figure 11b).

Figure 11b The final state of a

batch mixing process.

Figure 11a The initial state of a batch mixing process.

♦ We can summarize the hypothetical operation of the batch as a flow system (open system) as follows
(Figure 12):
Final conditions: All values = 0 Flows out:
NaOH = 1,000 lb
H2O = 9,000 lb
Total = 10,000 lb
Initial conditions: All value = 0 Flows in:
NaOH = 1,000 lb
H2O = 9,000 lb
Total 10,000 lb

Figure 12 The batch process in Figure 11 represented as an open system.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

In a semi-batch process material enters the process during its operation, but does not leave. Instead mass is
allowed to accumulate in the process vessel. Product is withdrawn only after the process is over.
A figure 13 illustrates a semi-batch mixing process. Initially the vessel is empty (Figure 13a). Figure13b
shows the semi-batch system after 1 hour of operation. Semi-batch processes are open and unsteady –
state.
Only flows enter the systems, and none leave, hence the system is an unsteady state – one that you can treat
as having continuous flows, as follows:

Final conditions: Flows out: All values = 0

NaOH = 1,000 lb
H2O = 9,000 lb
Total = 10,000 lb Flows in:
NaOH = 1,000 lb
H2O = 9,000 lb
Initial conditions: All values = 0 Total = 10,000 lb

Figure 13b Condition of a semi-batch mixing process

Figure 6.13 Initial condition for the semi-batch mixing after 1 hour of operation.
process. Vessel is empty.
Example 3
A measurement for water flushing of a steel tank originally containing motor oil showed that 0.15 percent by weight of
the original contents remained on the interior tank surface. What is the fractional loss of oil before flushing with water,
and the pounds of discharge of motor oil into the environment during of a 10,000 gal tank truck that carried motor oil?
(The density of motor oil is about 0.80 g/cm3).
Solution
Basis: 10,000 gal motor oil at an assumed 77°F

The initial mass of the motor oil in the tank was

(10000 gal)(3.785 lit/1 gal)(1000 cm3/1 lit)(0.8 g/cm3)(1 lb/454 g) = 66700 lb
The mass fractional loss is 0.0015. The oil material balance is

Initial unloaded residual discharged on cleaning

66,700 = 66,700 (0.9985) + 66,700 (0.0015)
Thus, the discharge on flushing is 66,700 (0.00 15) = 100 lb.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Questions
1. Is it true that if no material crosses the boundary of a system, the system is a closed system?
2. Is mass conserved within an open process?
3. Can an accumulation be negative? What does a negative accumulation mean?
4. Under what circumstances can the accumulation term in the material balance be zero for a process?
5. Distinguish between a steady-state and an unsteady-state process.
6. What is a transient process? Is it different than an unsteady-state process?
7. Does Equation 6.4 apply to a system involving more than one component?
8. When a chemical plant or refinery uses various feeds and produces various products, does Equation 6.4 apply
to each component in the plant?
9. What terms of the general material balance, Equation (6.5), can be deleted if
a. The process is known to be a steady-state process.
b. The process is carried out inside a closed vessel.
c. The process does not involve a chemical reaction.
10. What is the difference between a batch process and a closed process?
11. What is the difference between a semi-batch process and a closed process?
12. What is the difference between a semi-batch process and an open process?
Answers:
1. Yes
2. Not necessarily – accumulation can occur
3. Yes; depletion
4. No reaction (a) closed system, or (b) flow of a component in and out are equal.
5. In an unsteady-state system, the state of the system changes with time, whereas with a steady-state system, it
does not.
6. A transient process is an unsteady-state process.
7. Yes
8. Yes
9. (a) Accumulation; (b) flow in and out; (c) generation and consumption
10. None
11. A flow in occurs
12. None, except in a flow process, usually flows occur both in and out
Problems
1. Here is a report from a catalytic polymerization unit:

Charge: Pounds per hour

Propanes and butanes 15,500
Production:
Propane and lighter 5,680
Butane 2,080
Polymer missing
What is the production in pounds per hour of the polymer?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

2. A plant discharges 4,000 gal/min of treated wastewater that contains 0.25 mg/L of PCB, (polychloronated
biphenyls) into a river that contains no measurable PCBs upstream of the discharge. If the river flow rate is
1,500 cubic feet per second, after the discharged water has thoroughly mixed with the river water, what is the
concentration of PCBs in the river in mg/L?
Answers:
1. 7,740 lb/hr
2. 1.49 * 10-3 mg/L.
2.2 General Strategy for Solving Material Balance Problems
Problem Solving
An orderly method of analyzing problems and presenting their solutions represents training in logical thinking
that is of considerably greater value than mere knowledge of how to solve a particular type of problem.
The Strategy for Solving Problems
1. Read and understand the problem statement.
2. Draw a sketch of the process and specify the system boundary.
3. Place labels for unknown variables and values for known variables on the sketch.
4. Obtain any missing needed data.
5. Choose a basis.
6. Determine the number of unknowns.
7. Determine the number of independent equations, and carry out a degree of freedom analysis.
8. Write down the equations to be solved.
9. Solve the equations and calculate the quantities asked for.
10. Check your answer.
Example 4
A thickener in a waste disposal unit of a plant removes water from wet sewage sludge as shown in Figure 10. How
many kilograms of water leave the thickener per 100 kg of wet sludge that enter the thickener? The process is in the
steady state.

100 kg 70 kg
Thickener
Wet Sludge Dehydrated Sludge

Water = ?

Figure 10
Solution

Basis: 100 kg wet sludge

The system is the thickener (an open system). No accumulation, generation, or consumption occurs. The total mass
balance is
In = Out
100 kg = 70 kg + kg of water
Consequently, the water amounts to 30 kg.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 5
A continuous mixer mixes NaOH with H2O to produce an aqueous solution of NaOH. Determine the composition and
flow rate of the product if the flow rate of NaOH is 1000 kg/hr, and the ratio of the flow rate of the H2O to the product
solution is 0.9. For this process,
1. Sketch of the process is required.
2. Place the known information on the diagram of the process.
3. What basis would you choose for the problem?
4. How many unknowns exist?
5. Determine the number of independent equations.
6. Write the equations to be solved.
7. Solve the equations.
8. Check your answer.
Solution
1. The process is an open one, and we assume it to be steady state.

2. Because no contrary information is provided about the composition of the H2O and NaOH streams, we will assume
that they are 100% H2O and NaOH, respectively.

3. Basis (1000 kg or 1 hour or 1000 kg/hr) (all are equivalent)

4. We do not know the values of four variables: W, P, PNaOH and PH2O.
5. You can write three material balances:
• one for the NaOH
• one for the H2O
• one total balance (the sum of the two component balances)
Only two are independent.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Note: You can write as many independent material balances as there are species involved in the system.
6. Material balance: in = out or in – out = 0

Could you substitute the total mass balance 1000 + W = P for one of the two component mass balances? Of course In
fact, you could calculate P by solving just two equations:

7. Solve equations:
W = 0.9 P substitute in total balance 1000 + 0.9 P = P
∴ P = 10000 kg & W = 0.9 * 10000 = 9000 kg (The basis is still 1 hr (FNaOH = 1000 kg))
From these two values you can calculate the amount of H2O and NaOH in the product

Then

Note

8. The total balance would have been a redundant balance, and could be used to check the answers

1,000 + 9,000 = 10,000

Note: After solving a problem, use a redundant equation to check your values.

Degree of Freedom Analysis

The phrase degrees of freedom have evolved from the design of plants in which fewer independent equations than
unknowns exist. The difference is called the degrees of freedom available to the designer to specify flow rates,
equipment sizes, and so on. You calculate the number of degrees of freedom (ND) as follows:
Degrees of freedom = number of unknowns — number of independent equations
ND = NU – NE
When you calculate the number of degrees of freedom you ascertain the solve ability of a problem. Three
outcomes exist:
Case ND Possibility of Solution
NU = NE 0 Exactly specified (determined); a solution exists

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

NU > NE >0 Under specified (determined); more independent equations required

NU < NE <0 Over specified (determined)

For the problem in Example 6,

NU = 4
NE = 4
So that
ND = NU – NE = 4 – 4 = 0
And a unique solution exists for the problem.
Example 7
A cylinder containing CH4, C2H6, and N2 has to be prepared containing a CH4 to C2H6 mole ratio of 1.5 to 1. Available
to prepare the mixture is (l) a cylinder containing a mixture of 80% N2 and 20% CH4, (2) a cylinder containing a
mixture of 90% N2 and 10% C2H6, and (3) a cylinder containing pure N2. What is the number of degrees of freedom,
i.e., the number of independent specifications that must be made, so that you can determine the respective contributions
from each cylinder to get the desired composition in the cylinder with the three components?
Solution
A sketch of the process greatly helps in the analysis of the degrees of freedom. Look at Figure 11.

Figure 11

Do you count seven unknowns — three values of xi and four values of Fi? How many independent equations can be
written?
♦ Three material balances: CH4, C2H6, and N2
♦ One specified ratio: moles of CH4 to C2H6 equal 1.5 or (XCH4/X C2H6) = 1.5

♦ One summation of mole fractions: x iF4 =1

Thus, there are seven minus five equals two degrees of freedom (ND = NU – NE = 7 – 5 = 2). If you pick a basis, such
as F4 = 1, one other value has to be specified to solve the problem to calculate composition of F4.
Example 8
In the growth of biomass CH1.8O0.5 N0.16S0.0045P0.0055, with the system comprised of the biomass and the substrate, the
substrate contains the carbon source for growth, CαHβOγ, plus NH3, O2, H2O, CO2, H3PO4, and H2SO4. The relations
between the elements and the compounds in the system are:

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

How many degrees of freedom exist for this system (assuming that the values of α, β, and γ are specified)?
Solution
Based on the given data six element balances exist for the 8 species present, hence the system has two degrees of
freedom.
Questions

1. What does the concept “solution of a material balance problem” mean?

2. (a) How many values of unknown variables can you compute from one independent material balance?
(b) From three independent material balance equations?
(c) From four material balances, three of which are independent?
3. If you want to solve a set of independent equations that contain fewer unknown variables than equations (the
over specified problem), how should you proceed with the solution?
4. What is the major category of implicit constraints (equations) you encounter in material balance problems?
5. If you want to solve a set of independent equations that contain more unknown variable than equations (the
underspecified problem), what must you do to proceed with the solution?
Answers:

1. A solution means a (possibly unique) set of values for the unknowns in a problem that satisfies the equations
formulated in the problem.
2. (a) one; (b) three; (c) three.
3. Delete nonpertinent equations, or find additional variables not included in the analysis.
4. The sum of the mass or mole fraction in a stream or inside a system is unity.
5. Obtain more equations or specifications, or delete variables of negligible importance.
Problems
1. A water solution containing 10% acetic acid is added to a water solution containing 30% acetic acid flowing at
the rate of 20 kg/min. The product P of the combination leaves the rate of 100 kg/min. What is the composition
of P? For this process,
a. Determine how many independent balances can be written.
b. List the names of the balances.
c. Determine how many unknown variables can be solved for.
d. List their names and symbols.
e. Determine the composition of P.
2. Can you solve these three material balances for F, D, and P? Explain why not.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

3. How many values of the concentrations and flow rates in the process shown in Figure SAT7.2P3 are
unknown? List them. The streams contain two components, 1 and 2.

4. How many material balances are needed to solve problem 3? Is the number the same as the number of
unknown variables? Explain.

Answers:
1. (a) Two; (b) two of these th# ! ( ( /0 #/ 0 & & 5 ( *6
&# ( 7 & ( ( ( - 15 ( ( ' 50 #
2. Not for a unique solution because only two of the equations are independent.
3. F, D, P, 7D2, 7P1
4. Three unknowns exist. Because only two independent material balances can be written for the problem, one
value of F, D, or P must be specified to obtain a solution. Note that specifying values of 7D2 or 7P1 will not
help.
2.3 Solving Material Balance Problems for Single Units without Reaction
The use of material balances in a process allows you (a) to calculate the values of the total flows and flows of
species in the streams that enter and leave the plant equipment, and (b) to calculate the change of conditions inside the
equipment.
Example 9
Determine the mass fraction of Streptomycin in the exit organic solvent assuming that no water exits with the
solvent and no solvent exits with the aqueous solution. Assume that the density of the aqueous solution is 1 g/cm3 and
the density of the organic solvent is 0.6 g/cm3. Figure E8. 1 shows the overall process.
Solution
This is an open (flow), steady-state process without reaction. Assume because of the low concentration of Strep. in the
aqueous and organic fluids that the flow rates of the entering fluids equal the flow rates of the exit fluids.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Basis: 1 min
Basis: Feed = 200 L (flow of aqueous entering aqueous solution)
• Flow of exiting aqueous solution (same as existing flow)
• Flow of exiting organic solution (same as existing flow)
The material balances are in = out in grams. Let x be the g of Strep per L of solvent S
Strep. balance:

x = 196 g Strep/L of solvent

To get the g Strep/g solvent, use the density of the solvent:

Example 10
Membranes represent a relatively new technology for the separation of gases. One use that has attracted attention is the
separation of nitrogen and oxygen from air. Figure E8.2a illustrates a nanoporous membrane that is made by coating a
very thin layer of polymer on a porous graphite supporting layer. What is the composition of the waste stream if the
waste stream amounts to 80% of the input stream?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution
This is an open, steady-state process without chemical reaction.

Basis: 100 g mol = F

Basis: F = 100

Material balances: O2 and N2

The solution of these equations is

Check: total balance 100 = 20 + 80 OK

Another method for solution

The overall balance is easy to solve because
F=P+W or 100=P+ 80
Gives P = 20 straight off. Then, the oxygen balance would be

Note (Example 10)

is a redundant equation because it repeats some of the specifications.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Also, is redundant. Divide the equation by P to get a relation that is equivalent to the
sum of two of the specifications.
Example 11
A novice manufacturer of ethyl alcohol (denoted as EtOH) for gasohol is having a bit of difficulty with a distillation
column. The process is shown in Figure E8.3. It appears that too much alcohol is lost in the bottoms (waste). Calculate
the composition of the bottoms and the mass of the alcohol lost in the bottoms based on the data shown in Figure E8.3
that was collected during 1 hour of operation.
Solution
The process is an open system, and we assume it is in the steady state. No reaction occurs.

Basis: 1 hour so that F = 1000 kg of feed

We are given that P is (1/10) of F, so that P = 0.1(1000) = 100 kg

Basis: F= 1000 kg
Specifications:

P = (0.1) (F) = 100 kg

Material balances: EtOH and H2O

Implicit equations:

The total mass balance: F=P+B

B = 1000 – 100 = 900 kg
The solution for the composition of the bottoms can then be computed directly from the material balances:

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

As a check let’s use the redundant equation

40 + 860 = 900 = B

Example 12
You are asked to prepare a batch of 18.63% battery acid as follows. A tank of old weak battery acid (H2SO4) solution
contains 12.43% H2SO4 (the remainder is pure water). If 200 kg of 77.7% H2SO4 is added to the tank, and the final
solution is to be 18.63% H2SO4, how many kilograms of battery acid have been made? See Figure E8.4.

Solution
1. An unsteady-state process (the tank initially contains sulfuric acid solution).
Accumulation = In – Out
2. Steady-state process (the tank as initially being empty)
In = Out (Because no accumulation occurs in the tank)
1) Solve the problem with the mixing treated as an unsteady-state process.
Basis = 200 kg of A
Material balances: H2SO4 and H2O
The balances will be in kilograms.

Note that any pair of the three equations is independent. P = 2110 kg acid & F = 1910 kg acid.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

2) The problem could also be solved by considering the mixing to be a steady- state process.

Note: You can see by inspection that these equations are no different than the first set of mass balances except for the
arrangement and labels.
Example 13
In a given batch of fish cake that contains 80% water (the remainder is dry cake), 100 kg of water is removed, and it is
found that the fish cake is then 40% water. Calculate the weight of the fish cake originally put into the dryer. Figure
E8.5 is a diagram of the process.

Solution
This is a steady-state process without reaction.
Basis: 100 kg of water evaporated = W

A = 150 kg initial cake and B = (150)(0.20/0.60) = 50kg

Check via the water balance: 0.80 A = 0.40 B + 100
0.80(150) 8 0.40(50) + 100
120 = 120
Note
In Example 8.5 the BDC in the wet and dry fish cake is known as a tie component because the BDC goes from a single
stream in the process to another single stream without loss, addition, or splitting.
Example 14
A tank holds 10,000 kg of a saturated solution of Na2CO3 at 30°C. You want to crystallize from this solution 3000 kg of
Na2CO3.10 H2O without any accompanying water. To what temperature must the solution be cooled? You definitely
need solubility data for Na2CO3 as a function of the temperature:

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution
No reaction occurs. Although the problem could be set up as a steady-state problem with flows in and out of the
system (the tank), it is equally justified to treat the process as an -unsteady-state process.

Because the initial solution is saturated at 30°C, you can calculate the composition of the initial solution:

Next, you should calculate the composition of the crystals.

Basis: 1 g mol Na2CO3.10 H2O

Basis: 10,000 kg of saturated solution at 30°C

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

An unsteady-state problem, the mass balance reduces to (the flow in = 0)

Accumulation = In – Out
Basis: I = 10,000 kg
Material balances: Na2CO3, H2O

Note that are redundant equations. C = Crystals

Also redundant are equations such as
M.B.:

The solution for the composition and amount of the final solution is

Check using the total balance: 7,000 + 3,000 = 10,000

To find the temperature of the final solution,

Thus, the temperature to which the solution must be cooled lies between 20°C and 30°C. By linear interpolation

Example 14
This example focuses on the plasma components of the streams: water, uric acid (UR), creatinine (CR), urea
(U), P, K, and Na. You can ignore the initial filling of the dialyzer because the treatment lasts for an interval of two or
three hours. Given the measurements obtained from one treatment shown in Figure E8.7b, calculate the grams per liter
of each component of the plasma in the outlet solution.
Solution
This is an open steady-state system. Basis: 1 minute

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

• The entering solution is assumed to be essentially water.

The water balance in grams, assuming that I mL is equivalent to 1 gram, is:

The component balances in grams are:

Questions
1. Answer the following questions true or false:
a. The most difficult part of solving material balance problems is the collection and formulation of the
data specifying the compositions of the streams into and out of the system, and of the material inside
the system.
b. All open processes involving two components with three streams involve zero degrees of freedom.
c. An unsteady-state process problem can be analyzed and solved as a steady-state process problem.
d. If a flow rate is given in kg/min, you should convert it to kg mol/min.
2. Under what circumstances do equations or specifications become redundant?

Answers:
1. (a) T; (b) F; (c) T; (d) F
2. When they are not independent.

Problems
1. A cellulose solution contains 5.2% cellulose by weight in water. How many kilograms of 1.2% solution are
required to dilute 100 kg of the 5.2% solution to 4.2%?
2. A cereal product containing 55% water is made at the rate of 500 kg/hr. You need to dry the product so that it
contains only 30% water. How much water has to be evaporated per hour?
3. If 100 g of Na2SO4 is dissolved in 200 g of H2O and the solution is cooled until 100 g of Na2SO4.10H2O
crystallizes out; find (a) the composition of the remaining solution (the mother liquor) and (b) the grams of
crystals recovered per 100 g of initial solution.
4. Salt in crude oil must be removed before the oil undergoes processing in a refinery. The crude oil is fed to a
washing unit where freshwater fed to the unit mixes with the oil and dissolves a portion of the salt contained in
the oil. The oil (containing some salt but no water), being less dense than the water, can be removed at the top
of the washer. If the “spent” wash water contains 15% salt and the crude oil contains 5% salt, determine the
concentration of salt in the “washed” oil product if the ratio of crud oil (with salt) to water used is 4:1.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Answers:

1. 33.3 kg
2. 178 kg/hr
3. (a) 28% Na2SO4 ,, ,
4. Salt: 0.0061 (! , ,.

2.4 The Chemical Reaction Equation and Stoichiometry

Stoichiometry
• The stoichiometric coefficients in the chemical reaction equation
Is (1 for C7H16, 11 for O2 and so on).
• Another way to use the chemical reaction equation is to indicate that 1 mole of CO2 is formed from each (1/7)
mole of C7H16, and 1 mole of H2O is formed with each (7/8) mole of CO2. The latter ratios indicate the use of
stoichiometric ratios in determining the relative proportions of products and reactants.
For example how many kg of CO2 will be produced as the product if 10 kg of C7H16 react completely with the
stoichiometric quantity of O2? On the basis of 10 kg of C7H6

Example 15
The primary energy source for cells is the aerobic catabolism (oxidation) of glucose (C6H12O6, a sugar). The overall
oxidation of glucose produces CO2 and H2O by the following reaction

Determine the values of a, b, and c that balance this chemical reaction equation.
Solution
Basis: The given reaction
By inspection, the carbon balance gives b = 6, the hydrogen balance gives c = 6, and an oxygen balance
6 + 2a = 6 * 2 + 6
Gives a = 6. Therefore, the balanced equation is
Example 16
In the combustion of heptane, CO2 is produced. Assume that you want to produce 500 kg of dry ice per hour, and that
50% of the CO2 can be converted into dry ice, as shown in Figure E9.2. How many kilograms of heptane must be
burned per hour? (MW: CO2 = 44 and C7H16 = 100.1)

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution
The chemical equation is

Basis: 500 kg of dry ice (equivalent to 1 hr)

The calculation of the amount of C7H16 can be made in one sequence:

Example 17
A limestone analyses (weight %): CaCO3 92.89%, MgCO3 5.41% and Inert 1.70%
By heating the limestone you recover oxides known as lime.
(a) How many pounds of calcium oxide can be made from 1 ton of this limestone?
(b) How many pounds of CO2 can be recovered per pound of limestone?
(c) How many pounds of limestone are needed to make 1 ton of lime?
Mol. Wt.: CaCO3 (100.1) MgCO3 (84.32) CaO (56.08) MgO (40.32) CO2 (44.0)
Solution

Chemical Equation:

Basis: 100 lb of limestone

The quantities listed under Products are calculated from the chemical equations. For example, for the last column:

The production of CO2 is:

0.9280 lb mol CaO is equivalent to 0.9280 lb mol CO2
0.0642 lb mol MgO is equivalent to 0.0642 lb mol CO2
Total lb mol CO2 = 0.9280 + 0.0642 = 0.992 lb mol CO2

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Alternately, you could have calculated the lb CO2 from a total balance: 100 - 56.33 = 44.67.
Now, to calculate the quantities originally asked for:

(a) CaO produced =

(b) CO2 recovered =

(c) Limestone required =

Terminology for Applications of Stoichiometry

Extent of Reaction
The extent of reaction, , is based on a particular stoichiometric equation, and denotes how much reaction occurs.
The extent of reaction is defined as follows: … 9.1
Where:
ni = moles of species i present in the system after the reaction occurs
nio = moles of species i present in the system when the reaction starts
vi = coefficient for species i in the particular chemical reaction equation (moles of species i produced or
consumed per moles reacting)
9 = extent of reaction (moles reacting)
• The coefficients of the products in a chemical reaction are assigned positive values and the reactants
assigned negative values. Note that (ni - nio) is equal to the generation or consumption of component i by
reaction.
Equation (9.1) can be rearranged to calculate the number of moles of component i from the value of the extent of
reaction
… 9.2
Example 18
Determine the extent of reaction for the following chemical reaction
given the following analysis of feed and product:
N2 H2 NH3
Feed 100 g 50 g 5g
Product 90 g
Also, determine the g and g mol of N2 and H2 in the product.
Solution
The extent of reaction can be calculated by applying Equation 9.1 based on NH3:

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Equation 9.2 can be used to determine the g mol of N2 and H2 in the products of the reaction

nH2

mH2

Note: If several independent reactions occur in the reactor, say k of them, 9 can be defined for each reaction, with vki
being the stoichiometric coefficient of species i in the kth reaction, the total number of moles of species i is

… 9.3

Where R is the total number of independent reactions.

Limiting and Excess Reactants

The excess material comes out together with, or perhaps separately from, the product, and sometimes can be
used again.
The limiting reactant is the species in a chemical reaction that would theoretically run out first (would be
completely consumed) if the reaction were to proceed to completion according to the chemical equation—
even if the reaction does not proceed to completion! All the other reactants are called excess reactants.

amount of the excess reactant fed - amount of the excess reactant required to
react with the limiting reactant
% excess reactant = ×100
{amount of the excess reactant required to react with the limiting reactant}

For example, using the chemical reaction equation in Example 9.2,

If 1 g mol of C7H16 and 12 g mol of O2 are mixed.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

As a straightforward way of determining the limiting reactant, you can determine the maximum extent of reaction,
9max, for each reactant based on the complete reaction of the reactant. The reactant with the smallest maximum
extent of reaction is the limiting reactant. For the example, for 1 g mol of C7H16 plus 12 g mole of O2, you calculate

Therefore, heptane is the limiting reactant and oxygen is the excess reactant.

As an alternate to determining the limiting reactant,

Consider the following reaction

If the feed to the reactor contains 1.1 moles of A, 3.2 moles of B, and 2.4 moles of C. The extents of reaction based on
complete reaction of A, B, and C are

As a result, B is identified as the limiting reactant in this example while A and C are the excess reactants.
As an alternate to determining the limiting reactant for same example:
We choose A as the reference substance and calculate

We conclude that B is the limiting reactant relative to A, and that A is the limiting reactant relative to C, hence B is
the limiting reactant among the set of three reactant. In symbols we have B < A, C > A (i.e., A < C), so that B < A <
C.
Example 19
If you feed 10 grams of N2 gas and 10 grams of H2 gas into a reactor:
a. What is the maximum number of grams of NH3 that can be produced?
b. What is the limiting reactant?
c. What is the excess reactant?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution

Given g: 10 10 0
MW: 28 2.016 17.02
Calculated g mol: 0.357 4.960 0

(b) N2 is the limiting reactant, and that (c) H2 is the excess reactant.

The excess H2 = 4.960 – 3(0.357) = 3.89 g mol. To answer question (a), the maximum amount of NH3 that can be
produced is based on assuming complete conversion of the limiting reactant

Conversion and degree of completion

Conversion is the fraction of the feed or some key material in the feed that is converted into products.
Conversion is related to the degree of completion of a reaction namely the percentage or fraction of the
limiting reactant converted into products.
Thus, percent conversion is
moles (or mass) of feed (or a compound in the feed) that react
% conversion = ×100
moles (or mass) of feed (or a component in the feed) introduced

For example, for the reaction equation described in Example 16, if 14.4 kg of CO2 are formed in the reaction of 10 kg
of C7H16, you can calculate what percent of the C7H16 is converted to CO2 (reacts) as follows:

C7H16 equivalent to CO2 in the product

C7H16 in the reactants

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

The conversion can also be calculated using the extent of reaction as follows:
Conversion is equal to the extent of reaction based on CO2 formation (i.e., the actual extent of reaction)
divided by the extent of reaction assuming complete reaction of C7H16 (i.e., the maximum possible extent of
reaction).

extent of reaction that actually occurs

Conversion =
extent of reaction that would occur if complete reaction took place

ξ
=
ξ max
Selectivity
Selectivity is the ratio of the moles of a particular (usually the desired) product produced to the moles of another
(usually undesired or by-product) product produced in a set of reactions.

For example, methanol (CH3OH) can be converted into ethylene (C2H4) or propylene (C3H6) by the reactions

What is the selectivity of C2H4 relative to the C3H6 at 80% conversion of the CH3OH? At 80% conversion: C2H4 19
mole % and for C3H6 8 mole %. Because the basis for both values is the same, the selectivity = 19/8 = 2.4 mol C2H4
per mol C3H6.
Yield
No universally agreed-upon definitions exist for yield—in fact, quite the contrary. Here are three common ones:
• Yield (based on feed)—the amount (mass or moles) of desired product obtained divided by the amount of the
key (frequently the limiting) reactant fed.
• Yield (based on reactant consumed)—the amount (mass or moles) of desired product obtained divided by
amount of the key (frequently the limiting) reactant consumed.
• Yield (based on theoretical consumption of the limiting reactant)—the amount (mass or moles) of a
product obtained divided by the theoretical (expected) amount of the product that would be obtained based on
the limiting reactant in the chemical reaction equation if it were completely consumed.
Example 20
The following overall reaction to produce biomass, glycerol, and ethanol

Calculate the theoretical yield of biomass in g of biomass per g of glucose. Also, calculate the yield of ethanol in g of
ethanol per g of glucose.
Solution
Basis: 0.59 g mol of biomass

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 21
For this example, large amounts of single wall carbon nanotubes can be produced by the catalytic decomposition of
ethane over Co and Fe catalysts supported on silica

If you collect 3 g mol of H2 and 0.50 g mol of C2H4, what is the selectivity of C relative to C2H4?
Solution
Basis: 3 g mol H2 by Reaction (a)
0.50 g mol C2H4 by Reaction (b)

The 0.5 g mol of C2H4 corresponds to 0.50 g mol of H2 produced in Reaction (b).
The H2 produced by Reaction (a) = 3 - 0.50 = 2.5 g mol.

The nanotubes (the C) produced by Reaction (a) = (2/3)(2.5) = 1.67 g mol C

The selectivity = 1.67/0.50 = 3.33 g mol C/g mol C2H4
Example 22
The two reactions of interest for this example are

C3H6 is propylene (propene) (MW = 42.08)

C3H5C1 is allyl chloride (3-chloropropene) (MW = 76.53)
C3H6Cl2 is propylene chloride (1,2—dichloropropane) (MW = 112.99)
The species recovered after the reaction takes place for some time are listed in Table E9.8.

species Cl2 C3H6 C3H5C1 C3H6Cl2 HCl

g mol 141 651 4.6 24.5 4.6
Based on the product distribution assuming that no allyl chlorides were present in the feed, calculate the following:
a. How much Cl2 and C3H6 were fed to the reactor in g mol?
b. What was the limiting reactant?
c. What was the excess reactant?
d. What was the fraction conversion of C3H6 to C3H5C1?
e. What was the selectivity of C3H5C1 relative to C3H6Cl2?
f. What was the yield of C3H5C1 expressed in g of C3H5C1 to the g of C3H6 fed to the reactor?
g. What was the extent of reaction of the first and second reactions?
Solution
Figure E9.8 illustrates the process as an open-flow system. A batch process could alternatively be used.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

A convenient basis is what is given in the product list in Table E9.8.

Reaction (a)

Reaction (b)

Total = 4.6 + 24.5 = 29.l g mol Cl2 reacts

Cl2 in product = 141.0 from Table E9.8
(a) Total Cl2 fed = 141.0 + 29.1 = 170.1 g mol Cl2
Total C3H6 fed = 651.0 + 29.1 = 680.1 g mol of C3H6
(b) and (c) Since both reactions involve the same value of the respective reaction stoichiometric coefficients,
both reactions will have the same limiting and excess reactants

Thus, C3H6 was the excess reactant and Cl2 the limiting reactant.

(d) The fraction conversion of C3H6 to C3H5C1 was

(e) The selectivity was

(f) The yield was

(g) Because C3H5C1 is produced only by the first reaction, the extent of reaction of the first reaction is

Because C3H6C12 is produced only by the second reaction, the extent of reaction of the second reaction is

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 23
Five pounds of bismuth (MW=209) is heated along with one pound of sulfur (MW=32) to form Bi2S3 (MW=514). At
the end of the reaction, the mass is extracted and the free sulfur recovered is 5% of the reaction mass. Determine
2 Bi + 3S Bi2S3
1. The limiting reactant.
2. The percent excess reactant.
3. The percent conversion of sulfur to Bi2S3

Questions
1. What is a limiting reactant?
2. What is an excess reactant?
3. How do you calculate the extent of reaction from experimental data?
Answers:
Q.3 Reactant present in the least stoichiometric quantity.
Q.4 All other reactants than the limiting reactant.
Q.5 For a species in
Open system: Closed system:
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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Problems

1. Write balanced reaction equations for the following reactions:

a. C9H18 and oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water.
b. FeS2 and oxygen to form Fe2O3 and sulfur dioxide.
2. If 1 kg of benzene (C6H6) is oxidized with oxygen, how many kilograms of O2 are needed to convert all the
benzene to CO2 and H2O?
3. The electrolytic manufacture of chlorine gas from a sodium chloride solution is carried out by the following
reaction:

How many kilograms of Cl2 can be produced from 10 m3 of brine solution containing 5% by weight of NaCl?
The specific gravity of the solution relative to that of water at 4°C is 1.07.

4. Can you balance the following chemical reaction equation?

5. For the reaction in which stoichiometric quantities of the reactants are fed

and the reaction goes to completion, what is the maximum extent of reaction based on C5H10? On O2? Are the
respective values different or the same? Explain the result.

6. Calcium oxide (CaO) is formed by decomposing limestone (pure CaCO3). In one kiln the reaction goes to 70%
completion.
a. What is the composition of the solid product withdrawn from the kiln?
b. What is the yield in terms of pounds of CO2 produced per pound of limestone fed into the process?
7. Aluminum sulfate can be made by reacting crushed bauxite ore with sulfuric acid, according to the following
chemical equation:

The bauxite ore contains 55.4% by weight of aluminum oxide, the remainder being impurities. The sulfuric
acid solution contains 77.7% pure sulfuric acid, the remainder being water. To produce crude aluminum sulfate
containing 1798 lb of pure aluminum sulfate, 1080 lb of bauxite ore and 2510 lb of sulfuric acid solution are
reacted.
a. Identify the excess reactant.
b. What percentage of the excess reactant was consumed?
c. What was the degree of completion of the reaction?

8. Two well-known gas phase reactions take place in the dehydration of ethane:

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Given the product distribution measured in the gas phase reaction of C2H6 as follows
C2H6 27%, C2H4 33%, H2 13%, and CH4 27%

a. What species was the limiting reactant?

b. What species was the excess reactant?
c. What was the conversion of C2H6 to CH4?
d. What was the degree of completion of the reaction?
e. What was the selectivity of C2H4 relative to CH4?
f. What was the yield of C2H4 expressed in kg mol of C2H4 produced per kg mol of C2H6?
g. What was the extent of reaction of C2H6?

Answers:

1. (a) (b)
2. 3.08
3. 323
4. No
5. (a) 1,
(b) 1,
(c) The same,
(d) The extent of reaction depends on the reaction equation as a whole and not on one species in the
equation.
6. CaCO3! 1, 15/ " ! 15 , '
7. (a) H2SO4
5
(c) 0.89
8. (a) C2H6 * # ( &# # ( : / &
(b) None;
6# ( % #( ; '1
1
(e) 1.22
(f) Based on reactant ( & ! 1 / # ! '1/ #*!
(g) Reaction (a) is 33 mol reacting and reaction (b) is 13.5 mol reacting, both based on 100 mol product.

2.5 Material Balances for Processes Involving Reaction

Species Material Balances
Processes Involving a Single Reaction
The material balance for a species must be augmented to include generation and consumption terms when
chemical reactions occur in a process.

(1)

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Note that we have written Equation (1) in moles rather than mass because the generation and consumption terms are
more conveniently represented in moles.
For example : Figure 10.1 presents the process as an open, steady-state system operating for 1 min so that the
accumulation terms are zero. The data in Figure 10.1 are in g mol.
Using Equation 10.1 you can calculate via a value in g mol for the generation or consumption, as the case may be, for
each of the three species involved in the reaction:

NH3 (generation): 6 – 0 = 6 gmol

H2 (consumption): 9 – 18 = - 9 gmol
N2 (consumption): 12 – 15 = - 3 gmol

Here is where the extent of reaction becomes useful. Recall that for an open system

Where vi is the stoichiometric coefficient of species i in the reaction equation

And the extent of reaction can be calculated via any species:

The three species balances corresponding to the process in Figure 10.1 are

The term vi corresponds to the moles of i generated or consumed.

The value of the fraction conversion f of the limiting reactant; 9 is related to f by

…10.3

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Consequently, you can calculate the value of 9 from the fraction conversion (or vice versa) plus information identifying
the limiting reactant.
Example 24
The chlorination of methane occurs by the following reaction
You are asked to determine the product composition if the conversion of the limiting reactant is 67%, and the feed
composition in mole % is given as: 40% CH4, 50% Cl2, and 10% N2.
Solution
Assume the reactor is an open, steady-state process.

Basis 100 g mol feed

Limiting reactant:

Therefore, CH4 is the limiting reactant.

Calculate the extent of reaction using the specified conversion rate and Equation 10.3.

The species material balances (in moles) using Equation 10.2 gives a direct solution for each species in the product:

Therefore, the composition of the product stream is: 13.2% CH4, 23.2% Cl2, 26.8% CH3C1, 26.8% HCl, and 10%
N2 because the total number of product moles is conveniently 100 g mol.

Example 25
A proposed process to remove H2S is by reaction with SO2:
In a test of the process, a gas stream containing 20% H2S and 80% CH4 were combined with a stream of pure SO2. The
process produced 5000 lb of S(s), and in the product gas the ratio of SO2 to H2S was equal to 3, and the ratio of H2O to

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H2S was 10. You are asked to determine the fractional conversion of the limiting reactant, and the feed rates of the H2S
and SO2 streams.
Solution

Basis is 5000 lb S (156.3 lb mol S)

Basis: S = 5000 lb (156.3 lb mol)

Specifications: 4 (3 independent)

The species balances in pound moles after introduction of most of the specifications are:

The remaining specifications are

If you solve the equations without using a computer, you should start by calculating 9 from Equation (a)

Then Equation (d) gives

Next, Equation (g) gives

And Equation (f) gives

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

If you solve the rest of the equations in the order (b), (c), and (e), you find

F = 573 lb mol

Finally, you can identify H2S as the limiting reactant because the molar ratio of SO2 to H2S in the product gas (3/1) is
greater than the molar ratio in the chemical reaction equation (2/1).

The fractional conversion from Equation 10.3 is the consumption of H2S divided by the total feed of H2S

Processes Involving Multiple Reactions

For open system, steady-state processes with multiple reactions, Equation 10.1 in moles becomes for component i

…10.4

Where:
vij is the stoichiometric coefficient of species i in reaction j in the minimal set.
9j is the extent of reaction for the jth reaction in the minimal set.
R is the number of independent chemical reaction equations (the size of the minimal set).

An equation analogous to Equation 10.4 can be written for a closed, unsteady-state system. The total moles, N, exiting
a reactor are

…10.5

Where S is the number of species in the system.

Example 26
Formaldehyde (CH2O) is produced industrially by the catalytic oxidation of methanol (CH3OH) according to the
following reaction:

Unfortunately, under the conditions used to produce formaldehyde at a profitable rate, a significant portion of the
formaldehyde reacts with oxygen to produce CO and H2O, that is,

Assume that methanol and twice the stoichiometric amount of air needed for complete conversion of the CH3OH to the
desired products (CH2O and H2O) are fed to the reactor. Also assume that 90% conversion of the methanol results, and
that a 75% yield of formaldehyde occurs based on the theoretical production of CH2O by Reaction 1. Determine the
composition of the product gas leaving the reactor.
Solution
Figure El0.3 is a sketch of the process with yi indicating the mole fraction of the respective components in P (a gas).

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Basis: l gmol F
The limiting reactant is CH3OH.
Use the fraction conversion, Equation 10.3: reacting
The yield is related to i as follows

By reaction 1:

By reaction 2:

The yield is

2 = 0.1 5 g moles reacting

The entering oxygen is twice the required oxygen based on Reaction 1, namely

Implicit equation:

Calculate P using Equation 10.5:

The material balances:

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

The six equations can be solved for the yi :

Example 27
A bioreactor is a vessel in which biological conversion is carried out involving enzymes, microorganisms, and/or
animal and plant cells. In the anaerobic fermentation of grain, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae digests glucose
(C6H12O6) from plants to form the products ethanol (C2H5OH) and propenoic acid (C2H3CO2H) by the following overall
reactions:

In a batch process, a tank is charged with 4000 kg of a 12% solution of glucose in water. After fermentation, 120 kg of
CO2 are produced and 90 kg of unreacted glucose remains in the broth. What are the weight (mass) percents of ethanol
and propenoic acid in the broth at the end of the fermentation process? Assume that none of the glucose is assimilated
into the bacteria.
Solution
An unsteady-state process in a closed system

Basis: 4000 kg F

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Specifications: 4 (3 independent)

(one is independent, the sum is F in mol)

The material balance equations, after introducing the known values for the variables, are:

Solution of equations: (e) (b) simultaneously, and then solve, (a), (c), and (d) in order.
91 = 1.364 kg moles reacting 92 = 0.801 kg moles reacting

Note: The total mass of 3977 kg is close enough to 4000 kg of feed to validate the results of the calculations.
Element Material Balances
Elements in a process are conserved, and consequently you can apply Equation 10.1to the elements in a
process.
Because elements are not generated or consumed, the generation and consumption terms in Equation 10.1
can be ignored.

For Example: Carbon dioxide is absorbed in water in the process shown in Figure 10.2. The reaction is

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Three unknowns exist: W, F, and P, and the process involves three element C, H, and O. It would appear that you can
use the three element balances (in moles) [Basis P =100 mol]

Example 28
Solution of Examples 24 and 26 Using Element Balances: All of the given data for this example is the same as in
Examples 24 and 25
Solution
1. Example 24
The element material balances are:

The solution of the problem will be the same as found in Example 10.1.
2. Example 25
The element balances are:

The solution of the problem will not change.

Note: It would be easier to use the term in the equations above in place of the product of two variables,
and P.

Element balances are especially useful when you do not know what reactions occur in a process. You only
know information about the input and output stream components.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 29
In one such experiment for the hydrocracking (cracking reactions) of octane (C8H18), the cracked products had the
following composition in mole percent: 19.5% C3H8, 59.4% C4H10, and 21.1% C5H12. You are asked to determine the
molar ratio of hydrogen consumed to octane reacted for this process.
Solution

Basis: P= 100 g mol

Element balances: 2 H, C
The element balances:

And the solution is F = 50.2 g mol G = 49.8 g mol

The ratio

Material Balances Involving Combustion

Combustion is the reaction of a substance with oxygen with the associated release of energy and generation of
product gases such as H2O, CO2, CO, and SO2.
Most combustion processes use air as the source of oxygen. For our purposes you can assume that air
contains 79% N2 and 21% O2.

Special terms:
1. Flue or stack gas: All the gases resulting from combustion process including the water vapor, sometimes
known as a wet basis.
2. Orsat analysis or dry basis: All the gases resulting from combustion process not including the water vapor.
Orsat analysis refers to a type of gas analysis apparatus in which the volumes of the respective gases are
measured over and in equilibrium with water; hence each component is saturated with water vapor. The net
result of the analysis is to eliminate water as a component being measured (show Figure 10.4).

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3. Complete combustion: the complete reaction of the hydrocarbon fuel producing CO2, SO2, and H2O.
4. Partial combustion: the combustion of the fuel producing at least some CO. Because CO itself can react with
oxygen, the production of CO in a combustion process does not produce as much energy as it would if only
CO2 were produced.
5. Theoretical air (or theoretical oxygen): The minimum amount of air (or oxygen) required to be brought into
the process for complete combustion. Sometimes this quantity is called the required air (or oxygen).
6. Excess air (or excess oxygen): In line with the definition of excess reactant given in Chapter 9, excess air (or
oxygen) would be the amount of air (or oxygen) in excess of that required for complete combustion as
defined in (5).

Note: The calculated amount of excess air does not depend on how much material is actually burned but what is
possible to be burned. Even if only partial combustion takes place, as, for example, C burning to both CO and CO2,
the excess air (or oxygen) is computed as if the process of combustion went to completion and produced only CO2.

The percent excess air is identical to the percent excess O2:

excess air excess O 2 / 0.21

% excess air = ×100 = ×100 … 10.6
required air required O 2 / 0.21

Note that the ratio 1/0.2 1 of air to O2 cancels out in Equation 10.6. Percent excess air may also be computed as
O 2 entering process − O 2 required
% excess air = ×100 … 10.7
O 2 required
Or
excess O 2
% excess air = ×100 … 10.8
O 2 entering − excess O 2
Example 30
Fuels other than gasoline are being eyed for motor vehicles because they generate lower levels of pollutants than does
gasoline. Compressed propane is one such proposed fuel. Suppose that in a test 20 kg of C3H8 is burned with 400 kg of
air to produce 44 kg of CO2 and 12 kg of CO. What was the percent excess air?
Solution
This is a problem involving the following reaction

Basis: 20 kg of C3H8

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Since the percentage of excess air is based on the complete combustion of C3H8 to CO2 and H2O, the fact
that combustion is not complete has no influence on the calculation of “excess air.”

The required O2 is

The entering O2 is

O 2 entering process − O 2 required

The percentage of excess air is % excess air = ×100
O 2 required

Note:
In calculating the amount of excess air, remember that the excess is the amount of air that enters the combustion process
over and above that required for complete combustion.

For example, suppose that a gas containing 80% C2H6 and 20% O2 is burned in an engine with 200% excess air. Eighty
percent of the ethane goes to CO2, 10% goes to CO, and 10% remained unburned. What is the amount of the excess air
per 100 moles of the gas?
Solution
First, you can ignore the information about the CO and the unburned ethane because the basis of the calculation of
excess air is complete combustion. Specifically C goes to CO2; S to SO2, H2 to H2O, CO goes to CO2 and so on.
Second, the oxygen in the fuel cannot be ignored. Based on the reaction

Basis: 100 moles of gas

• 80 moles of C2H6 require 3.5(80) = 280 moles of O2 for complete combustion.

• The gas contains 20 moles of O2, so that only 280 – 20 = 260 moles of O2 are needed in the entering air for
complete combustion.
• Thus, 260 moles of O2 are the required O2 and the calculation of the 200% excess O2 (air) is based on 260, not
280, moles of O2:

Entering with air Moles O2

Required O2: 260
Excess O2: (2)(260) = 520
Total O2: 780

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 31
Figure El0.8 is a sketch of a fuel cell in which a continuous flow of methane (CH4) and air (O2 plus N2) produce
electricity plus CO2 and H2O. Special membranes and catalysts are needed to promote the reaction of CH4. Based on the
data given in Figure El0.8, you are asked to calculate the composition of the products in P.

Solution
Assume a complete reaction occurs because no CH4 appears in P. The system is the fuel cell (open, steady state). The
necessary preliminary conversions as follows:

Basis: 16.0 kg CH4 entering = 1 kg mol CH4

Specifications and calculated quantities: 2

Implicit equation:

The element material balances are (in moles):

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

The species material balances are:

The solution of either set of equations gives

The mole percentage composition of P is

Problems

1. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) can be manufactured by treating calcium fluoride (CaF2) with sulfuric acid (H2SO4). A
sample of fluorospar (the raw material) contains 75% by weight CaF2 and 25% inert (nonreacting) materials.
The pure sulfuric acid used in the process is in 30% excess of that theoretically required. Most of the
manufactured HF leaves the reaction chamber as a gas, but a solid cake that contains 5% of all the HF formed,
plus CaSO4, inerts, and unreacted sulfuric acid is also removed from the reaction chamber. Assume complete
conversion of the CaF2 occurs. How many kilograms of cake are produced per 100 kg of fluorospar charged to
the process?
2. Corrosion of pipes in boilers by oxygen can be alleviated through the use of sodium sulfite. Sodium sulfite
removes oxygen from boiler feedwater by the following reaction:

How many pounds of sodium sulfite are theoretically required (for complete reaction) to remove the oxygen
from 8,330,000 lb of water (106 gal) containing 10.0 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved oxygen and at the
same time maintain a 35% excess of sodium sulfite?
3. Consider a continuous, steady-state process in which the following reactions take place:

In the process 250 moles of C6H12 and 800 moles of H2O are fed into the reactor each hour. The yield of H2 is
40.0% and the selectivity of H2 relative to C6H14 is 12.0. Calculate the molar flow rates of all five components
in the output stream.

4. Consider a system used in the manufacture of electronic materials (all gases except Si)
SiH4, Si2H4, Si2H6, H2, Si
How many independent element balances can you make for this system?

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

5. Methane burns with O2 to produce a gaseous product that contains CH4, O2, CO2, CO, H2O, and H2. How many
independent element balances can you write for this system?
6. Solve the problems (1, 2 & 3) using element balances.
7. Pure carbon is burned in oxygen. The flue gas analysis is: CO2 75 mo1%, CO l4 mol% & O2 11 mol%. What
was the percent excess oxygen used?
8. Toluene, C7H8, is burned with 30% excess air. A bad burner cause 15% of the carbon to form soot (pure C)
deposited on the walls of the furnace, what is the Orsat analysis of the gases leaving the furnace?
9. A synthesis gas analyzing CO2: 6.4%, O2: 0.2%, CO: 40.0% and H2: 50.8% (the balance is N2) is burned with
excess dry air. The problem is to determine the composition of the flue gas. How many degrees of freedom
exist in this problem, that is, how many additional variables must be specified?
10. A coal analyzing 65.4% C, 5.3% H, 0.6% S, 1.1% N, 18.5% O, and 9.1% ash is burned so that all combustible
is burnt out of the ash. The flue gas analyzes 13.00% CO2, 0.76% CO, 6.17% O2, 0.87% H2, and 79.20% N2.
All of the sulfur burns to SO2, which is included in the CO2 in the gas analysis (i.e., CO2 + SO2 = 13%).
Calculate:
a. - & &(# ) # & #* & *<
b. Ratio of moles of total combustion gases to moles of dry air supplied;
c. 2 &0 #% ) #( ) # & (& #( (# ( #*
d. Percent excess air.
11. A hydrocarbon fuel is burnt with excess air. The Orsat analysis of the flue gas shows 10.2% CO2, 1.0% CO,
8.4% O2, and 80.4% N2. What is the atomic ratio of H to C in the fuel?

Answers:

1. 186 kg
2. 887 lb
3. (a) C6H12 ; , # 42 ;1 , # " ; ,1 # 42 ; 1 # "6H14 = 53.3
mol/hr.
4. Two
5. Three
6. See the answers to the problems (1, 2 &3).
7. 4.5%
8. 9.1% CO2, 8.9% O2, 82% N2
9. 1
10. , , ,, '5
11. 0.81

2.6 Material Balance Problems Involving Multiple Units

• A process flowsheet (flowchart) is a graphical representation of a process. A flowsheet describes the actual
process in sufficient detail that you can use it to formulate material (and energy) balances.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Figure 1l.1a illustrates a serial combination of mixing and splitting stages. In a mixer, two or more entering streams of
different compositions are combined. In a splitter, two or more streams exit, all of which have the same composition.
In a separator, the exit streams can be of different compositions.

Figure 11.1a serial mixing and splitting in a system without reaction. Streams 1 plus 2 mix to form Stream 3, and
Stream 5 is split into Streams 6 and 7.

Figure 11.1b the dashed line I designates the boundary for overall material balances made on the process in
Figure l1.1a.

Figure 11.1c Dashed lines II, III and IV designate the boundaries for material balances around each of the
individual units comprising the overall process.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Figure 11.1d the dashed line V designates the boundary for material balances around a system comprised of the
mixing point plus the unit portrayed by the box.

Figure 11.1e the dashed line VI designates the boundary for material balances about a system comprised of the
unit portrayed by the box plus the splitter.

Figure 11.1f the dashed line VII designates the boundary for material balances about a system comprised of the
mixer plus the splitter.

Example 32
Acetone is used in the manufacture of many chemicals and also as a solvent. In its latter role, many restrictions are
placed on the release of acetone vapor to the environment. You are asked to design an acetone recovery system having
the flow sheet illustrated in Figure El1.1. All the concentrations shown in El1.1 of both the gases and liquids are
specified in weight percent in this special case to make the calculations simpler. Calculate, A, F, W, B, and D per hour.
G = 1400 kg/hr.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solution
This is an open, steady-state process without reaction. Three subsystems exist.

Pick 1 hr as a basis so that G = 1400 kg.

Figure E11.1

The mass balances for Unit 1 (Absorber Column)

Solve Equations (a), (b), and (c) to get A =1336.7 kg/hr, F = 221.05 kg/hr and W = 157.7 kg/hr
(Check) Use the total balance (Absorber Column).

The mass balances for the combined Units 2 plus 3 (Distillation & Condenser) are:

Solve Equations (d) and (e) simultaneously to get D = 34.90kg/hr and B = 186.1 kg/hr
(Check) Use the total balance (Distillation & Condenser)

Note
As a matter of interest, what other mass balances could be written for the system and substituted for any one of the
Equations (a) through (e)? Typical balances would be the overall balances

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Example 33
In the face of higher fuel costs and the uncertainty of the supply of a particular fuel, many companies operate two
furnaces, one fired with natural gas and the other with fuel oil. The gas furnace uses air while the oil furnace uses an
oxidation stream that analyzes: O2/ 5 : 2/ 5 " 2, 4%. The stack gases go up a common stack, See Figure
El1.2.

Figure E11.2

The reserve of fuel oil was only 560 bbl. How many hours could the company operate before shutting down if no
additional fuel oil was attainable? How many lb mol/hr of natural gas were being consumed? The minimum heating
load for the company when translated into the stack gas output was 6205 lb mol/hr of dry stack gas. The molecular
weight of the fuel oil was 7.91 lb/lb mol, and its density was 7.578 lb/gal.
Solution
This is an open, steady-state process with reaction. Two subsystems exist.

Basis: 1 hr, so that P = 6205 lb mol

The overall balances for the elements are (in pound moles)

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Solve the S balance for F; the sulfur is a tie component. Then solve for the other four balances simultaneously for G.
The results are:

F = 207 lb mol/hr and G = 499 lb mol/hr

Finally, the fuel oil consumption is

If the fuel oil reserves were only 560 bbl,

Example 34
Figure E11.3 shows the process and the known data. You are asked to calculate the compositions of every flow stream,
and the fraction of the sugar in the cane that is recovered.

Figure E11.3
15% Sugar

Solution
Basis: l hour (M= l000lb)
Let S = sugar, P = pulp, and W = water.

For the crystallizer the equations are

Sugar: K (0.40) = L (0) + 1000

Water: K (0.60) = L + 0

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

From which you get K = 2500 lb and L = 1500 lb.

Check using the total flows: 2500 = 1500 + 1000 = 2500

Using same method for solution: evaporator, screen, and lastly solve the equations for the mill.
The results for all of the variables are:

The fraction of sugar recovered = [product (sugar) / in (sugar)]

= [1000/(24,574)*(0.16)] = 0.25

Problems

1. A two-stage separations unit is shown in Figure SAT11P1. Given that the input stream Fl is 1000 lb/hr,
calculate the value of F2 and the composition of F2.

2. A simplified process for the production of SO3 to be used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid is illustrated in
Figure SAT11P2. Sulfur is burned with 100% excess air in the burner, but for the reaction S + O2 SO2,
only 90% conversion of the S to SO2 is achieved in the burner. In the converter, the conversion of SO2 to SO3
is 95% complete. Calculate the kg of air required per 100 kg of sulfur burned, and the concentrations of the
components in the exit gas from the burner and from the converter in mole fractions.

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3. In the process for the production of pure acetylene, C2H2 (see Figure SAT11P3), pure methane (CH4), and pure
oxygen are combined in the burner, where the following reactions occur:

a. Calculate the ratio of the moles of O2 to moles of CH4 fed to the burner.
b. On the basis of 100 lb mol of gases leaving the condenser, calculate how many pounds of water are
removed by the condenser.
c. What is the overall percentage yield of product (pure) C2H2, based on the carbon in the natural gas
entering the burner?

The gases from the burner are cooled in the condenser that removes all of the water. The analysis of the gases leaving
the condenser is as follows:

These gases are sent to an absorber where 97% of the C2H2 and essentially all the CO2 are removed with the solvent.
The solvent from the absorber is sent to the CO2 stripper, where all the CO2 is removed. The analysis of the gas stream
leaving the top of the CO2 stripper is as follows:

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The solvent from the CO2 stripper is pumped to the C2H2 stripper, which removes all the C2H2 as a pure product.

Answers:
1. Assume that the compositions in the figure are mass fractions. Then:

2. 863 lb air/lb S

3. 1 1 5.

2.7 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, and the Industrial Application of Material Balances

Introduction
• Recycle is fed back from a downstream unit to an upstream unit, as shown in Figure 12.lc. The stream
containing the recycled material is known as a recycle stream.
• Recycle system is a system that includes one or more recycle streams.
• Because of the relatively high cost of industrial feedstocks, when chemical reactions are involved in a
process, recycle of unused reactants to the reactor can offer significant economic savings for high-volume
processing systems. Heat recovery within a processing unit (energy recycle) reduces the overall energy
consumption of the process.

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Figure 12.1: Figure 12.la shows a single unit with serial flows. Figure 12.b shows multiple units but still with
serial flows. Figure 12.lc shows the addition of recycle.

Recycle without Chemical Reaction

Recycle of material occurs in a variety of processes that do not involve chemical reaction, including
distillation, crystallization, and heating and refrigeration systems.
Examine Figure 12.2. You can write material balances for several different systems, four of which are shown
by dashed lines in Figure 12.2 (Overall balance 1, Mixer balance 2, Process balance 3 & Separator
balance 4).
The fresh feed enters the overall system and the overall or net product is removed.
The total (gross) feed enters the process and the gross product is removed.
In addition, you can make balances (not shown in Figure 12.2) about combinations of subsystems, such as the
process plus the separator (3 plus 4), or the mixing point plus the process (2 plus 3).

Figure 12.2 Process with recycle (the numbers designate possible system boundaries for the material balances).
Example 35
Figure E12.la is a schematic of a process for the production of flake NaOH, which is used in households to clear
plugged drains in the plumbing (e.g., Drano).

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The fresh feed to the process is 10,000 lb/hr of a 40% aqueous NaOH solution. The fresh feed is combined with the
recycled filtrate from the crystallizer, and fed to the evaporator where water is removed to produce a 50% NaOH
solution, which in turn is fed to the crystallizer. The crystallizer produces a filter cake that is 95% NaOH crystals and
5% solution that itself consists of 45% NaOH. The filtrate contains 45% NaOH.
a. You are asked to determine the flow rate of water removed by the evaporator, and the recycle rate for this
process.
b. Assume that the same production rate of NaOH flakes occurs, but the filtrate is not recycled. What would be
the total feed rate of 40% NaOH have to be then? Assume that the product solution from the evaporator still
contains 50% NaOH.
Solution
Open, steady-state process.
a. Basis: 10,000 lb fresh feed (equivalent to 1 hour)
The unknowns are W, G, P, and R.
Overall NaOH balance
(0.4)(10,000) = 0.95 P + (0.45) (0.05) P
P = 4113 lb
Overall H2O balance
(0.6) (10,000) = W+ [(0.55)(0.05)](4113)
W= 5887 lb
(or use the overall total balance 10,000 = 4113 + W)

The total amount of NaOH exiting with P is [(0.95) + (0.45)(0.05)](4113) = 4000 lb

NaOH balance on the crystallizer 0.5 G = 4000 + 0.45 R

H2O balance on the crystallizer 0.5 G = 113 + 0.55 R
(or use the total balance G = R + 4113)
R = 38,870 lb
b. Figure E12.lb.

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The basis is now P = 4113 lb (the same as 1 hour)

The unknowns are now F, W, G, and H.
NaOH balance on the crystallizer
0.5 G = [(0.95) + (0.05) (0.45)] (4113) + 0.45 H
H2O balance on the crystallizer
0.5G = [(0.05) (0.55) (4113)] + 0.55 H
H = 38,870 lb
Overall NaOH balance
0.40 F = 0.45(38,870) + 4000
F = 53,730 lb
Note that without recycle, the feed rate must be 5.37 times larger than with recycle to produce the same
amount of product.

Recycle with Chemical Reaction

The most common application of recycle for systems involving chemical reaction is the recycle of reactants, an
application that is used to increase the overall conversion in a reactor. Figure 12.3 shows a simple example for
the reaction

Figure 12.3 A simple recycle system with chemical reaction.

If you calculate the extent of reaction for the overall process in Figure 12.3 based on B

If you use material balances to calculate the output P of the reactor (on the basis of 1 second) you get A = 900 g mol
B = 100 g mol

And the extent of reaction based on B for the reactor by itself as the system is

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In general, the extent of reaction is the same regardless of whether an overall material balance is used or a material
balance for the reactor is used.

• Two types of conversion when reactions occur:

1. Overall fraction conversion:

mass (moles) of reactant in the fresh feed - mass (moles) of reactant in the output of the overall process
mass (moles) of reactant in the fresh feed

2. Single - pass (“once - through”) fraction conversion:

mass (moles) of reactant fed into the reactor - mass (moles) of reactant exiting the reactor
mass (moles) of reactant fed into the reactor

For the simple recycle reactor in Figure 12.3, the overall conversion is

And the single-pass conversion is

When the fresh feed consists of more than one reactant, the conversion can be expressed for a single component,
usually the limiting reactant, or the most important (expensive) reactant.

♦ The overall conversion and the single-pass conversion can be expressed in terms of the extent of reaction, .

Example 36
Cyclohexane (C6H12) can be made by the reaction of benzene (Bz) (C6H6) with hydrogen according to the following
reaction:

For the process shown in Figure El2.2, determine the ratio of the recycle stream to the fresh feed stream if the overall
conversion of benzene is 95%, and the single-pass conversion is 20%. Assume that 20% excess hydrogen is used in the
fresh feed, and that the composition of the recycle stream is 22.74 mol % benzene and 77.26 mol % hydrogen.

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Solution
The process is open and steady state.
Basis = 100 mol (g mol or lb mol) of fresh benzene feed
Excess H2 = (in – required)/ required (for complete reaction)
In H2 (Feed):

The total fresh feed = 100 + 360 = 460 mol.

From Equation (12.1) for benzene (νBz = - 1)

= 95 reacting moles.

The species overall balances are

The amount of the Bz feed to the reactor is 100 + 0.2274 R, and = 95. Thus, for benzene

and R = 1649 mol

Finally, the ratio of recycle to fresh feed is

Example 37
Immobilized glucose isomerase is used as a catalyst in producing fructose from glucose in a fixed-bed reactor (water is
the solvent). For the system shown in Figure El2.3a, what percent conversion of glucose results on one pass through the
reactor when the ratio of the exit stream to the recycle stream in mass units is equal to 8.33? The reaction is

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Solution
The process is an open, steady-state process with a reaction occurring and a recycle.

Figure E12.3b includes all the known and unknown values of the variables using appropriate notation (W
stands for water, G for glucose, and F for fructose).
Note that the recycle stream and product stream have the same composition, and consequently the same
mass symbols are used in the diagram for each stream.

Pick as a basis S = 100 kg

Overall balances
Total: P = S = 100 kg
Consequently,
[P/R = 8.33]

Overall no water is generated or consumed, hence

Water:

Mixing point 1

Or

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Next from the glucose balance

Reactor plus Separator 2

Total: T = 12 + 100 = 112 (a redundant equation)

Check by using Equation 12.2 and the extent of reaction

Example 38
Reactors that involve biological materials (bioreactors) use living organisms to produce a variety of products.
Bioreactors are used for producing ethanol, antibiotics, and proteins for dietary supplements and medical diagnosis.
Figure E12.4 shows a recycle bioreactor in which the overall conversion of the proprietary component in the fresh feed
to product is 100%. The conversion of the proprietary component to product per pass in the reactor is 40%. Determine
the amount of recycle and the mass percent of component in the recycle stream if the product stream contains 90%
product, and the feed to the reactor contains 3 wt % of the component.

Assume that the component and the product have essentially the same molecular weight, and that the waste contains
only water and dead cells.

Solution
Basis = 100 kg of fresh feed (F).
Overall balances
Total balance: 100 = P + W
Component balance: 0.10 (100) = 0.90 P

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P = 11.l kg W = 88.9 kg

The reactor plus the product recovery unit balance

Mixer balance
Component balance: 100 (0.10) + 15 = 0.03 F′ F′ = 833 kg
Total balance: R + 100 = F′ R = 833 – 100 = 733 kg

Bypass and Purge

a. A bypass stream—a stream that skips one or more stages of the process an goes directly to another
downstream stage (Figure 12.4).
A bypass stream can be used to control the composition of a final exit stream from a unit by mixing the bypass
stream and the unit exit stream in suitable proportions to obtain the desired final composition.

Figure 12.4 A process with a bypass stream.

b. A purge stream—a stream bled off from the process to remove an accumulation of inert or unwanted material
that might otherwise build up in the recycle stream (Figure 12.5).

Figure 12.5 A process with a recycle stream with purge.

Example 39
In the feedstock preparation section of a plant manufacturing natural gasoline, isopentane is removed from butane-free
gasoline. Assume for purposes of simplification that the process and components are as shown in Figure E12.5. What
fraction of the butane-free gasoline is passed through the isopentane tower? The process is in the steady state and no
reaction occurs.

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Solution
Basis: 100 kg feed
Overall balances
Total material balance:

Component balance for n-C5 (tie component)

Consequently,

Balance around isopentane tower:

Let x be the kg of butane-free gas going to the isopentane tower, and y be the kg of the n-C5H12 stream leaving the
isopentane tower.

Total material balance:

Component balance for n-C5 x (0.80) = y (d)

Consequently, combining (c) and (d) yields x = 55.5 kg, or the desired fraction is 0.55.

Another approach to this problem is to make a balance at mixing points 1 and 2.

Balance around mixing point 2:

Material into junction = Material out
Total material: (100 – x) + y = 88.9 (e)
Component (iso-C5): (100 –x)(0.20) + 0 = 88.9(0.10) (f)
Solving yields x = 55.5 kg as before

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Example 40
Figure E12.6 illustrates a steady-state process for the production of methanol. All of the compositions are in mole
fractions or percent. The stream flows are in moles.

Note in Figure E12.6 that some CH4 enters the process, but does not participate in the reaction. A purge stream is used
to maintain the CH4 concentration in the exit from the separator at no more than 3.2 mol%, and prevent hydrogen
buildup as well. The once-through conversion of the CO in the reactor is 18%.
Compute the moles of recycle, CH3OH, and purge per mole of feed, and also compute the purge gas composition.
Solution
The mole fraction of the components in the purge stream have been designated as x, y, and z for H2, CO, and CH4,
respectively.
Basis: F = 100 mol
The variables whose values are unknown are x, y, z, E, P, and R.

The implicit mole fraction balance in the recycle stream

The overall element balances are (in moles):

Reactor plus the Separator

Equation (a) can be substituted into Equations (b) through (f), and the resulting five equations solved by successive
substitution or by using a computer program. The resulting values obtained are (in moles)

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Problems

1. How many recycle streams occur in Figure SAT12.1PI?

2. The Hooker Chemical Corporation operates a process in Michigan for the purification of HCl. Figure
SATI2.1P2 shows the flow sheet for the Hooker process. The streams from the bottoms of the five towers are
liquid. The streams from the tops of the towers are gases. HCl is insoluble in the HCB (hexachlorobutadiens).
The various stream compositions are shown in Figure SAT12.1P2.
How many recycle streams are there in the Hooker process?

3. A ball mill grinds plastic to make a very fine powder. Look at Figure SAT12.2P1.

At the present time 10,000 kg of powder are produced per day. You observe that the process (shown by the
solid lines) is inefficient because 20% of the feed is not recovered as powder—it goes to waste.

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You make a proposal (designated by the dashed lines) to recycle the uncollected material back to the feed so
that it can be remilled. You plan to recycle 75% of the 200 kg of uncollected material back to the feed stream.
If the feed costs $1.20/kg, how much money would you save per day while producing 10,000 kg of fine
powder?
4. Sea water is to be desalinized by reverse osmosis using the scheme indicated in Figure SATI2.2P2. Use the
data given in the figure to determine: (a) the rate of waste brine removal (B); (b) the rate of desalinized water
(called potable water) production (P); (c) the fraction of the brine leaving the reverse osmosis cell (which acts
in essence as a separator) that is recycled.

5. A material containing 75% water and 25% solid is fed to a granulator at a rate of 4000 kg/hr. The feed is
premixed in the granulator with recycled product from a dryer, which follows the granulator (to reduce the
water concentration of the overall material fed into the granulator to 50% water, 50% solid). The product that
leaves the dryer is 16.7% water. In the dryer, air is passed over the solid being dried. The air entering the dryer
contains 3% water by weight (mass), and the air leaving the dryer contains 6% water by weight (mass).
a. What is the ratio of the recycle to the feed entering the granulator?
b. What is the rate of air flow to the dryer on a dry basis?
6. Benzene, toluene, and other aromatic compounds can be recovered by solvent extraction with sulfur dioxide
(SO2). Figure SAT12.2P4 is the process schematic. As an example, a catalytic reformate stream containing
70% benzene and 30% nonbenzene material is passed through the countercurrent extractive recovery scheme
shown in Figure SAT12.2P4. 1000 lb of reformate and 3000 lb of SO2 are fed to the system per hour. The
benzene product stream contains 0.15 lb of SO2 per lb of benzene. The raffinate stream contains all the initially
charged nonbenzene material as well as 0.25 lb of benzene per lb of nonbenzene material. The remaining
component in the raffinate stream is SO2. How many lb of benzene are extracted in the product stream on an
hourly basis? How many lb of raffinate are produced per hour?

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7. A catalytic dehydrogenation process shown in Figure SAT12.3Pl, produces 1, 3 butadiene (C4H6) from pure
normal butane (C4H10). The product stream contains 75 mol/hr of H2 and 13 mol/hr of C4H10 as well as C4H6.
The recycle stream is 30% (mol) C4H10 and 70% (mol) C4H6, and the flow is 24 mol/hr.

(a) What are the feed rate, F, and the product flow rate of C4H6 leaving the process?
(b) What is the single-pass conversion of butane in the process?
8. Pure propane (C3H8) from El Paso is dehydrogenated catalytically in a continuous process to obtain propylene
(C3H6). All of the hydrogen formed is separated from the reactor exit gas with no loss of hydrocarbon. The
hydrocarbon mixture is then fractionated to give a product stream containing 88 mole % propylene and 12
mole % propane. The other stream, which is 70 mole % propane and 30 mole % propylene, is recycled. The
one-pass conversion in the reactor is 25%, and 1000 kg of fresh propane are fed per hour. Find (a) the kg of
product stream per hour, and (b) the kg of recycle stream per hour.
9. Ethyl ether is made by the dehydration of ethyl alcohol in the presence of sulfuric acid at 140°C:

Figure SAT12.3P3 is a simplified process diagram. If 87% conversion of the alcohol fed to the reactor occurs
per pass in the reactor, calculate: (a) kilograms per hour of fresh feed, and (b) kilograms per hour of recycle.

10. In the famous Haber process (Figure SAT12.4P1) to manufacture ammonia, the reaction is carried out at
pressures of 800 to 1000 atm and at 500 to 600°C using a suitable catalyst. Only a small fraction of the
material entering the reactor reacts on one pass, so recycle is needed. Also, because the nitrogen is obtained
from the air, it contains almost 1% rare gases (chiefly argon) that do not react. The rare gases would continue
to build up in the recycle until their effect on the reaction equilibrium would become adverse. Therefore, a
small purge stream is used.

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The fresh feed of gas composed of 75.16% H2, 24.57% N2, and 0.27% Ar is mixed with the recycled gas and
enters the reactor with a composition of 79.52% H2. The gas stream leaving the ammonia separator contains
80.0 1% H2 and no ammonia. The product ammonia contains no dissolved gases. Per 100 moles of fresh feed:
a. How many moles are recycled and purged?
b. What is the percent conversion of hydrogen per pass?

11. Figure SAT12.4P2 shows a simplified process to make ethylene dichloride (C2H4C12). The feed data have
been placed on the figure. Ninety percent conversion of the C2H4 occurs on each pass through the reactor. The
overhead stream from the separator contains 98% of the Cl2 entering the separator, 92% of the entering C2H4,
and 0.1% of the entering C2H4C12. Five percent of the overhead from the separator is purged. Calculate (a) the
flow rate and (b) the composition of the purge stream.

Answers:
1. 2
2. 5
3. $2250
4. # 1 #
5. # ( ;, &# * # & ; # (# ; ' / #
6. < .# !-; # # &&( )# ! = ; ,/ ' #
7. (a) mol/hr C4H6 ; , 6; #
8. # , #
9. # 1, #
10. ' # * , ) # 5 % #( ## # * & ( (&( &( #
11. 1 # " 2! ' "2H4! ,,' "2H4C12: 0.0033.

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Chemical Engineering principles - First Year Dr. Anees A. Khadom

Chapter Three
Gases, Vapors, Liquids, and Solids

Property is meaning any measurable characteristic of a substance, such as pressure, volume, or temperature,
or a characteristic that can be calculated or deduced, such as internal energy.

State and Equilibrium A system will possess a unique set of properties, such as temperature, pressure,
density, and so on, at a given time, and thus is said to be in a particular state. A change in the state of the
system results in a change in at least one of its properties.

By equilibrium we mean a state in which there is no tendency toward spontaneous change. When a system is
in equilibrium with another system, or the surroundings, it will not change its state unless the other system, or
the surroundings, also changes.

A phase is defined as a completely homogeneous and uniform state of matter. Liquid water would be a phase;
ice would be another phase. Two immiscible liquids in the same container, such as mercury and water, would
represent two different phases because the liquids have different properties.

3.1 Ideal Gas Law Calculations

The Ideal Gas Law
Under conditions such that the average distance between the molecules in a substance is great enough to neglect the
effect of the intermolecular forces and the volume of the molecules themselves, a gas can be termed an ideal gas. More
properly, an ideal gas is an imaginary gas that obeys exactly the following relationship

pV = nRT (1)
Where p = absolute pressure of the gas
V = total volume occupied by the gas
n = number of moles of the gas
R = ideal gas constant in appropriate units
T = absolute temperature of the gas
Sometimes the ideal gas law is written as

∧
p V = RT (1a)

∧
Where V is the specific volume (volume per mole or mass) of the gas.

Table 1 Common Standard Conditions for the Ideal Gas

∧
System T P V
SI 273.15K 101.325 kPa 22.415 m3/kg mol
Universal scientific 0.0°C 760 mm Hg 22.415 liters/g mol
60.0°F 14.696 psia
Natural gas industry 379.4 ft3/lb mol
(15.0°C) (101.325 kPa)
American engineering 32°F 1 atm 359.05 ft3/lb mol

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Example 1
Calculate the volume, in cubic meters, occupied by 40 kg of CO2 at standard conditions.
Solution
Basis: 40 kg of CO2

40 kg CO2 1 kg mol CO2 22.42 m3 CO2 = 20.4 m3 CO2 atS.C.

44 kg CO2 1 kg mol CO2

Example 2
Find the value for the universal gas constant R for the following combinations of units: For 1 g mol of ideal gas when
the pressure is in atm, the volume in cm3, and the temperature in K.

In many processes going from an initial state to a final state, you can use the ratio of ideal gas law in the
respective states and eliminate R as follows (the subscript 1 designates the initial state, and the subscript 2 designates
the final state)

(2)

Example 3
Calculate the volume occupied by 88 lb of CO2 at a pressure of 32.2 ft of water and at 15°C
Solution

The final volume can be calculated via Equation 13.2 in which both R and n1/n2 cancel out:

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Assume that the pressure is absolute pressure.

Another solution
The same results can be obtained by using Eq. 1

The Gas Density

The density of a gas is defined as the mass per unit volume and can be expressed in kilograms per cubic meter, pounds
per cubic foot, grams per liter, or other units
Example 4
What is the density of N2 at 27°C and 100 kPa in SI units?

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Solution

The Gas Specific Gravity

The specific gravity of a gas is usually defined as the ratio of the density of the gas at a desired temperature and
pressure to that of air (or any specified reference gas) at a certain temperature and pressure.
Example 5
What is the specific gravity of N2 at 80°F and 745 mm Hg compared to air at 80°F and 745 mm Hg?

Solution

Note: for gases at the same temperature and pressure, the specific gravity is just the ratio of the respective molecular
weights. Let A be one gas and B be another.

ρA p mol. wt. A TB
Thus sp. gr. = = A (3)
ρB pB mol. wt. B TA

Ideal Gas Mixtures and Partial Pressure

The partial pressure of gas; i defined by Dalton, pi, namely the pressure that would be exerted by a single component
in a gaseous mixture if it existed by itself in the same volume as occupied by the mixture and at the same temperature of
the mixture is
(4)

Where p i is the partial pressure of component i . If you divide Eq. (4) by Eq. (1), you find that

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(5)

Where yi is the mole fraction of component i . Can you show that Dalton's law of the summation of partial pressures is
true using Eq. 13.5?

(6)

Although you cannot measure the partial pressure directly with an instrument, you can calculate the value from Eqs. 5
and/or 6.
Example 6
A flue gas analyzes 14.0% CO2, 6.0% O2, and 80.0% N2. It is at 400°F and 765.0 mm Hg pressure. Calculate the partial
pressure of each component.
Solution
Use Eq, (13.5) pi = pt yi
Basis: 1.00 kg (or lb) mol flue gas

Component kg (or lb) mol p (mm Hg)

CO2 0.140 107.1
O2 0.060 45.9
N2 0.800 612.0
Total 1.000 765.0

On the basis of 1.00 mole of flue gas, the mole fraction y of each component, when multiplied by the total pressure,
gives the partial pressure of that component.

Real Gas Relationships

We have said that at room temperature and pressure many gases can be assumed to act as ideal gases.
However, for some gases under normal conditions, and for most gases under conditions of high pressure,
values of the gas properties that you might obtain using the ideal gas law would be at wide variance with the
experimental evidence. . You might wonder exactly how the behavior of real gases compares with that
calculated from the ideal gas laws.
∧
In Fig. 3.2 you can see how the (p V )product of several gases deviates from that predicted by the ideal gas
laws as the pressure increases substantially. Thus it is clear that we need some way of computing the p-V-T
properties of a gas that is not ideal, i.e. the real gas.

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Figure 1 Deviation of real gases from the ideal gas law at high pressures.

Three methods of getting or predicting real gas properties in lieu of having experimental data:
1. Compressibility charts
2. Equations of state
3. Estimated properties

Critical State, Reduced Parameters, and Compressibility

• The critical state for the gas-liquid transition is the set of physical conditions at which the density and other
properties of the liquid and vapor become identical.
• The law of corresponding states expresses the idea that in the critical state all substances should behave
alike.
• Refer to Figure 2 in which the states of water are illustrated. As the temperature increases, the density of the
liquid and vapor approach each other until finally at 374.14 °C, the values are the same.

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Figure 2 The regions of existence of solid, liquid, gaseous, and supercritical water. At the triple point solid, liquid, and
gas are all in equilibrium.

A supercritical fluid, that is, a compound in a state above the critical point, combines some of the properties
of both gases and liquids.
Another set of terms with which you should immediately become familiar are the reduced parameters. These
are corrected, or normalized, conditions of temperature, pressure, and volume and are expressed
mathematically as

Compressibility Factor (z)

One common way is to modify the ideal gas law by inserting an adjustable coefficient z, the compressibility factor, a
factor that compensates for the nonideality of the gas. Thus, the ideal gas law becomes a real gas law, a generalized
equation of state.
pV=znRT (7)

Figure 3 shows the generalized compressibility charts or z – factor chart prepared by Nelson and Obert.
These charts are based on 30 gases.
Figure 3 (e) is a unique chart that, by having several parameters plotted simultaneously on it, helps you avoid trial-and-
error solutions or graphical solutions of real gas problems. One of these helpful parameters is the ideal reduced volume
defined as

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Figure 3(a) Generalized Compressibility Chart, Very Low Reduced Pressure.

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Figure 3(b) Generalized Compressibility Chart, Low Pressure.

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Figure 3(c) Generalized Compressibility Chart, Medium Pressure.

Figure 3(d) Generalized Compressibility Chart, High Pressure.

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Figure 3 (e) Generalized Compressibility Chart, with Special Scales.

Note
The value z = 1 represents ideality, and the value z = 0.27 is the compressibility factor at the critical point.
Example 7
In spreading liquid ammonia fertilizer, the charges for the amount of NH3 are based on the time involved plus the
pounds of NH3 injected into the soil. After the liquid has been spread, there is still some ammonia left in the source tank
(volume = 120 ft3), but in the form of a gas. Suppose that your weight tally, which is obtained by difference, shows a
net weight of 125 lb of NH3 left in the tank as a gas at 292 psig. Because the tank is sitting in the sun, the temperature in
the tank is 125°F. Your boss complains that his calculations show that the specific volume of the gas is 1.20 ft3/lb and
hence that there are only 100 lb of NH3 in the tank. Could he be correct? See Figure E 3.7.

Figure E 3.7

Solution
Apparently, your boss used the ideal gas law in getting his figure of 1.20 ft3/lb of NH3 gas:

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However, he should have used the compressibility factor, because NH3 does not behave as an ideal gas under the
observed conditions of temperature and pressure. Let us again compute the mass of gas in the tank this time using

From Appendix D:

∧
From the Nelson and Obert chart, Fig. 13.3 (b), you can read z = 0.855. Now V can be calculated as

Note : Certainly 117 lb is a more realistic figure than 100 lb, and it is easily possible to be in error by 8 lb if the residual
weight of NH3 in the tank is determined by difference. As a matter of interest you might look up the specific volume of
∧
NH3 at the conditions in the tank in a handbook. You would find that V = 0.973 ft3/lb, and hence the compressibility
factor calculation yielded a volume with an error of only about 4%.
Example 13.8
Liquid oxygen is used in the steel industry, in the chemical industry, in hospitals, as rocket fuel, and for wastewater
treatment as well as many other applications. In a hospital a tank of 0.0284-m3 volume is filled with 3.500 kg of liquid
O2 that vaporized at -25°C. Will the pressure in the tank exceed the safety limit of the tank (l04 kPa)?

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From the Nelson and Obert chart [Fig. 3 (e)],

The pressure of 100 atm will not be exceeded. Even at room temperature the pressure will be less than l04 kPa.

13.2.2 Equations of State

Equations of state relate the p-V-T properties of a pure substance (or mixtures) by theoretical or empirical
relations.
The simplest example of an equation of state is the ideal gas law itself. Table 13.2 lists a few of the commonly
used equations of state (from among the hundreds that have been proposed) that involve two or more
coefficients.
TABLE 3.2 Equations of State (for 1 Mole)*

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• Van der Waals equation can easily be solved explicitly for (p) as follows:

However, if you want to solve for V (or n), you can see that the equation becomes cubic in V (or n):

And can have multiple roots. We want a positive real root. Computer programs can solve nonlinear equations and can
be used to solve for V if you have a reasonable initial guess for V, say from the ideal gas law.
Example 13.9
A cylinder 0.150 m3 in volume containing 22.7 kg of propane C3H8 stands in the hot sun. A pressure gauge shows that
the pressure is 4790 kPa gauge. What is the temperature of the propane in the cylinder? Use van der Waals equation.

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Solution

3.2.3 Gaseous Mixtures

In Kay's method, pseudocritical values for mixtures of gases are calculated on the assumption that each
component in the mixture contributes to the pseudocritical value in the same proportion as the number of moles of that
component. Thus the pseudocritical values are computed as follows:

(8a)
(8b)

Where p'c = pseudocritical pressure and T'c = pseudocritical temperature. (It has also been found convenient in some
problems to calculate similarly a weighted pseudo-ideal-critical volume V' ci .)
Then the respective pseudo-reduced values are

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Example 10
A gaseous mixture has the following composition (in mole percent):
Methane, CH4 20
Ethylene, C2H4 30
Nitrogen, N2 50
at 90 atm pressure and 100°C. Compare the volume per mole as computed by the methods of:
(a) the perfect gas law
(b) the pseudoreduced technique (Kay's method)

Figure
1 13.3(c)

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Note
In instances in which the temperature or pressure of a gas mixture is unknown, to avoid a trial – and – error solution
using the generalized compressibility charts, you can compute the pseudocritical ideal volume and a pseudoreduced
ideal reduced volume Vri thus

Vapor Pressure and Liquids

The terms vapor and gas are used very loosely. From now on, the word vapor will be reserved to describe a
gas below its critical point in a process in which the phase change is of primary interest, while the word gas or
noncondensable gas will be used to describe a gas above the critical point or a gas in a process in which it
cannot condense.

If the vapor and liquid of a pure component are in equilibrium, then the equilibrium pressure is called the
vapor pressure (see Figure 13.4).

Figure 13.4 Vapor-pressure curve for water.

Any substance has an infinite number of boiling points, but by custom we say the “normal” boiling point is
the temperature at which boiling takes place under a pressure of 1 atm (101.3 kPa, 760 mm Hg). (see Figure
13.5)

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When the solid passes directly into the vapor phase without first melting to become a liquid (line J-K as
opposed to line L-M-N-O in Figure 13.4) it is said to sublime.

Another new term you will find used frequently is the word quality. A wet vapor consists of saturated vapor
and saturated liquid in equilibrium. The mass fraction of vapor is known as the quality (x).

Change of Vapor Pressure with Temperature

You can see from Figure 13.4 that the function of p* versus T is not a linear Function (except as an approximation over
a very small temperature range).
We will use the Antoine equation — it has sufficient accuracy for our needs:
B
ln p* = A − (9)
C +T
Where A, B , C = constants different for each substance T = temperature, K

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Example 11
Calculate the vapor pressure of benzene at 50°C using the Antoine Equation. Also estimate the normal boiling point of
benzene (the vapor pressure at 1 atm).
Solution

Liquid Properties

Often making density a linear function of temperature that is independent of pressure provides sufficiently accurate
predictions

(10)

Where o and are constants and is the density of the liquid. Most liquids can be considered to be incompressible, that
is, their density is independent of pressure.
For compounds with like molecular structures, such as hydrocarbons of similar molecular weight, called ideal liquids,
the density of a liquid mixture can be approximated by assuming that the weighted specific volumes are additive:

(11)

Where n is the number of components in the mixture. For nonideal liquids or solids dissolved in liquids, experimental
data or estimation techniques described in many of the references, as the specific volumes are not additive.
Saturation
Figure below shows that the volume of the air plus the water vapor increases until the air is saturated with water
vapor, after which stage the volume remains constant.

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Evaporation of water at constant pressure and temperature of 65°C

Assuming that the ideal gas law applies to both air and water vapor with excellent precision, we can say that the
following relations hold at saturation:

in a volume V at temperature T.
Example 12
What is the minimum number of cubic meters of dry air al 20oC and 100 kpa necessary to evaporate 6.0 kg of ethyl
alcohol if the total pressure remains constant al 100 kpa and the temperature remains 20oC? Assume that the air is
blown through the alcohol to evaporate it in such a way that the exit pressure of the air alcohol mixture is at 100 kPa.
(Given: p*alcohol at 20oC = 5.93 kPa, mol. wt. ethyl alcohol = 46.07).
Solution
See Figure E13.12. Assume that the process is isothermal.

Figure E13.12

Basis: 6 kg of alcohol

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♣ Another way to view this problem is to say that the final volume contains

V m3 of alcohol at 5.93 kPa and 20°C

V m3 of air at 94.07 kPa and 20°C
V m3 of air plus alcohol at 100 kPa and 20°C
Thus, the volume could be calculated from the information about the alcohol

Vapor-Liquid Equilibria for Multicomponent Systems

In two-phase vapor-liquid mixture at equilibrium, a component in one phase is in equilibrium with the same
component in the other phase. The equilibrium relationship depends on the temperature, pressure, and composition of
the mixture. Figure 13.7 illustrates two cases, one at constant pressure and the other at constant temperature.

Figure 13.17 Vapor-liquid equilibrium for a binary mixture. The dashed lines show the equilibrium
compositions.
Henry's law. Used primarily for a component whose mole fraction approaches zero, such as a dilute gas
dissolved in as liquid:

pi = Hi xi (12)

Where pi is the pressure in the gas phase of the dilute component at equilibrium at some temperature, and Hi is the
Henry's law constant. Note that in the limit where xi > 0, pi > 0. Values of H can be found in several handbooks.
Note that

And since Hi, is roughly independent of ptot, the higher the total pressure, the larger xi.

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Raoult's law. Used primarily for a component whose mole fraction approaches unity or for solutions of
components quite similar in chemical nature, such as straight chain hydrocarbons. Let the subscript i denote the
component, pi be the partial pressure of component i in the gas phase, yi be the gas-phase mole fraction, and xi be the
liquid-phase mole fraction. Then:
Note that in the limit where xi > 1, pi > pi∗.

(13)

Note that in the limit where xi > 1, pi > pi∗.

Equilibrium constant Ki is defined using Eq. (13.13) as follows by assuming that Dalton's law applies to the gas
phase (p i = p t y i ):

(14)

Equation (14) gives reasonable estimates of Ki values at low pressures for

components well below their critical temperatures, but yields values too large for
components above their critical temperatures, at high pressures, and/or for polar
compounds.

Bubble Point Temperature

Bubble point: The temperature at which a liquid just starts to vaporize (See Figure 13.4).
♣ To calculate the bubble point temperature (given the total pressure and liquid composition), you can write

Eq. (13.14) as yi = Ki xi and you know that yi =1 in the vapor phase.

n
1= K i xi (15)
i =1

In which the K's are functions of solely the temperature and n is the number of components. For an ideal solution:

(16)

And you might use Anionie's equation for pi*. Once the bubble point temperature is determined, the vapor
composition can be calculated from

(17)

Dew Point Temperature

Dew Point: The temperature, at which the vapor just begins to condense at specified pressure, namely temperature
values along the vapor pressure curve (See Figure 13.4).
♣ To calculate the dew point temperature (given the total pressure and vapor composition), you can write Eq.

(13.14) as xi = yi /Ki and you know xi =1 in the liquid phase. Consequently, you want to solve the equation

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(18)

In which the K's are function of temperature as explained for the bubble point temperature calculation. For an ideal
solution,

(19)

Example 13
A gas containing nitrogen, benzene, and toluene is in equilibrium with 40 mole% benzene and 60 mole% toluene liquid
mixtures at 100 oC and 10 atm. Estimate the gas phase composition (mole fractions) using Raoult’s law.
Antoine equation constants A B C
Pressure (mm Hg)
Benzene 15.9008 2788.51 - 52.36
Temperature (K)
Toluene 16.0137 3096.52 - 53.67

Solution

B 2788.51
ln p* = A − p*B = Exp 15.9008 − = 1344.9 mm Hg
C+T − 52.36 + 373

3096.52
p*T = Exp 16.0137 − = 553.8 mm Hg
− 53.67 + 373
Raoult’s law pi = pi* xi, and pi = yi pT
0.4 ×1344.9
y B p T = x B p*B yB = = 0.071
(10)(760)
0.6 × 553.8
yT = = 0.044, y N 2 =1− 0.071− 0.044 = 0.885
(10)(760)
Example 14
Air and liquid water are contained at equilibrium in a closed chamber at 75° C and 760 mm Hg. Calculate the molar
composition of the gas phase. p∗H2O (75° C) = 289 mm Hg

Solution
Since the gas and liquid are in equilibrium, the air must be saturated with water vapor (if it was not, more water would
evaporate), so that Raoult's law may be applied:

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Example 15
Use either Raoult's law or Henry's law to solve the following problems.
1. A gas containing 1.00 mole% ethane is in contact with water at 20.0° C and 20.0 atm. Estimate the mole fraction of
dissolved ethane.
2. An equimolar liquid mixture of benzene (B) and toluene (T) is in equilibrium with its vapor at 30.0° C. What are
the system pressure and the composition of the vapor?
(Henry's law constant for ethane in water at 20°C as 2.63 x 104 atm/mole fraction)

Solution
1. Hydrocarbons normally are relatively insoluble in water, so that the solution of ethane is probably extremely
dilute. Let us therefore apply Henry's law.

2. Since benzene and toluene are structurally similar compounds, we may apply Raoult's law.
B
ln p* = A −
C +T

Gibb's phase rule

The rule can be applied only to systems in equilibrium.

F=C–P+2 (20)
Where
F = number of degrees of freedom (i.e., the number of independent properties that have to be specified to determine all
the intensive properties of each phase of the system of interest).
C = number of components in the system.
P = number of phases that can exist in the system; a phase is a homogeneous quantity of material such as a gas, a pure
liquid, a solution, or a homogeneous solid.

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Example 16
Calculate the number of degrees of freedom (how many additional intensive variables must be specified to fix the
system) from the phase rule for the following materials at equilibrium:

(a) Pure liquid benzene.

(b) A mixture of ice and water only.
(c) A mixture of liquid benzene, benzene vapor, and helium gas.
(d) A mixture of salt and water designed to achieve a specific vapor pressure.

What variables might be specified in each case? Solution

F=C–P+2

(a) C = 1, P = 1, hence F = 1 – 1 + 2 = 2. The temperature and pressure might be specified in the range in which
benzene remains a liquid.
(b) C = 1, P = 2, hence F = 1 – 2 + 2 = 1. Once either the temperature or the pressure is specified, the other
intensive variables are fixed.
(c) C = 2, P = 2, hence F = 2 – 2 + 2 = 2. A pair from temperature, pressure, or mole fraction can be specified.
(d) C = 2, P = 2, hence F = 2 – 2 + 2 = 2. Since a particular pressure is to be achieved, you would adjust the salt
concentration and the temperature of the solution.

Note in (a) and (b) it would be unlikely that a vapor phase would not exist in practice, increasing P by 1 and reducing F
by one.

Problems

1. Calculate the volume in ft3 of 10 lb mol of an ideal gas at 68°F and 30 psia.

2. A steel cylinder of volume 2 m3 contains methane gas (CH4) at 50°C and 250 kPa absolute. How many
kilograms of methane are in the cylinder?

3. What is the value of the ideal gas constant R to use if the pressure is to be expressed in atm, the temperature in
Kelvin, the volume in cubic feet, and the quantity of material in pound moles?

4. Twenty-two kilograms per hour of CH4 are flowing in a gas pipeline at 30°C and 920 mm Hg. What is the
volumetric flow rate of the CH4 in m3 per hour?

5. What is the density of a gas that has a molecular weight of 0.123 kg/kg mol at 300 K and 1000 kPa?

6. What is the specific gravity of CH4 at 70°F and 2 atm compared to air at S.C.?

7. A gas has the following composition at 120°F and 13.8 psia.

Component Mol %
N2 2
CH4 79
C2H6 19

(a) What is the partial pressure of each component?

(b) What is the volume fraction of each component?

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8. (a) If the C2H6 were removed from the gas in problem 7, what would be the subsequent pressure in the vessel?

(b) What would be the subsequent partial pressure of the N2?

9. What is the ideal critical volume? What is the advantage of using Vci?

10. A carbon dioxide fire extinguisher has a volume of 40 L and is to be charged to a pressure of 20 atm at a
storage temperature of 20°C. Determine the mass in kilograms of CO2 at 1 atm.

11. Calculate the pressure of 4 g mol CO2 contained in a 6.25 x 10-3 m3 fire extinguisher at 25°C.

12. You measure that 0.00220 lb mol of a certain gas occupies a volume of 0.95 ft3 at 1 atm and 32°F. If the
equation of state for this gas is pV = nRT(1 + bp), where b is a constant, find the volume at 2 atm and 71°F.

13. Calculate the temperature of 2 g mol of a gas using van der Waals' equation with a = 1.35 * l0-6 m6(atm)(g mol-
2
), b = 0.0322 * l0-3 (m3)(g mol-1) if the pressure is 100 kPa and the volume is 0.0515 m3.

14. Calculate the pressure of 10 kg mol of ethane in a 4.86 m3 vessel at 300 K using two equations of state: (a)
ideal gas and (b) Soave-Redlich-Kwong. Compare with your answer the observed value of 34.0 atm.

15. One pound mole of a mixture containing 0.400 lb mol of N2 and 0.600 lb mol C2H4 at 50°C occupies a volume
of 1.44 ft3. What is the pressure in the vessel? Compute your answer by Kay's method.

16. Use the Antoine equation to calculate the vapor pressure of ethanol at 50°C, and compare with the
experimental value (Experimental p* = 219.9 mm Hg)

17. What does the term "saturated gas" mean?

18. If a container with a volumetric ratio of air to liquid water of 5 is heated to 60°C and equilibrium is reached,
will there still be liquid water present? at 125°C?

19. A mixture of air and benzene contains 10 mole% benzene at 43°C and 105 kPa pressure. At what temperature
does the first liquid form? What is the liquid?

20. The dew point of water in atmospheric air is 82°F. What is the mole fraction of water vapor in the air if the
barometric pressure is 750 mm Hg?

21. Ten pounds of KClO3 is completely decomposed and the oxygen evolved collected over water at 80°F. The
barometer reads 29.7 in. Hg. What weight of saturated oxygen is obtained?

22. If a gas is saturated with water vapor, describe the state of the water vapor and the air if it is:

(a) Heated at constant pressure.

(b) Cooled at constant pressure.

(c) Expanded at constant temperature.

(d) Compressed at constant temperature.

23. Calculate (a) the pressure at the dew point for the following mixture at 100 °F and (b) the liquid composition.

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K values at psia of
Component Mole fraction
190 200 210
C2H6 0.218 3.22 3.07 2.92
C3H8 0.665 1.005 0.973 0.92
i-C4H10 0.1073 0.45 0.43 0.41
n- C4H10 0.0097 0.315 0.305 0.295
Total 1

24. Is the critical point a single phase? If not, what phases are present? Repeat for the triple point (for water).

25. A vessel contains air: N2 (g), O2 (g), and Ar (g).

(a) How many phases, components, and degrees of freedom are there according to the phase rule?

(b) Repeat for a vessel one-third filled with liquid ethanol and two-thirds filled with N2 plus ethanol vapor.

Answers:

1. 1883 ft3

2. 2.98 kg

3. 1.32

4. 28.3 m3/hr

5. 0.0493 kg/m3

6. 1.02 (lb CH4/ft3 at 70 °F and 2 atm)/ (lb air/ ft3 at S.C.)

7. N 2/ ' ) ( CH4/ ) ( C2H6, 2.62 psia

8. (a) 11.12 psia at 2 ft3 and ?6 ') ( 2 ft3 and 120°F

9. Vci = R Tc/Pc. It can be used to calculate Vri, which is a parameter on the Nelson and Obert charts.

10. 1.65 kg

11. 14.9 atm

12. V = 0.60 ft3

13. 314 K

14. ,1

15. 262 atm

16. predicted 220.9 mm Hg

17. The partial pressure of the vapor equals the vapor pressure of the gas. Liquid and vapor are in equilibrium.

18. Yes; yes

19. 21°C; benzene

20. 0.0373

21. 4.00 lb

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22. (a) Both gas; (b) some liquid water, residual is gas; (c) both gas; (d) some liquid water, residual is gas.

23. ) ( C2H6 = 0.0677, C3H8 = 0.66, i-C4H10 = 0.2415, n- C4H10 = 0.0308.

24. No, gas and liquid in equilibrium. The triple point in the p – T projection in actually a line on the p – V – T
surface. The pressure and temperature are fixed but the volume is not fixed.

25. (a) C = 3, P = 1, F ; 1 C = 2, P = 2, F = 2

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