In-Class Problem Set 3 - 2021

Chemical Engineering Conservation Principles – CHME 2308 Summer 2021
In-Class Problem Set #3
1) Define the following terms:
- Recycle
- Purge
- Excess
- Conversion
- Yield
- Selectivity
- Basis
- Extent of reaction
- Bypass
- Junction point
2) What are the different types of balances you can conduct on a system?
3) What is the overall general balance?

4) What is the benefit of atom balances?
5) Consider the reaction A + B  C. The molecular weight is 50 g/mol for A and 100 g/mol for
B. If 10 g of A are consumed in a reaction, how many g of C form?
A) 10 B) 15 C) 20 D) 30 E) Need molecular weight of C
6) 100 kmol C2H4 and 100 kmol O2 are fed into a reactor. The following reaction occurs:
2 C2H4 + O2  2 C2H4O
The reaction proceeds until 60 kmol of O2 remain. Which is true about the fractional conversion
of oxygen (fO2)?
A) fO2 > fC2H4 B) fO2 < fC2H4 C) fO2 = fC2H4

D) There’s not enough information to determine this
7) Consider the reaction 2A + B 2C in a flow reactor at steady state. The feed stream consists
of 100 mol/s of A, 200 mol/s of B, and 50 mol/s of C. What is the flow rate of C exiting the
reactor if A is consumed at a rate of 5 mol/s?
A) 5 mol/s B) 10 mol/s C) 55 mol/s D) 60 mol/s E) 150 mol/s
8) Are moles
conserved in this
process?
A) yes B) no
9) Which is the correct expression for an H-atom balance for the reactions below with a feed flow rate
of 100 mol/s that is equimolar CH4 (A) and O2 (B)? nA = CH4, nB = O2, nC = HCHO, nD = H2O, nE = CO2,
CH4 + O2  HCHO + H2O
CH4 + 2 O2  CO2 + 2 H2O
A)50 mol/s = 2 nC + 2 nD - 4 nA B) 50 mol/s = 4 nA + nC + 2 nD
C) 200 mol/s = 2 nA + nC + 3 nD D) 200 mol/s = 4 nA + 2 nC + 2 nD

10) Methanol is synthesized from carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a catalytic reactor. The fresh
feed to the process contains 32.0 mole% CO, 64.0% H2, and 4.0% N2. This stream is mixed with
a recycle stream in a ratio 5 mol recycle/1 mol fresh feed to produce the feed to the reactor, which
contains 13.0 mole% N2. A low single-pass conversion is attained in the reactor. The reactor
effluent goes to a condenser from which two streams emerge: a liquid product stream containing
essentially all the methanol formed in the reactor, and a gas stream containing all the CO, H2, and
N2 leaving the reactor. The gas stream is split into two fractions: one is removed from the process
as a purge stream, and the other is the recycle stream that combines with the fresh feed to the
reactor.
a) For a basis of 100 mol fresh feed/h, calculate the production rate of methanol (mol/h), the molar
flow rate and composition of the purge gas, and the overall and single-pass conversions.
b) Briefly explain in your own words the reasons for including (i) the recycle stream and (ii) the
purge stream in the process design.
11) A catalytic reactor is used to produce formaldehyde from methanol in the reaction
CH3OH → HCHO + H2
A single-pass conversion of 60.0% is achieved in the reactor. The methanol in the reactor product
is separated from the formaldehyde and hydrogen in a multiple-unit process. The production rate
of formaldehyde is 900.0 kg/h.
a) Calculate the required feed rate of methanol to the process (kmol/h) if there is no recycle.
b) Suppose the recovered methanol is recycled to the reactor and the single-pass conversion
remains 60%. Determine the required fresh feed rate of methanol (kmol/h) and the rates
(kmol/h) at which methanol enters and leaves the reactor.
c) The single-pass conversion in the reactor affects the cost of the reactor and the separation
process and the recycle line. What effect would you expect an increased conversion would
have on each of these costs for a fixed formaldehyde production rate? What would you
expect a plot of the (reactor cost + separation/recycle process cost) versus the conversion
to look like? What does the design specification of conversion = 60% probably represent?
12) The fresh feed to an ammonia (NH3) production process contains nitrogen (N2) and hydrogen
(H2) in stoichiometric proportion, along with an inert gas.
The feed is combined with a recycle stream containing the same three species, and the combined
stream is fed to a reactor in which a low single-pass conversion of nitrogen is achieved. The
reactor effluent flows to a condenser. A liquid stream containing essentially all of the ammonia
formed in the reactor and a gas stream containing all the inerts and the unreacted nitrogen and
hydrogen leave the condenser. The gas stream is split into a purge and a recycle stream.
Assume the mole fraction of inerts in the fresh feed is 10%, the single-pass conversion of nitrogen
and hydrogen in the reactor is 20%, and the fraction of gas leaving the condenser that is purged is
10%.
In every stream containing nitrogen and hydrogen, the two species are in stoichiometric proportion.
a) Determine the total moles fed to the reactor, moles of ammonia produced, and overall nitrogen
conversion.
b) Briefly explain in your own words the reasons for including the recycle stream and the purge
stream in the process design.

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Chemical Engineering Conservation Principles – CHME 2308 Summer 2021

In-Class Problem Set #3

1) Define the following terms:

3) What is the overall general balance?

A) 10 B) 15 C) 20 D) 30 E) Need molecular weight of C

A) fO2 > fC2H4 B) fO2 < fC2H4 C) fO2 = fC2H4

A) 5 mol/s B) 10 mol/s C) 55 mol/s D) 60 mol/s E) 150 mol/s

CH4 + O2  HCHO + H2O

CH4 + 2 O2  CO2 + 2 H2O

A)50 mol/s = 2 nC + 2 nD - 4 nA B) 50 mol/s = 4 nA + nC + 2 nD

C) 200 mol/s = 2 nA + nC + 3 nD D) 200 mol/s = 4 nA + 2 nC + 2 nD

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