KM 211 BASIC PRINCIPLES IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

2021 - 2022Fall Semester

Instructors: Doç.Dr.Funda TURGUT BAŞOĞLU

02.11.2021
Problem Set2
1. In a textile industry, it is desired to make 24% solution (by weight) of caustic soda for a mercerization process. The two-step process
is shown in figure below. In a dissolution tank costic soda (solid NaOH) is dissolved to produce 50% solution. After complete
dissolution and cooling, the solution is taken to a dilution tank where some more water is added to produce 24% solution. Assuming
no evaporation in the dissolution tank, calculate the weight ratio W 1 /W 2 .
W2, bypass
Solid NaOH

50% NaOH 24% NaOH

2. Examine the following Figure. What is the quantity of the recycle stream in kg/hr? Crystals contains 4% water.

Feed
10,000 kg/hr
20% KNO3 solution
Evaporator

M, R (recycle)
300°F, 100°F
50% KNO3 Saturated solution
0.6 kg KNO3/kg H2O

Crystallizer

Crystals carry off 4% H2O

3. To save energy, stack gas from a furnace is used to dry rice. The flow sheet and known data are shown in Figure. What is the amount
of recycle gas (in lb mol) per 100 lb of P if the concentration of water in the gas stream entering the drier is 5.20%?
Recycle
R
Stack gas Wet gas
S (lb mol) W (lb mol)
4.73% H2O 9.31% water

F1

Dryer
Rice feed
Rice feed P (lb)
F (lb) 95% rice
75% rice 5% water
25% water
4. A liquid mixture containing 30.0 mol % benzene (B), 25% toluene (T), and the balance xylene (X) is fed to a distillation column. The
bottoms products contains 98.0% mole X and no B, and 96.0% of the X in the feed is recovered in this stream. The overhead product
is fed to a second column. The overhead product from the second column contains 97.0% of the B in the feed to this column. The
composition of this stream is 94.0% mole B and the balance T.
 a. Draw and label a flowchart of this process and do the degree-of-freedom analysis to prove that for an assumed basis of
calculation, molar flow rates and composition of all process streams can be calculated from the given information. Write in
the order the equations you would solve to calculate unknown process variables. In each equation (or pair of simultaneous
equations), circle the variable(s) for you would solve. Do not do the calculations.
b. Calculate (i) the percentage of the benzene in the process feed (i.e., the feed to the first column) that emerges in the
overhead product from the second column and (ii) the percentage of toluene in the process feed that emerges in the bottom
product from the second column.

5. A stream containing 5.15 wt% chronium, Cr, is contained in the wastewater from a metal finishing plant. The wastewater stream is fed
to a treatment unit that removes 95% of chronium in the feed and recycles it to the plant. The residual liquid stream leaving the
treatment unit is sent to a waste lagoon. The treatment unit has a maximum capacity of 4500 kg wastewater/h. If wastewater leaves the
finishing plant at a rate higher than the capacity of the treatment unit, the excess (anything above 4500kg/h) bypasses the unit and
combines with the residual liquid leaving the unit, and the combined stream goes to the waste lagoon.

m4 (kg Cr/h) [no water]

Wastewater
m1 (kg/h)
0.0515 kg Cr/kg

m2 (kg/h)≤4500 kg/h

m5 (kg/h) m6 (kg/h)
To waste lagoon
m3 (kg/h)

a. Without assuming a basis of calculation, draw and label a flowchart of the process.
b. Wastewater leaves the finishing plant at a rate m1=6000 kg/h. Calculate the flow rate of liquid to the waste lagoon, m6
(kg/h), and the mass fraction of Cr in liquid, x6 versus m1.
c. Calculate the flow rate of liquid to the waste lagoon and the mass fraction of Cr in this liquid for m 1 varying from 1000 kg/h
to 10,000 kg/h in 1000 kg/h increments. Generate a plot of x 6 versus m 1 . (Suggestion: Use a spreadsheet for these
calculations.)
d. The company has hired you as a consultant to help them determine whether or not to add capacity to the treatment unit to
increase the recovery of chronium. What would you need to know to make this determination.

6. An evaporation-crystallization process of the type desciribed in Figure is used to obtain solid potassium sulfate from an aqueous
solution of this salt. The fresh feed to the process contains 19.6 wt% K 2 SO 4 . The wet filter cake consist of solid K 2 SO 4 crystals and
40.0 wt% K 2 SO 4 solution, in a ratio 10 kg crystals/kg solution. The filtrate, also a 40.0% solution, is recycled to join the fresh feed.
Of the water fed to the evaporator, 45.0% is evaporated. The evaporatoe has a maximum capacity of 175 kg water evaporated/s.
a. Assume the process is operating at maximum capacity. Draw a label a flow chart and do the degree-of-freedom analysis for
the overall system. The recycle-fresh feed mixing point, the evaporator, and crystallizer. Then write in a efficent order
(minimizing simultaneous equations) the equations you would solve to determine all unknown stream variables. In each
equation, circle the varibale for which you would solve, but don’t do the calculations.
b. Calculate the maximum production rate of solid K 2 SO 4 , the rate at which fresh feed must be supplied to achieve this
production rate, and the ratio kg recycle/kg fresh feed.
c. Calculate the composition and feed rate of the stream entering the crystallizer if the process is scaled to 75% of its maximum
capacity.
d. The wet filter cake is subjected to another operation after leaving the filter. Suggest what it might be. Also, list what you
think the principal operating costs for this process might be.
e. Use an equation-solving computer program to solve the equations derived in part (a). Verify that you get the same solution
determined in part (b).

Crystallizer
Evaporator
and filter
7. In the production of a bean oil, beans containing 13.0 wt% oil and 87.0% solids are ground and fed to a stirred tank (the extractor)
along with a recycled stream of liquid n-hexane. The feed ratio is 3 kg hexane/kg beans. The ground beans are suspended in the
liquid, and essentally all of the oil in the beans is extracted into the hexane. The extractor effluent passes to a filter. The filter cake
contains 75.0 wt% bean solids and the balance bean oil and hexane, the latter two in the same ratio in which they emerge from
extractor. The filter cake is discarded and the liquid filtrate is fed to a heated evaporator in which the hexane is vaporized and the oil
remains as a liquid. The oil is stored in drums and shipped. The hexane vapor is subsequently cooled and condensed, and the liquid
hexane condensate is recycled to the extractor.
Condenser

C6H14 (l) C6H14 (v)

Extractor Filter Evaporator

Beans Fitler cake Oil

a. Draw and label a flowchart of the process, do the degree-of-freedom analysis, and write in an efficent order the equations
you would solve to determine all unknown stream variables, circling the variables for which you would solve.
b. Calculate the yield of bean oil product (kg oil/kg beans fed), the require fresh hexane feed (kg C 16 H 14 /kg beans fed), and the
recycle to fresh feed ratio (kg hexane recycle/kg frresh feed)

8. Figure 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.
F Cane
16% Sugar
25% Water M Sugar
59% Pulp 1000 lb/hr

K
H, 15% Sugar 40% Sugar
Mill Screen Evaporator Crystallizer
E
13% Sugar
D Bagasse 14% Pulp
80% Pulp Solid G contain J L
95% Pulp Water Water

9. A two-stage separations unit is shown in Figure. Given that the input stream F 1 is 1000 lb/hr, calculate the value of F 2 and the
composition of F 2 .
P1 P2D
0.01 Toluene 0.95 Toluene
0.99 Benzene 0.05 Benzene

F2
1 2
F1
0.4 Toluene
0.4 Benzene
0.2 Xylene P2B
0.10 Toluene
0.90 Xylene

10. Examine Figure provided through the courtsey of Professor Mike Cutlip.
a. Calculate the molar flow rate of D 1 , D 2 , B 1 and B 2 .
b. Reduce the feed flow rate for each one of the compounds by 1% in turn. Calculate the flow rates of D 1 , D 2 , B 1 and B 2
again. Do you notice something unusual? Explain your results.
 D1
7% Xylene
4% Styrene
54% Toluene
35% Benzene
D

B1
F=70 mol/min 18% Xylene
15% Xylene 24% Styrene
25% Styrene 42% Toluene
40% Toluene 16% Benzene
20% Benzene

D2
15% Xylene
10% Styrene
54% Toluene
21% Benzene
B

B2
24% Xylene
65% Styrene
10% Toluene
1% Benzene

11. Figure shows a schematic for making fresh water from sea water by freezing. The pre-chilled sea water is sprayed into a vacuum at
a low pressure. The cooling required to freeze some of the feed sea water comes from evaporation of a fraction of the water entering
the chamber. The concentration of the brine stream, B, is 4.8% salt. The pure salt-free water water vapor is compressed and fed to a
melter at a higher pressure where the heat of condensation of the vapor is removed through the heat of fusion of the ice which
contains no salt. As a result, pure cold water and concentrated brine (6.9%) leave the process as products.
a. Determine the flow rates of streams W and D if the feed is 1000 kg per hour?
b. Determine the flow rates of streams C, B and A per hour?
Compressor
Pure water vapor, A

Pure fresh
chilled water, W
1000 kg/hr Pure ice, C Melter
Chilled sea water
feed 3.45% NaCl Flash freezer

Chilled brine, D
Ice + brine, B 6.9% NaCl
4.8% NaCl Filter

12. Several streams are mixed as shown in Figure . Calculate the flows of each stream in kg/s.
%
A 2.0 HCl
% D 2.0 H2SO4
4.0 NaCl 96.0 H2O
5.0 HCl %
4.0 H2SO4 1.5 HCl
87.0 H2O 1.5 H2SO4
C 97.0 H2O

% F=290 kg/min
9.0 Inert solid %
91.0 H2O 1.38 NaCl
2.55 HCl
B 2.21 H2SO4
92.32 H2O
1.55 Inert solid
13. In the process shown in the Figure Unit I is a liquid-liquid solvent extractor and Unit II is the solvent recovery system. For the
purposes of designing the size of the pipes for stream C and D, the designer obtained from the given data values of C=9,630 lb/hr
and D=1,510 lb/hr. Are these values correct? Be sure to show all details of your calculations or explain if you do not use
calculations.
A

Composition
I B Flow rate (b/hr) Butene Butadiene Solvent
A 5,000 0.75 0.25
B 1.00
E
C C
D D 0.05 0.95
II E 10,000 0.01 0.99

Known Data:

14. A plating plant has a waste stream containing zinc and nickel in quantities in excess of that allowed to be discharged into the sewer.
The proposed process to be used as a first step in reducing the concentration of Zn and Ni is shown in Figure. Each stream contains
water. The concentrations of several of the streams are listed in the table. What is the flow (in L/hr) of the recycle stream R 32 if the
feed is 1 L/hr?
Concentration (g/L)
R21 W (H2O 100%)

Stream Zn Ni
F 100 10.0
F P1 P2 D
P0 190.1 17.02
1 2 3 P2 3.50 2.19
R 32 4.35 2.36
W 0 0
D 0.10 1.00
P0
R32

15. A process is being designed to crystallize a pharmaceutical soax (S) from benzene (Bz) solution. The process is shown below. A
solution of S in Bz is fed to the top of a packed column. Dry air is fed to the bottom of the column As the liquid passes down Bz
evaporates into the air stream. By the time the liquid leaves the bottom of the column, enough Bz has been removed so that some of
the S crystallizes out of solution. Wet crystals of S are then removed in a separator. The liquor from the filter is mixed with the feed
solution and sent to the top of the column. Calculations indicate that the mole fraction of Bz in the exit air stream 0.43. Calculate the
required feed rate of air in lb-moles. Bz : 78.1

Exit air

43%Bz
in mole
Feed solution
Column
781 lbm/hr

31%S
69%Bz
in mass
Seperator

liquor
Dry air
Wet crysyals
0.25 lbm Bz /lbm S
16. 3000 kg/hr of dirty ore (ore+dirt) (1) is charged into a large washer. The amount of dirt on the ore after that process is negligable
but water remains on the ore surface (4). Mass flow rate of the cleaned ore is 3100 kg/hr.The second stream from washer is dirty
water (3). Assume that the water leaving the washer is saturated with dirt. The solubility of dirt in water is 0.4 kg dirt/kg H 2 O. The
dirty water is cleaned in a settler. 90 % of the dirt in dirty water is removed in settler. “Dirt” stream (7) contains no water. Stream 8
is then combined with a fresh water. The wet clean ore (4) enters a dryer, in which all of the water is removed (5). The flow rate of
clean dry ore (6) is 2900 kg/hr. Use W for water, O for ore,and D for dirt. Composition of the streams will be labelled with the
given stream numbers on flow chart. Calculate:
a) the flow rate of fresh water
b) the mass fraction of dirt in the stream (2) that enters the washer.

1 4

2
3