Balance around Reactive System

Type 1: Molecular balance, Atomic balance and Extent of reaction method

Ex: 4.7-1: Methane is burned with air in a continuous steady-state combustion reactor to yield a
mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water. The reactions taking place are:

The feed to the reactor contains 7.80 mole% CH4, 19.4% O2, and 72.8% N2. The percentage
conversion of methane is 90.0%, and the gas leaving the reactor contains 8 mol CO2/mol CO. Carry
out a degree-of-freedom analysis on the process. Then calculate the molar composition of the
product stream using molecular species balances, atomic species balances, and extents of reaction.

Type 2: Overall and Single pass conversion

Ex: 4.7-2: Propane can be dehydrogenated to form propylene in a catalytic reactor:

C3H8 → C3H6 + H2
A process is to be designed for a 95% overall conversion of propane. The reaction products are
separated into two streams: the first, which contains H2, C3H6, and 0.555% of the propane that
leaves the reactor, is taken off as product; the second stream, which contains the balance of the un-
reacted propane and propylene in an amount equal to 5% of that in the first stream, is recycled to the
reactor. Calculate the composition of the product, the ratio (moles recycled)/(mole fresh feed), and
the single-pass conversion.

P: 4.76: Methanol is produced by reacting carbon monoxide and hydrogen. A fresh feed stream
containing CO and H2 joins a recycle stream and the combined stream is fed to a reactor. The reactor
outlet stream flows at a rate of 350 mol/min and contains 10.6 wt% H2, 64.0 wt% CO, and 25.4 wt%
CH3OH. (Notice that those are percentages by mass, not mole percents.) This stream enters a cooler
in which most of the methanol is condensed. The liquid methanol condensate is withdrawn as a
product, and the gas stream leaving the condenser—which contains CO, H2, and 0.40 mole%
uncondensed CH3OH vapor—is the recycle stream that combines with the fresh feed.
(a) Without doing any calculations, prove that you have enough information to determine (i) the
molar flow rates of CO and H2 in the fresh feed, (ii) the production rate of liquid methanol, and (iii)
the single-pass and overall conversions of carbon monoxide. Then perform the calculations.
Type 3: Limiting and Excess Reactant
Ex: 4.6-1: For the reaction:

The feed to the process contains 10.0 mole% propylene, 12.0% ammonia, and 78.0% air. A
fractional conversion of 30.0% of the limiting reactant is achieved. Taking 100 mol of feed as a
basis, determine which reactant is limiting, the percentage by which each of the other reactants is in
excess, and the molar amounts of all product gas constituents for a 30% conversion of the limiting
reactant.

Type 4: Multiple reactions- Yield and Selectivity

Ex: 4.6-3: The reaction:
C2H6 → C2H4 + CO2
C2H6 + H2 →2CH4
take place in a continuous reactor at steady state. The feed contains 85.0mole% ethane (C 2H6) and
the balance inerts (I). The fractional conversion of ethane is 0.501, and the fractional yield of
ethylene is 0.471. Calculate the molar composition of the product gas and the selectivity of ethylene
to methane production.

P: 4.67: Methane and oxygen react in the presence of a catalyst to form formaldehyde. In a parallel
reaction, methane is oxidized to carbon dioxide and water:
CH4 + O2 → HCHO + H2O
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
The feed to the reactor contains equimolar amounts of methane and oxygen. Assume a basis of 100
mol feed/s. The fractional conversion of methane is 0.900 and the fractional yield of formaldehyde is
0.855. Calculate the molar composition of the reactor output stream and the selectivity of
formaldehyde production relative to carbon dioxide production.

P: 4.69: Ethanol can be produced commercially by the hydration of ethylene:

C2H4 + H2O → C2H5OH
Some of the product is converted to diethyl ether in the side reaction
2C2H5OH → (C2H5)2O + H2O
The feed to the reactor contains ethylene, steam, and an inert gas. A sample of the reactor effluent
gas is analyzed and found to contain 43.3 mole% ethylene, 2.5% ethanol, 0.14% ether, 9.3% inerts,
and the balance water.
(a) Take as a basis 100 mol of effluent gas, draw and label a flowchart, and do a degree-of-freedom
analysis based on atomic species to prove that the system has zero degrees of freedom.
(b) Calculate the molar composition of the reactor feed, the percentage conversion of ethylene, the
fractional yield of ethanol, and the selectivity of ethanol production relative to ether production.
Type 5: Purging
4.7-3: Methanol can be synthesized is by reacting carbon dioxide and hydrogen:
CO2 + 3H2 → CH3OH + H2O
The fresh feed to a methanol synthesis process contains hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and 0.400 mole%
inerts (I). The reactor effluent passes to a condenser that removes essentially all of the methanol and
water formed and none of the reactants or inerts. The latter substances are recycled to the reactor. To
avoid buildup of the inerts in the system, a purge stream is withdrawn from the recycle. The feed to
the reactor (not the fresh feed to the process) contains 28.0 mole% CO2, 70.0 mole% H2, and 2.00
mole% inerts. The single-pass conversion of hydrogen is 60.0%. Calculate the molar flow rates and
molar compositions of the fresh feed, the total feed to the reactor, the recycle stream, and the purge
stream for a methanol production rate of 155 kmol CH3OH/h.

P: 4.76: 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, H 2, 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 conversion.
(b) Briefly explain in your own words the reasons for including (i) the recycle stream and (ii) the
purge stream in the process design.

Type 6: Dry basis and Wet basis composition

Ex: 4.8-1: (i) A stack gas contains 60.0 mole% N2, 15.0% CO2, 10.0% O2, and the balance H2O.
Calculate the molar composition of the gas on a dry basis.

(ii) An Orsat analysis (a technique for stack-gas analysis) yields the following dry-basis
composition: 𝑁2 = 65%, CO2 = 14%, CO = 11%, O2 = 10%. A humidity measurement shows that
the mole fraction of H2O in the stack gas is 0.0700. Calculate the stack-gas composition on a wet
basis.

Type 7: Combustion Calculations

Ex: 4.8-2: One hundred mol/h of butane (C4H10) and 5000 mol/h of air are fed to a combustion
reactor. Calculate the percent excess air.
Ex: 4.8-3: Ethane is burned with 50% excess air. The percentage conversion of the ethane is 90%;
of the ethane burned, 25% reacts to form CO and the balance reacts to form CO2. Calculate the
molar composition of the stack gas on a dry basis and the mole ratio of water to dry stack gas.

Ex: 4.8-4: A hydrocarbon gas is burned with air. The dry-basis product gas composition is
1.5mole% CO, 6.0% CO2, 8.2% O2, and 84.3% N2. There is no atomic oxygen in the fuel. Calculate
the ratio of hydrogen to carbon in the fuel gas and speculate on what the fuel might be. Then
calculate the percent excess air fed to the reactor.

P: 4.91: A mixture of 75 mole% methane and 25 mole% hydrogen is burned with 25% excess air.
Fractional conversions of 90% of the methane and 85% of the hydrogen are achieved; of the
methane that reacts, 95% reacts to form CO2 and the balance reacts to form CO. The hot combustion
product gas passes through a boiler in which heat transferred from the gas converts boiler feed water
into steam. Calculate the concentration of CO (ppm) in the stack gas.

P: 4.93: Liquid methanol is fed to a space heater at a rate of 12.0 L/h and burned with excess air.
The product gas is analyzed and the following dry-basis mole percentages are determined: CH3OH =
0:45%, CO2 = 9:03%, and CO = 1:81%. Calculate the fractional conversion of methanol, the
percentage excess air fed, and the mole fraction of water in the product gas.

P: 4.95: A mixture of propane and butane is burned with pure oxygen. The combustion products
contain 47.4 mole% H2O. After all the water is removed from the products, the residual gas contains
69.4 mole % CO2 and the balance 2. What is the mole percent of propane in the fuel?

P: 4.96: A fuel oil is analyzed and found to contain 85.0 wt% carbon, 12.0% elemental hydrogen
(H), 1.7% sulfur, and the remainder noncombustible matter. The oil is burned with 20.0% excess air,
based on complete combustion of the carbon to CO2, the hydrogen to H2O, and the sulfur to SO2.
The oil is burned completely, but 8% of the carbon forms CO. Calculate the molar composition of
the stack gas.