8.

1 Rate of conduction
a) A furnace wall is constructed of firebrick 15-cm thick. The temperature inside the wall is 700 0C the
temperature outside is 800C If the thermal conductivity of the brick under these conditions is 0.3 W
m-1 K-l, what is the rate of heat loss through 1.5 m2 of wall surface?
b) The 1.5 m 2 area in part (a) is insulated with 4-cm thick asbestos with thermal conductivity 0.1 W m - 1
K- 1. What is the rate of heat loss now?

8.3 Effect of cooling-coil length on coolant requirements

A fermenter is maintained at 350C by water circulating at arate of 0.5 kg s-1 in a cooling
coil inside the vessel. The inlet and outlet temperatures of the water are 8 0C and 150C
respectively.
The length of thecooling coil is increased by 50O%. In orderto maintain the same
fermentation temperature, the rate of heat removal must be kept the same. Determine the new
cooling-water flow rate and outlet temperature by carrying out the following calculations. The
heat capacity of the cooling water can be taken as 4.18 kJ kg-1 0C-1.
a) From a steady-state energy balance on the cooling water, calculate the rate of cooling
with the original coil.
b) Determine the mean temperature difference with the original coil.
c) Evaluate UA for the original coil.
d) If the length of the coil is increased by 50% the area available for heat transfer, A', also
increases by 50% so that A'=1.5 A. The value of the overall heat-transfer coefficient is not
expected to change very much. For the new coil, what is the value of UA '?
e) Evaluate the new cooling-water outlet temperature.
f) By how much are the cooling-water requirements reduced after the new coil is installed?
8.5 Effect of fouling on heat-transfer resistance
In current service, 20 kg s-1 cooling water at 120C must be circulated through a coil inside a fermenter to
maintain the temperature at 37 0C The coil is 150 m long with pipe diameter 12 cm; the exit water
temperature is 280C After the inner and outer surfaces of the coil are cleaned it is found that only 13 kg s1 cooling water is required to control the fermentation temperature.
(a) Calculate the overall heat-transfer coefficient before cleaning.
(b) What is the outlet water temperature after cleaning?
(c) What fraction of the total resistance to heat transfer before cleaning was due to fouling deposits?

8.7 Suitability of an existing cooling-coil

An enzyme manufacturer in the same industrial park as your

antibiotic factory has a re-

conditioned 20 m3 fermenter for sale. You are in the market for a cheap 20 m 3 fermenter; however the
vessel on offer is fitted with a 45 m steel helical cooling-coil with inner pipe-diameter 7.5 cm. You
propose to use the fermenter for your newest production organism which is known to have a maximum
oxygen demand of 90 mol m-3 h-1 at its optimum culture temperature of 280C You consider that the 3-m
diameter vessel should be stirred with a 1-m diameter turbine-impeller operated at an average speed of 50
rpm. The fermentation fluid can be assumed to have the properties of water. If 20 m 3 h-1 cooling water at
120C is available, should you make an offer for the secondhand fermenter and cooling coil?