XCE1007-03 1 hours

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology

First Year Examination Process Engineering Fundamentals

For candidates taking Chemical Engineering, BEng and MEng Chemical Engineering with Chemistry, MEng Chemical Engineering with Industrial Experience, MEng Chemical Engineering with Language, MEng

???? ??rd January 2004 ??:?? ??:??

Answer QUESTION 1 in Section A and ONE question from Section B

All numerical working must be shown. Tables of mathematical formulae are available and may be used without restriction. Graph paper is available.

PROCESS ENGINEERING FUNDAMENTALS SECTION A Answer Question 1.

1.

Answer ALL parts of this question. a) Use the ideal gas law, P V = n R T , to calculate the volume occupied by 17 lb-mol of argon at 639 torr and 16.4F. The Universal gas constant, R, is equal to 8.314 J mol1 K1. Express your answer in cubic metres. [4 marks] b) A fuel is prepared by taking 1 m3 of a mixture of methane and ethane (in a volume ratio of 4:1) at 50C and 1 atm pressure, and adding 500 g of octane vapour. Determine: (i) the composition of the fuel in mol %, (ii) the composition of the fuel in % w/w, (iii)the average molecular weight of the fuel, (iv) the theoretical air required to burn the fuel (in kg of air), [6 marks] [4 marks] [4 marks] [6 marks]

(v) the composition of the flue gas in mol% on a dry basis, if the fuel is burned with 25% excess air, assuming complete combustion. [6 marks] c) A mixture containing 40 mol% C2H4, 48 mol% O2 and 12 mol% inerts is fed to a reactor where ethylene oxide (C2H4O) is produced by the reaction: C2H4 + O2 C2H4O . An undesired side reaction, complete combustion of ethylene, also occurs in the reactor. If the conversion is 75 %, and the yield is 55 %, determine the product composition and the selectivity. [10 marks]

DATA: 1 atm = 1.013 105 N m2 1 N m2 = 7.50103 torr 1 mol (g-mol) = 2.205103 lb-mol T(F) = 1.8 T(C) + 32 T(K) = T(C) + 273 Assume air has a composition of 79 mol% N2 and 21 mol% O2. Relative atomic mass: C=12.0, H=1.0, O=16.0 and N=14.0. continued/

SECTION B Answer ONE question from Section B.

2.

Answer BOTH parts of this question. a) The flue gas from a coal combustion process contains 0.50 mol% CO, 10.20 mol% CO2, 0.15 mol% SO2, 7.46 mol% O2 and 81.69 mol% N2 on a dry basis, and 7.65 kmol of H2O for every 100 kmol of dry flue gas. If air is supplied to the furnace in 50% excess, determine the elemental composition of the coal on a % by weight basis, assuming that both the ash and water content are negligible. [25 marks]

b) The slurry that leaves the reactor on a plant manufacturing phosphoric acid contains 22% w/w solids together with a solution of phosphoric and sulphuric acids in water. The solution consists of 37% w/w H3PO4, 3% w/w H2SO4, the remainder being water. The slurry is filtered and all the solids are removed in the filter cake. The filter cake that is produced contains 50% w/w solids and 50% w/w liquid. The filter cake is then re-slurried with water and subjected to a second filtration. The second filter cake contains 60% w/w solids and 40% w/w liquid. In this case also, all the solids are present in the filter cake. If 1% of the phosphoric acid present in the initial slurry is retained in the liquid trapped in the second filter cake then, using a basis of 1000 kg initial slurry, determine: i) the composition (in %w/w) of the first filter cake, ii) the composition (in %w/w) of the second filter cake, iii) the amount of water used to reslurry the first filter cake. [4 marks] [6 marks] [5 marks]

DATA: Assume air has a composition of 79 mol% N2 and 21 mol% O2. Relative atomic mass: C=12.0, H=1.0, O=16.0, N=14.0 and S=32.1.

3.

Answer BOTH parts of this question. a) Fresh air containing 4.00 mol% water vapor is to be cooled and dehumidified to a water content of 1.70 mol% H2O. A stream of fresh air is combined with a recycle stream of previously dehumidified air and passed through a cooler at a pressure of 1 atm. The blended air at the cooler inlet contains 2.30 mole % H2O and is at a temperature of 23C. In the air conditioner, some of the water in the feed stream is condensed and removed as liquid. A fraction of the dehumidified air leaving the cooler is recycled and the remainder is delivered to a room. Taking 100 mol of dehumidified air delivered to the room as a basis of calculation, calculate the moles of fresh feed, the moles of water condensed, the moles of dehumidified air recycled, the relative humidity of the air entering the cooler and the temperature at the outlet of the cooler. [25 marks] b) A wastewater stream containing 5.2 %w/w chromium, Cr, is discharged from a metal finishing plant. The wastewater stream is fed to a treatment unit that removes 94% of the chromium 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 h1. If wastewater leaves the finishing plant at a rate higher than the capacity of the treatment unit, the excess (anything above 4500 kg h1) bypasses the unit and combines with the residual liquid leaving the unit, and the combined stream goes to the waste lagoon. Wastewater leaves the finishing plant at a rate of 6000 kg h1. Calculate the flow rate of liquid to the waste lagoon, and the mass fraction of chromium in this liquid. [15 marks]

DATA: The saturated vapour pressure of water in mm Hg (p*)at TC is given by: log10(p*) = 8.108 1 atm = 760 mm Hg 1750.29 T + 235

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