Lecture 9.

Material Balance for Processes

Involving Reaction
9.1 Species Material Balance

9.1.1 Processes involving a single
reaction
moles of
i at t
2
in
the system

moles of
i at t
1
in
the system

moles of
i entering
the system
between t
2
and t
1

moles of
i leaving
the system
between t
2
and t
1

+
moles of
i generated
by reaction
between t
2
and t
1

moles of
i consumed
by reaction
between t
2
and t
1

Examples Lecture 9.1.1

(E10.1, DMH) Reaction in which the fraction
conversion is specified.

The chlorination of methane occurs by the
following reaction
CH
4
+ Cl
2
-> CH
3
Cl + HCl
You are asked to determine the product
composition if the conversion of the limiting
reactant is 67%, and the feed composition in mole%
is given as : 40% CH
4
, 50% Cl
2
and 10% N
2
.
Examples Lecture 9.1.1
(E10.2, DMH) Reaction in which the fraction conversion is to be calculated.

Mercaptans, hydrogen sulfide, and other sulfur compounds are removed from
natural gas by various so-called sweeting processes that make available
other-wise useless sour gas. As you know H
2
S is toxic in very small
quantities and is quite corrosive to process equipment.

A proposed process to remove H
2
S is by reaction with SO
2
:

2 H
2
S
(g)
+ SO
2(g)
-> 3 S
(s)
+ 2 H
2
O
(g)


In a test of the process, a gas stream containing 20% H
2
S
and
80% CH
4
was
combined with a stream of pure SO
2
. The process produced 5000 lb of S
(s)
,
and in the product gas the ratio of SO
2
to H
2
S was equal to 3, and the ratio of
H
2
O to H
2
S was 10. You are asked to determine the fractional conversion of
the limiting reactant, and the feed rate of the H
2
S and SO
2
streams.
Note

( f )n
limiting agent
in
v
limiting agent
9.1.2 Processes involving a multiple
reaction

Examples Lecture 9.1.2
(E10.3, DMH) Material balances for a process in which two simultaneous reactions occur

Formaldehyde (CH
2
O) is produced industrially by the catalytic oxidation of methanol (CH
3
OH) according
to the following reaction:

CH
3
OH +1/2 O
2
-> CH
2
O + H
2
O (1)

Unfortunately, under the conditions used to produce formaldehyde at a profitable rate, a significant
portion of the formaldehyde reacts with oxygen to produce CO and H
2
O, that is,

CH
2
O + O
2
-> CO + H
2
O (2)

Assume that methanol and twice the stoichiometric amount of air needed for complete conversion of
the CH
3
OH to the desired products (CH
2
O and H
2
O) are fed to the reactor. Also assume that 90%
conversion of the methanol results, and that 75% yield of formaldehyde occurs based on the theoretical
production of CH
2
O by Reaction (1). Determine the composition of the product gas leaving the reactor.
Examples Lecture 9.1.2
(E10.4, DMH) Material balances for a process in which two simultaneous reactions
occur

A bioreactor is a vessel in which biological conversion is carred out involving enzymes,
microorganisms, and/or animal and plant cells. In the anaerobic fermentation of grain,
the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae digests glucose (C
6
H
12
O
6
) from plants to form the
products ethanol (C
2
H
5
OH) and propenoic acid (C
2
H
3
CO
2
H) by the following overall
reactions:

Reaction 1 : C
6
H
12
O
6
-> 2 C
2
H
5
OH + 2 CO
2

Reaction 2 : C
6
H
12
O
6
-> 2 C
2
H
3
CO
2
H + 2 H
2
O

In a batch process, a tank is charged with 4000 kg of a 12% solution of glucose in
water. After fermentation, 120 kg of CO
2
are produced and 90 kg of unreacted glucose
remains in the broth. What are the weight (mass) percents of ethanol and propenic
acid in the broth at the end of the fermentation process? Assume that none of the
glucose is assimilated into the bacteria.
Notes
n
i
out
n
i
in
+ v
ij

j
j1
R

Total moles = N n
i
out
n
i
in
+ v
ij

j
j1
R

i1
S

i1
S

i1
S